Developers first; Voters last

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Now that the economy is turning around and money is freeing up, developers and investors are all finding Lake Worth, (so says the mayor who is delighted about it all) even the Sober Homes or homes for the Homeless have found Lake Worth. The invitation is out there--come to Lake Worth and we will work with you to attain your desires. We are now giving waivers, making ordinances, and even upzoning to the maximum height (our build to the sky ordinance) that we said you could go, not what the voters said you could build. We might even resort to eminent domain if need be if we say it is a benefit for the public.

Hudson Holdings says that it is preparing applications to renovate and redevelop the historic Gulfstream Hotel properties. How long have we heard this story by every owner imaginable? It is their carrot to get their way from a desperate commission that believes building is the key to turning around Lake Worth. Forget the slum, blight and crime; we can look the other way to that.

 We've been hearing this crap for years from other owners as well. There was never an upzoning issue 1.5 years ago with this owner until they decided to make their property more valuable and find an investor or someone to sell it to. More than likely, after they got into the project, they realized that it was going to cost them small fortunes to renovate and that they had to build. Hudson Holdings wants the rezoning of all seven (7) parcels for their proposed project. They say they are going to be the ones to save us from ourselves by revitalizing the downtown corridor between the retail/restaurants uses and the Beach & Casino area.

Hudson Holdings now says that for the project to move forward, they must first rezone the MF-30 portion of the property to DT (downtown). They also told us earlier in the year that they needed our casino complex for their investment "to work." They have to go before the Historic Resources Preservation Board (HRPB) for a Certificate of Appropriateness (COA) for exterior alterations, an addition to the historic structure, and new construction of a hotel annex and parking garage as well as site plan approval and conditional land use permit consistent with the requirements of Land Development Regulations. They got the approval for up-zoning on a 7/0 vote.  Did anyone have any doubt?

On Tuesday night, the commission voted to approve their request for up-zoning on a 3/2 vote on seven parcels, two more than the HRPB approved. There was never any doubt that Hudson Holdings would get the vote.  January 5, 2016 will be the Second Reading of this ordinance 2016-04. Will there be any doubt?

I bet that Hudson Holdings can't wait to flip and sell this property and get it off their hands. How much money have they invested to promote this upzoning or to even grab our casino for that matter?  Our three commissioners diverged significantly from their constituents' preferences and in this case, the vote of the people.

I'm not sure that many elected officials listen to the people. Once into office, they do what they damn please. In Lake Worth, they refused to honor our vote.  What can residents do to improve congruence and have politicians respect the residents they serve? We have an election on March 15.

Huge settlement rejected by judge in Collier County

A Judge in Collier County rejected a $92 million settlement between landowners and the Commissioners. She said that the Bert J. Harris Act doesn’t include resolving the claim’s potential financial exposure against the county in the public interest test. She also found that the settlement amounted to illegal contract zoning and that she couldn’t find that the agreement complies with the Endangered Species Act. This is a lawsuit that has been ongoing since 2008, dragged on by landowners wanting their way.

The Florida Wildlife Federation and Collier Audubon Society, which teamed up to fight the settlement, also have filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of panthers and woodpeckers, seeking to stop development on the Hussey ranch,

At least there is a judge who understands contract zoning and the Bert J. Harris Act.

Read more....

Kicking the Can down the Road - City of Lake Worth and Sunset Drive Holdings, land speculators

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**The most important blog of today**
Under New Business D--Tolling agreement

A tolling agreement is an agreement to waive a right to claim that litigation should be dismissed due to the expiration of a statute of limitations. Its purpose is typically to allow a party additional time to assess and determine the legitimacy and viability of their claims and/or the amount of their damages without the necessity of filing an action. During this period, the parties waive any defense by way of any statute of limitations which would otherwise arise during such period.

Well, why in the hell not. This has been dragging on since 2005.  FLUEDRA is used as a stall tactic to the benefit of the property owners with the municipality picking up the tab.  Usually it is used to intimate a city to cave into unreasonable demands by owners who want their way or else threaten a law suit.  Public records will show that four years ago, the city went into a FLUEDRA process, hired a special magistrate because of a threat of a lawsuit by the owners under Bert J. Harris. FLUEDRA has a statute of limitations of 4 years which is up next month on Sunset. FLUEDRA requires the special magistrate to wear two hats: first, as a mediator, and second, as an administrative law judge issuing a recommended order, albeit one that is not binding on the local government.

