Former candidate for Mayor Lake Worth speaks out on the Royal Poinciana Playhouse

Letter to the Editor
Palm Beach Daily News

Your headline on the referendum in Sunday’s [Aug. 29] edition was misleading because of the usage of the small letter “t”.

Yes, the “Town” (Council) was pleased with the ruling, but the “town” (residents) were not, as indicated by the 970 people who signed the petition and by the 68 percent of the residents who indicated in a recent unbiased Preservation Foundation survey that they did not want additional condos on the island, while only 18 percent supported these intrusions.

Council President David Rosow decries the money “wasted” on legal action, but these actions would not have been taken had he and his fellow council members enforced the 1979 agreement, which previous councils spent a quarter million to validate as recently as 2007.

Rosow has declared a premature victory. Judge [David] Crow made his decision on the case, but the rule of law will be decided by the 4th District Court of Appeals. The Florida Constitution enshrines the peoples’ unqualified right to petition and can be changed only by 60 percent of the popular vote. The Florida Legislature has exceeded its authority by proscribing referendums on five or fewer parcels.

Lastly, your editorial indicates that Mr. Sidney Spiegel bears no financial responsibility for keeping the Poinciana Theater available for lease, although the 1979 covenant unequivocally required him to do so when he signed it to make millions by expanding the Slat House. Both the Town Council and the Palm Beach Daily News are misrepresenting the majority of the 
residents.

Laurence McNamara

Lake Worth