Is the Commission losing its Power?

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Economic growth through development should exist hand in hand with good environmental policy that protects what is valuable about our State for generations to come. When it comes right down to it, we are most concerned with our immediate environment first, our own neighborhood. Afterall, if we don't solve these development issues at a local level, we will NEVER solve them throughout the State.

So the same thing can be said about our City and how it grows and where up-zoning developments are allowed. When the decision was made to up-zone a single family neighborhood by annexing in the Sunset parcel, the Planning & Zoning Board only considered one owner and not the 450 residential owners in the neighborhood when it elected to do so. It never considered the Comprehensive Plan that is our bible. The politics on the commission at that time, voted with the one owner and allowed it. Their thinking was, "well it too is residential and it will give us more tax base if we can double the number of units there." It was 100% political, based on a ridiculous reason and no consideration of the residents and the Plan in place. They (Planning & Zoning and the Commission) could have cared less.

The University of Florida recently did a study that found over the next several decades, development will need all (yes, I said "all") of our land in south west Florida. Our farmers are selling out for high prices. Our birds are disappearing and so are many of our animals. Clean water is a scarce commodity and paved over land by development prevents water from filtering down to the aquifer. Builders just want to continue to build while some of us are trying to make some sense of it all as reports say that our water supplies will just disappear some day. We are literally running out of what sustains life itself--water.

There are developers who would love to get their hands on this

The Everglades used to cover over 4,000 sq. miles and today it is one half that and much of the water is polluted with nutrients and our wildlife habitats disappearing. Developments have been encroaching on our Everglades. Here locally, we have a developer who wants to change our single family residential neighborhood and build townhouses, something totally inconsistent to the neighborhood and a project that is not needed. There are 3 million empty housing units in south Florida. More and more foreclosures are happening every day and our city is in the process of foreclosing on properties throughout Lake Worth.

The Commission was told by its own hired attorney that the Sunset parcel was contract zoning (ILLEGAL)...that it could easily be changed because it is a police power of the City...that the amendment was not effective and that the owner has not made further applications for a site plan approval or other City approvals necessary for development of the property. In other words, all he did was buy the property before he was granted any approvals including annexation approval. The investor took a business risk; that's all it was. The 450 residents of this neighborhood had no idea that they took a risk when they bought into this neighborhood that is zoned Single Family 7 because the Comp Plan assured them differently. They had no idea that a majority commission or politics could turn the tide on their investment and their lives.

There is NO Bert J. Harris taking here as there are no grounds and the City's paid attorney told the Commission that, told the P&Z Board that and told the City Manager that as did Richard Grosso, land-use attorney.

Our Comprehensive Plan, adopted on January 20, 1998, was signed by then mayor Tom Ramiccio and commissioners, Retha Lowe, Bo Allen, Jose Sosa, and Lloyd Clager. Regarding Single family 7 in Section01.01.03.01, it says:

"Future development in the single-family residential category shall not exceed densities of seven dwelling units per acre."

So, who is bending staff's ear? Why can't the City staff follow the Commission's direction and get the zoning and Land Use Map changed on the Sunset parcel? Five commissioners voted with the neighborhood and now all we get are stalls and different information depending upon who is lobbying staff this week. We even have the present Chair of Planning & Zoning, John Paxman, against the neighborhood and its desires. We ask, "why?" We have a P&Z Board that just complains when a Commissioner wants to change something in the Comp Plan before submittal to the DCA. We again ask "why?"

Is the Commission losing its political power? If not, why is the Sunset parcel dragging on with no change to the Land-Use Map and all promises unfulfilled all these months later?

P.S. Vote Yes on Amendment 4 in 2010.