City OKs 3-D parking plan at Admiral’s Cove

Motorized lifts will help to stack parked cars as many as three high.

JUPITER — In what is being called a town first, parked cars will be stacked as many as three high at Admiral’s Cove under a plan that received an initial nod of approval from the Jupiter Town Council on Tuesday.

Such a thing is made possible

by motorized lifts designed to hold multiple cars suspended vertically where one might usually be. The idea is to have such stacking arrangements “tucked away,” or screened off by architectural features and vegetation, near existing parking facilities as part of a bigger slate of proposed renovations in the development.

“We’ll be the test case,” said John Herring, general manager at Admiral’s Cove.

Town Council members approved by a 5-0 vote the first step at a meeting Tuesday, relaxing rules related to “setbacks,” or the space required around certain building features. Admiral’s Cove officials have agreed to donate $5,000 toward an improvement that benefits the larger community, sprucing up the signage at

town entrances.

The parking component represents one piece of a broader plan scheduled to come before the council June 19 for a major revamping of the clubhouse, spa, tennis and pickleball facilities, along with more golf cart parking and more convenient access for residents who may need wheelchair ramps.

Creating enough space for residents, workers and guests to park has been a long-running challenge in the upscale community approved in 1986, and offi- cials acknowledged that for years Admiral’s Cove has fallen short of formal town parking requirements by more than 40 spaces. The task now: how to provide it without eating up “green space” or creating eyesores.

The stacked parking creates 37 spaces, with one tract suspending cars three deep and another two deep. The expectation is to use the stacked spaces in conjunc- tion with valet parking.

How it works: One car is mechanically lifted up so others can park under it. Systems like it have come to other places where space is at a premium, but participants say it’s new to the town.

“The concept is, take the bottom cars out to get the top car?” Town Council member Wayne Posner asked.

Yes, officials representing the community said. One noted it takes 42 seconds to move a car between the bottom and top spaces.

In other action, council members recognized an extraordinary run of baseball, lacrosse and individual diving state championships for Jupiter High School athletes.