Public Right-of-Way case in Lake Worth

One way to get rid of a law suit--you just don't respond.

This is a case that has been on-going since November 2009 when suit was filed by Nancy Shepherd vs. the City of Lake Worth, Nancy Shepherd demanded that the City of Lake Worth give her (for $10) the right-of-way next to her house, property referred to as a "pocket park." See Suit

Nothing has been done in this case since October 2013...8 months ago. If you look at the case, the City of Lake Worth has never filed the names of any new attorneys on the case. Elaine Humphreys and Jean Middleton are still the attorneys of record and they have been gone for years.

The City has no right to deed over rights-of-way to any city property for any amount of money, IMO. So, what has happened in this case?  Is it over?  Does the city still own the right-of-way?  Is the case still being dragged out? Does the City still maintain this right-of-way? As we have heard nothing from the city regarding this, can we assume that the case is dead?

Filing Date:	21-OCT-2013
Filing Party:
Disposition Amount:
Docket Text:	NOTICE OF SERVING DEFENDANT'S RESPONSE TO PLAINTIFF'S SECOND REOUEST FOR ADMISSIONS

Pocket Parks - City Rights of Way

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Because of the constant turn-over in our city of elected officials and staff, major issues and even law suits fall through the cracks. What ever happened to the public rights of way of nearly 5 years ago where certain owners on the Intracoastal Waterway believed that they should own public property, the pocket parks adjacent to their houses. They wanted to grab city owned land and claim it as their own.

Commissions changed and politics being what it is, allowed this to "go away." These rights of way belong to the City and this issue needs to be re-visited. There are six blogs on this issue (LABELS Pocket Parks)--here are three of them.

Nancy Shepherd vs. the City of Lake Worth. This case was originally filed on November 9, 2009 and is still opened to this day. The City of Lake Worth has never filed the names of any new attorneys on the case. Elaine Humphreys and Jean Middleton are still the attorneys of record. There is no reason why a case of "grabbing public property" should be going on for 4 years.

Pocket Parks, city Rights of Way

Pocket Parks Again

Pocket Parks - City Rights of Way

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"Pocket Park"
730 S. Lakeside & 806 S. Lakeside

During the Rodney Romano administration back in 1996, the City entered into a Revocable Permit for 20 years with James A. Hardin and Eleanor T. Hardin for the exclusive use of the north 20 feet of the City’s right-of-way of 8th Avenue South, east of South Lakeside Drive at their property located at 806 South Lakeside Drive. The Permits said that it could not be assigned, sublet, transferred, mortgaged, pledged or disposed by the Hardins without the City’s prior written approval.

The City got into a lot of these tricky public rights of way back then, giving away public land to private property owners with other residents just grabbing the rights of way next to their property without a permit. In fact, some owners want to believe that the City abandoned these rights of ways in order to claim the property as their own. We are still involved in one law suit by the Shepherds.

Back in January 2010, the Palm beach Post agreed with Vice Mayor Suzanne Mulvehill that the public owns these properties that have been taken over by owners without Revocable Permits. One such case of a right of way on Notre Dame Drive is still in a law suit.

The same situation occurred with Wolfgang F. Baere and Karen E. Baere who lived at 730 S. Lakeside Drive for the exclusive use of the City’s right-of-way along the south side of 8th Avenue South, east of South Lakeside Drive, upon the same conditions as set out in the Hardins’ Revocable Permit.

Now it seems both properties are in jeopardy of losing their permit because this year the Hardins conveyed their property to a Living Trust and forgot to include the Revocable Permit and forgot to get the City's permission to transfer the permit. Last year, the Baeres, owners of 730 S. Lakeside, sold their property to the Tyrrells and failed to ask for a transfer from the City of those right-of-ways to the new owners.

Both owners of these properties must now, upon the City giving ten (10) days written notice to them, cancel or terminate this permit. Upon such cancellation the Hardins and the Tyrrells must surrender the property back to the City and deliver the property “free of any wall, fence, or other like fixtures or improvements.” Article X of the Revocable Permit.

This is on tonight's agenda under New Business A.

"Pocket Parks" again

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James Kelly speaks out on public right-of-way land citing "security" as the problem.

He mentions some guy walking through the "pocket park" and unleashing his two pit bulls while the dog owner was drinking a beer. Jim, why didn't you call the police? What this guy did on both counts is against the law. If the guy was walking his dog, it was probably a neighbor.

The rights of way will be maintained as before. Nothing will be different. To even think of launching kayaks there is not a viable option and certainly environmentally unfriendly. These "parks" should remain exactly as they always have, for public access and owned by the City, not private homeowners. They will not be any more of a security issue than they ever have been.

Commissioner Mulvehill is looking after the rights of all Lake Worth citizens, not the few.

Nancy R. Shepherd vs. City of Lake Worth

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Right-Of-Way at end of Wellesley Drive

Nancy Shepherd, married to Dan Shepherd, former Commissioner City of Lake Worth, and who resides at 1902 Notre Dame Drive, sued the City on November 9th for the right-of-way property adjacent to her property at the end of Wellesley Drive. The dispute is simple--Shepherd says that she owns the property because the City

1. has never accepted the dedication of the Unimproved Property
2. has never improved or used the unimproved property as a street or road
3. She has filed a Notice of Withdrawal of Offer to Dedicate the Unimproved Property
4. any interest in the property has been abandoned by the City

She wants the City to quiet title to her for $10 because she says that as a matter of law, the City has no right to it and she owns it. What prompted the lawsuit was the day Joe Kroll tried to deliver a picnic table to the property. One of Shepherd's neighbors had asked one of our commissioners for the table. On the day that Joe Kroll tried to install the picnic table, he was confronted by Shepherd. Kroll was asked by whose authority he was doing this and when told it was one of our elected officials, Shepherd then said that no commissioner had the right. Subsequently a law suit was filed.