What the city says:
Tolling Agreement between the City of Lake Worth and Sunset Drive Holdings, LLC
In September, 2009, as a result of various land use approvals and subsequent recessions of those approvals--
Sunset Drive Holdings, LLC (Sunset) initiated a Request for Relief under Florida Statues Sec. 70.51, The initiation of the Request for Relief under this statute results in a mediation procedure which involves the City, Sunset and interested parties who are various residents who have been participants in the process. Recently, there have been some productive discussions and compromises as a result of the mediation, however, there is more work to be done before we can all agree to a solution. to bring before the Commission for approval.

If an agreement ultimately cannot be reached, the statute provides that a hearing before the mediation/special magistrate would take place. The mediator would then make recommendations which would be taken to the commission for approval or denial. Although the statutes imply that the time to file a lawsuit is tolled during the mediation process, it is not completely clear and there is no case law to support the position.

Therefore, in order to avoid the expense to both the property owner to file a lawsuit, and the expense to the City to begin to answer and defend that lawsuit, I am recommending that the City approve the attached tolling agreement.
BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION: This agreement simply provides Sunset with the assurance that in the event that the mediation or recommendation of the mediator are not acceptable to the City or Sunset, then Sunset will not lose their right to file any appropriate litigation at the end of this process. The agreement does however limit the tolled period to sixty (60) days after the City takes an action on either an agreement reached by the parties, or the recommendation of the mediator.

**The facts of the matter:
Unfortunately, the city and the owner can continue to stall. No action has to be taken UNTIL THE CITY TAKES AN ACTION. In the meantime, legal bills keep mounting. FLUEDRA does not permit the special magistrate to make a formal recommendation to the governing body without first issuing findings against the local government. The special magistrate is, therefore, encouraged to find against the local government. Although the findings are not binding, they may embolden a property owner to continue to pursue a weak claim. Thus, rather than resolving matters, this aspect of FLUEDRA instead prolongs disputes and encourages unproductive litigation.

You know what Save Our Neighborhood, Inc. recommends. 

Robert Waples, President of Lake Osborne Heights, speaks out on the Sunset Mediation

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 Dear City Manger Bornstein,

We of the Lake Osborne Heights Neighborhood have been asking for, I think, 2 years now what is going on with the so called "Mediation" of the Sunset Property and to date no one contacts Ms. McGiveron who is part of the mediation, our neighborhood and frankly we keep asking the question however the other side keeps refusing to come to the table.  The Commission has been absolutely about useless on this matter and allowed the former City Manager "Gag" them from even discussing. Mayor Triolo was the only one to speak up at a meeting and asked the questions as to why this has not been resolved.

At what point does a "Mediation" become obsolete or hits a statute of limitation?  This can not keep dragging out, the other side of the property has not come to the table and when they were at the table would keep walking away with no input.  This by definition is no longer a mediation but a complete abandonment by the "developer" owner on this property.  The Mediator even tried to make a separate deal with the owners away from the table...THIS is Fact with out our knowledge

Quite frankly we are at a complete impasse, the DCA has but all disappeared and no one seems to know who, at the State of Florida, knows who has taken this on?  The DCA Tracking system seems to have disappeared and WE WANT ANSWERS.  You no longer have legal representatives for the city as they all resigned...and no one has an "eye on the legal ship" of this city.

Sunset is to be and will be zoned SF7...The prior zoning was deemed Contract Zoning...Was deemed that the "developer/owner" does not have a legal leg to stand on by your then consultant legal team and yet this keeps dragging out.

We are not going to keep tolerating this Gross Mis-Judgement by the City of Lake Worth any longer.  Its time for ending the mediation in the City's Favor as the Mediation is nothing, nada, not a mediation any longer.  Please contact Mrs. Katie McGiveron ASAP for an update, schedule an appointment with what ever legal counsel you have left for this city so that we as Affected Members of the Community know where we are at.

Thank You in advance for your kind and courteous response so that we as neighbors can finally put this issue behind us and end this 7 year tyranny of holding our neighborhood hostage, creating our sleepless nights, anxiety and depression because the City of Lake Worth does not have the "kahuna's" to take a stand for our neighborhood.

Robert Waples
President of Lake Osborne Heights.

Code Enforcement in Lake Worth

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Update: 3:30 I just got a call that the property is now being mowed

Photo taken 11-1-11

Ms. Diaz must be mistaken when she says that this property "has been mowed and is in compliance right now." I had no trouble seeing what is going on here. Why did Ms. Diaz have a problem? It has been reported to me that not only is the property being neglected but that rats and possums have taken up residence there. The Utility was just there and cut down large tree limbs away from the Utility cables.

----- Original Message -----
From: Raquel Diaz

To: lynn113@comcast.net

Sent: Monday, October 31, 2011 12:33 PM

Subject: 826 Sunset

We had a violation open on this property as a result of a complaint. However, we can only cite what we can actually see, not based on hearsay. I personally went all around the property and all the officer and I could see from any vantage point we tried was the overgrown landscaping.

In the case of possums and other vermin, we are do not handle animal control issues. Perhaps you can speak to the Animal Care & Control Field Operations Manager at (561) 233-1200.

The property was mowed and is in compliance as of right now.

Raquel Diaz
Code Compliance Manager
E-Mail: Rdiaz@lakeworth.org

Last night's meeting

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In a nutshell-

It began with Public Participation on Non-Agendaed items with many presidents of the neighborhood associations giving gifts of t-shirts, certificates and kudos to Joe Kroll who is leaving Lake Worth after four years to pursue greater opportunities. The crowd wore Say It Ain't So Joe t-shirts to show their appreciation. The President of the Neighborhood Council spoke and asked the City to waive its fees of $75 an hour at the Lake Worth Golf Course so that they could throw a party for Joe on October 20 and have one staff member work the bar.

Now Joe is a nice guy and all but he RESIGNED from Lake Worth. It's not like he is leaving after 27 years like Charles Stevens who was given a clock. It's not like Valerie Hurley who was forced out after 24 years or so and got nothing. It was done, all at the right time, where this Commission could not say "no" without looking like the bad guy. It was another political move by the Neighborhood Council that took advantage of the situation. Who ever heard of a boss giving an employee a party who has essentially told the boss to "stick it." Timing is everything in Lake Worth. And who said that the neighborhood associations aren't political?

The Consent Agenda was passed with no discussion--probably because public participation took about an hour to get over Joe Kroll. Sure hope everyone on the dais knew what spending all that money was all about--quicklime and sodium hypochlorite. Another Study was approved for nearly $30,000. Since assumptions are made each year in determining expenses on annual water and wastewater revenue in order to set the rate adjustments, the CM recommended performing an annual rate sufficiency analysis to update these adjustments for FY- 2012 and create an overlay district for water rates to serve the Beach-Casino property. The City wants to know how to stick it to you once again. This deserved discussion.

In the meantime, after getting the party thing out of the way, the commission finally got into the nitty gritty--spending your cash on a fire assessment. The curve ball was that the discussion was only for the 2,300 properties or so that were excluded from the original notice. The City assured us that Government Services Group that screwed up did pay for all the mailings and reduced their fee for this "inconvenience" never stating how much it all cost.

The City, cleverly so, made this Resolution 42B-2011 instead of starting the debate all over again for all of the people and businesses that this unfair tax would affect. The Commission still does NOT get it. Rachel Waterman's dilemma was the fact that they had already passed the tax for the majority of the citizens and if this resolution failed, it "would not be fair" to those who will have to pay it. She also gave a strange analogy that the delay of the CIP expenditures to cover this cost was like "selling your car to buy groceries." The city attorney reminded her that if it fails, (McVoy was absent and it left only 4 on the dais. On a 2/2 vote, the motion dies) the motion is brought back at the next meeting. Politically it worked out for Waterman who then voted "nay." It will come back next week.

Commission salaries brought forth the wrath of the public even though it was only to vote on keeping their salaries the same as they presently receive--$14,400 for a commissioner and $15,400 for the mayor.

There are a lot of people fed up. The Mayor showed her temper once again by ejecting Mark Parrilla from the Chamber for whispering to me. The last time she ejected someone it was my cousin. Now perhaps it is rude to talk while in the Chamber but jimminey, we can't all sit there like robots for hours on end. I made a big mistake last night because I should have walked out along with Mark and for that I apologize. One of the residents next to me was videoing-- so much of this will be uploaded to You-Tube and you will see many of the highlights in action.

For some reason the city manager took it upon herself to change the hours of downtown parking from 4 hours on the street to 2 hours even going to far as to have information printed, signs changed and tires marked. This never came before the commission. There was never any public input. The businesses were never approached for an opinion. Other than Maxwell, no one else on the dais saw or expressed an opinion as to how outrageous this all was. If one of you had an employee who took it upon himself to 1) change policy and 2) spend your money without your knowledge, do you think he would just get a little pat on the wrist? Even the pat did not happen from this Commission.

The big complaint was that some stores parked all day in front of their establishment. So? If any business owner is that stupid, so be it. For the most part, everyone wanted the 4 hour rule enforced, something we have not done in the past. As I stated last night, we have so many humongous problems within our city, why mess up something that has worked? Why go to this extreme for the possible parking overtime revenue? Angering residents is part of the culture at City Hall.

Today I will be in a mitigation at City Hall for probably most of the day regarding Sunset, thus the rush to get this up. Yes, after 6 years, Sunset has not yet set. There are forces out there that still want to screw up this lovely single family neighborhood. There is a belief that if you own a property you should be allowed to build anything you please on it even if it is against our zoning and land-use codes.