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Palm Beach PostJune 27, 2012
By: Laurence McNamara
Lake Worth mustn’t lose small-town feel
The editorial regarding height limits in Lake Worth creates some misconceptions. It refers to our Downtown Historic District as the “entertainment district,” which it is, but this characterization ignores the architectural character, quality and low profile of the buildings which together make up our city’s second-most important and attractive asset to both tourists and potential homebuyers.
The consensus reached by residents and officials over the past seven years has been to protect our small-town feel. But the commission changed this goal. Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill’s charter amendment petition is a reaction to this misrepresentation of the people’s will by the commission.
Increasing height to attract development in the downtown area will place a burden on the general fund since this entire area is a community redevelopment district and all increases in tax revenue go to the CRA, not the city. Taxpayers will pick up the tab for services and concurrency required for development which does not reflect their vision.
Our civic leaders will do well to focus on creating infrastructure in the Park of Commerce to allow industrial and commercial development to occur there.
LAURENCE McNAMARA
Lake Worth
Admin Note: Your right to vote on this issue was refused by the "visionary" commission. All those who want to get involved in your right to petition under the Constitution of the United States and help get this issue on the ballot, please contact this blogger or anyone in the Respectful Planning PAC.
13 comments:
"Increasing height to attract development in the downtown area will place a burden on the general fund since this entire area is a community redevelopment district and all increases in tax revenue go to the CRA, not the city."
The commission did not vote to increase the height. The height you can build today is 65' in the downtown district. They LOWERED it to 45'. The did NOT increase the height East of Federal. They left it as is.
The commission LOWERED the maximum height West of Dixie from 100' which we all voted for in 1996, down to 45'.
How can you say this is increasing the height?
I agree with LM comments... however, we need to focus in cleaning up the city. Until LW gets tought with the slum lords we will continue to live (parts of the city) in squalor. Right now on North J @ 17 Avenue a upstanding LW citizen, is the proud owner of not only two roosters running free but also two pigs that follow the roosters from yard to yard. How long will the citizens of LW will have to continue living in these conditions, where is code enforcement?
The Commission is wanting to raise the allowable heights in our Comprehensive Plan from 35/45 feet to 65 feet thus allowing more buildings as tall as The Lucerne to be built. What we are saying is, keep the lower heights and do not change our heights higher in the downtown.
It is all about balance, 65 or lower is best, lower than 45 or 35 is even better, but some like the Lofts or others are fine, but not the entire city. We need more single family homes and promote more homeownership anyway, less rentals and condos. Stronger code enforcement, strict and on top of things. Channel 5 News reported a story on Monday night about Mr. Demps on South B Street and his concerns about all the blight and uncared and abandoned properties,Maxwell acted as if there is nothing the city can do, the city needs to do more to clean this city up and not allow slum owners to control and make a mess of our living conditions.
As far as slumowners, I agree, we need to clean up the blight and deplorable conditions. We have one now on the P&Z Comm who owns right on Lucerne and keeps his place a dump for the most part, always overgrown and with a hole in the roof and all boarded up. The city turns a blind eye to this rat infested dump, just because he is rich and famous, a slum owner. Go figure. Good question, where is Code Enforcement in Lake Worth?
"I agree with LM comments... however, we need to focus in cleaning up the city. Until LW gets tought with the slum lords we will continue to live (parts of the city) in squalor. Right now on North J @ 17 Avenue a upstanding LW citizen, is the proud owner of not only two roosters running free but also two pigs that follow the roosters from yard to yard. How long will the citizens of LW will have to continue living in these conditions, where is code enforcement?"
The change in the Comp plan will not change the land rules which limit height. By telling folks that tall buildings like the Lucerne all over town you join in the lies that spread throughout this city and get your folks elected. There are only 3 or 4 parcels that would even have a chance of going to 65' and you know that. Stop the lies please.
William Waters is on 1340am with Pam Triolo at 12n today. He can clarify any questions you have about the Comp Plan and height concerns.... Get the answers you need to make an educated decision about your town... You can also listen online on www.wpbr1340am.com . Please call in.
11:54-- We do NOT want heights to go beyond 45 feet. That is our argument.
Your naivete on the matter that historical buildings can't be torn down is bogus. Owners can come up with a million excuses to have a property torn down. Even when their excuses are not good enough, they can bulldoze it anyway. It happened by a former planning and zoning board member. He didn't like the "no" answer and he bulldozed the damn thing to the ground.
This is about keeping heights low in our downtown. 20 feet can make a difference. 10 feet can as well.
Chalk me up to a long-term LW resident and voter who is in favor of heights over 45 feet in certain parts of the City. Oh, and I'm not a developer or real estate agent, just a homeowner who doesn't fall for the fear tactics. I don't think anybody has ever suggested the entire city should be 60 feet. The "sky is falling" scare tactics of Mulvihill are just weak and transparent. I mean c'mon, the Lucerne is just a normal building, it's no Empire State Building. Stay stuck in the past if you want, but please STOP claiming everyone in the City except the 3 commissioners don't want height increases. It's just not true. There are lots of residents who don't hate the Lucerne. Go to Starbucks any morning, tons of people there who don't seem to mind the building.
Not just any morning but most times during Starbuck's business hours there's people there. Maybe just maybe they're spending their money at other local businesses.
Lynn you mentioned a former P&Z board member bulldozing a property. I think you meant "she".
You are talking about Linda Mahoney right?
No I am not. Ms. Mahoney went through ALL of the proper channels and proved her case--got the permission to demolish that property...the house was ridden with termites and was unsaveable. The person I was talking about NEVER GOT PERMISSION. He was DENIED.
I am also rather sure that you knew that before you asked the question. You just wanted to be a wise-guy.
Let's get the facts correct as the Mayor would say.
anony above, if there are so many people who do want heights in our downtown, then let's get this thing on the ballot to prove it.
I agree, I like the Lucerne building too, it has a nice architectural style to it, I think it adds to the area and fits with the library, bank, city hall annex, etc. I have no problem with that, the Lofts, or the Towers, some is OK, but not the entire city, I agree with the above poster, we need to realize we cannot keep Lake Worth the same forever, it is ever evolving like we all are. We need to be open, we also need balance. I love our quaint little downtown, I wish the beauty would move west more on Lake and Lucerne to A Street, that needs to look nice too and be cleaned up, developed, and have the blight and slums fixed up, like they did with City Place.
First of all, the Lucerne is a box with no windows on the east side. It is an architectural disgrace. There is no step back. There is nothing striking about it, except for its startling and grossly out-of-place mass and height. If people love Starbucks (ick), well fine. We didn't need the other five floors on top of it.
The only new buildings constructed in the downtown corridor since 2006 have been 65'. Don't know how high the Lofts are, but they look about 45' or higher. By downtown corridor, I mean that area covered by the charter amendment. Laurence is right on the money. We need to improve and redevelop the city, and the neighborhoods are where the commission should be focusing to build value in our community. Shame on them for their ignorance. And shame on the mayor for blaming people who don't agree with her for divisiveness in the community. Her lack of leadership brought us here.
If nothing is going to be built (according to our politicians) higher than 45', then what is the problem with a charter amendment to ensure that when these oh-so-trustworthy public servants are gone, the height limits will live on??
I am a long-time LW resident, and a life-long PB County resident.
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