The city responded to Shepherd's complaint on November 30^th and has said that Ms. Shepherd has failed to state a cause of action and jurisdiction over the property in question and wants the complaint denied by the Court.

According to a local Realtor, the property in question is worth $6,000 dollars a linear foot. In 2006, when property values were high, it was selling for $10,000 a linear foot. Therefore, that particular piece of property is worth an estimated $240,000. The Shepherds want it for ten dollars.

End of Wellesley a fisherman enjoys the ambiance

Neighbors can stroll down the City's right-of-way and fish, sit and watch the sunrise or just relax and enjoy the beautiful Intra-Coastal Waterway.

Mayor Varela's position on "pocket parks"--

I have been fighting Commissioner Mullvehill's plan to create pocket parks out of abandoned right of ways on the water. We need to maximize the use of our ample waterfront park space to get more people to use those parks and the actual water itself. If It can be shown to me that we have a need for even more access to the water, then I might be swayed. As it stands now, the waterfront right of ways need to be maintained by the residents as a security buffer, saving the city money and giving responsible residents peace of mind.

Best,

Rene'

Please note that the Varela statement was sent in an e-mail during the campaign as a paid political advertisement.

Pulse of the People

Palm Beach Post Opinion

Mr. McNamara has lived in the city longer and has a good record of involvement. The Post has agreed with him, as when he opposed the sale of Old Bridge Park to a developer.

Now and then the Post will say something that makes sense regarding Lake Worth and its people. It is rare but it when it does I feel it only fair to mention it. They know they are wrong on this Mayoral endorsement and now are using words like "silly" in their defense of dolphin trafficking. I bet the dolphins don't think it silly.

Did you know that a good percentage of Varela supporters still complain, to this day, that a highrise condo was not allowed to be built at Old Bridge Park...that the City was not allowed to "give-away" public land? They belittle his Old Bridge Park Celebration every year for the past 5 years because they lost at the polls. The citizens here were smarter than they. They still are in bed with developers and those politicians involved with them. They are looking to get back the power and have now used Varela to do it and Varela has used them for his political ambition. They know that a vote for McNamara will be a vote for HONEST government. They know that a vote for McNamara will mean no more public land give-aways. Varela wants to do that right now with the waterfront pocket-parks.

This is what Rene has to say about pocket parks--

I have been fighting Commissioner Mullvehill's plan to create pocket parks out of abandoned right of ways on the water. We need to maximize the use of our ample waterfront park space to get more people to use those parks and the actually water itself. If It can be shown to me that we have a need for even more access to the water, then I might be swayed. As it stands now, the waterfront right of ways need to be maintained by the residents as a security buffer, saving the city money and giving responsible residents peace of mind.

Best,

Rene'

Varela will say anything to anyone to get the vote. "I didn't take a penny....."

We, the people, voted on a referendum to save public land for the public and won with 60% of the vote. This referendum was spearheaded by Laurence McNamara. He is the one who listens to all of the people not just some of the people some of the time. He is the one who understands the perceptible underlying feelings of the Lake Worth residents by being totally involved in Lake Worth. He has the pulse of its citizens, not the pulse of developer backed residents with the money who are out for themselves--the power grab bunch. You remember them.

On "Pocket Parks"

I did not stay for the segment on "pocket parks" at the public workshop on Tuesday but I am in total agreement with Commissioner Mulvehill in protecting and preserving these public lands for the citizens of Lake Worth.

The political battle is that those living on the Intracoastal Waterway, or in those neighborhoods, do not want anyone who is walking on city property walking too close to their private property. They believe that only criminals will use these "pocket parks" and therefore, they say, their property or welfare will be in jeopardy. This is a public right of way that must be maintained as any other area in our city with the same amount of safety patrols. The question was asked of the candidates in one of the recent Forums.

I was talking to a citizen this morning that called me and stated that Commissioner Mulvehill was wrong. He equated it to the same thing as negotiating for decal parking spaces at our beach after taking County money. I do not see the correlation here and therefore do not understand the argument as only City money will be used toward the parking for residents with permits, not the County's. It is OUR beach.

The beach, as do the "pocket parks," belongs to the taxpayers of Lake Worth. It is all the taxpayers who maintain both and the city is responsible for that maintenance. The $5 million dollar bond money that was allocated to the City of Lake Worth for our beach is our money. We have been paying on this since 2002. It is about time that the County pays off. And we finally have a site plan that we will submit.

The caller reminded me that it was they who live in these areas who pay the majority of the taxes, a reason I guess for not allowing public access. I really was stunned by this argument. Because someone can afford an expensive home, lives better than most people in the United States, does not give them any more justification to grab public land for their own private use with some flimsy excuse of safety. Has anyone bothered to ask the public at large?

All dead end rights of way were designated in 1982 as mini-parks. These are public rights of way that belong to ALL the citizens of Lake Worth, not just to the wealthy few.

Candidate for Mayor, Bill Coakley says, "If it's public property, it's public property. We can't restrict some public property and not others. We need to have a consensus from the greater public and let them listen to the neighborhood concerns. The Democracy Project on my web site is a perfect tool."

Laurence McNamara, candidate for Mayor says, "Any waterfront access that is now public needs to remain public."