825 Sunset Drive - 12 years later

The Sunset property at 825 Sunset Drive has been in limbo since 2005. That's when I joined the Political Action Committee, Save Our Neighborhood, my first involvement in Lake Worth politics.

The Pac collected over 3,000 signatures city wide wanting the single family zoning kept in place. Former Lake Worth city attorney Larry Karns refused to forward the petitions to the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections for verification citing a State Statute that you could not petition on less than 5 acres even though it was he who approved our petition. A battle in the circuit court then ensued between Save Our Neighborhood, Inc. and the City. Save Our Neighborhood won its case in the circuit court, but the decision was challenged by the City of Lake Worth. Even then the city was going against its citizens, favoring a developer just like it did on the Heights Amendment in recent years. The Sunset case moved up the judicial ladder into the Appellate court which then overturned the Circuit Court's decision.

In a special meeting held on August 25, 2009, the Lake Worth City Commission voted to repeal two city ordinances that would have allowed MF 20 zoning (20 units per acre) into the single family Lake Osborne Heights neighborhood. The commission consisted of Commissioners Cara Jennings, Commissioner Retha Lowe, Mayor Jeff Clemens, Commissioner Joanne Golden and Commissioner Suzanne Mulvehill. The undeveloped 4.02 acre property that was the subject of the commission's action reverted to its previous zoning of “County Agricultural” (five units per acre). Zoning is all political.

 Read about it... and about who we had to fight to keep our neighborhood. Wes Blackman even called us "whackos."

So, 12 years later, we still are in limbo with the property. The owner threatened a Bert J. Harris lawsuit. We all were in mediation for a few years and nothing ever was resolved.  The property lanquishes and Code never does a thing about the condition of this property. Only the raccoons, snakes and possums enjoy it. So, 12 years later, it looks like this: