Paradise Port is the neighborhood in unincorporated Palm Beach Gardens on the north side of Donald Ross Rd to the west of the intracoastal with waterfront property on Paradise Point Rd, Harbor Lane, Port Circle and Leeward Way.
First, let’s look at the easy one. The houses on Paradise Point Rd. Note that this is NOT a public road and thus public funds can not be expended on the maintenance of it for things like pavement and drainage. The pavement runs over an easement through the lots on this road for 15′ either side of the centerline of the ‘road’. That’s the bad news. The good news is that the waterfront on both sides of the road is riparian. The east side is the intracoastal which is owned by the State of Florida and the federal government has an easement over it. The lots on the west side abut the historic Frenchman’s Creek which the state of Florida owns the bottomage of. Thus, lots on both sides of the road enjoy statutory riparian rights to use the water.
The lots on the east side of Harbor Lane such as 14208 Harbor Lane are also bordering on the historic Frenchman’s Creek and so these too enjoy statutory riparian rights.
The lots on the west side of Harbor Lane as well as those on Port Circle and most on Leeward border upon a man made canal or a/k/a “over flowed lands”.
Now, I would say there’s a problem with the use of the water adjacent to most of these parcels. The language of the recorded plat is silent on who owns the canals. They are not dedicated via language on the plat, as most are in places like North Palm Beach The plat dedicates only the roads and easements shown on it to the perpetual use of the public.
BUT the easement(s) for things like drainage shown on the plat does NOT include the full dimensions of the canals shown there on. It does not address the issue of docks or pilings on this submerged land, floating a boat on it, passing over it to get out to the public waterway nor any dredging of it.
And, just like the folks who thought they lived on the “Earman River” in North Palm Beach found out, if Deitz Enterprises Inc never sold, dedicated or had it taken away by a government agency then the land shown on the plat, such as that which is NOT shown as a drainage easement, is still owned by that entity. As early as a few years ago Dietz was giving explicit easements to the property owners on Paradise Point Road for that roadway to get back and forth to their houses. These folks are still around. Heads Up!
BTW, there are a few lots at the very end of, and those on the north side of, Leeward that also enjoy riparian rights.
