Storytime - "The Tale of your Trail"

In light of the last post, it got me thinking about my move to Florida from Michigan and my eventual (inevitable?) landing in Lake Worth, the hows and whys, etc. I don't think I can completely wrap my mind around the last sentence of the article by M. Craig Barnes yet. That being: "...the right place isn'’t something you choose, but a place that chooses you, molds you, and tells you who you are." But, maybe if I re-trace my tracks and the events that led to today, maybe the answer will reveal itself.

I will try to make this the "Reader's Digest" version - both in content and brevity - and I encourage you to chime in with the "Tale of your Trail" in the comments section. Please, if this bores you, don't be afraid to hit the "snooze" button and wait for the next post. :)

In 1989, I was "over" Michigan. I worked for the City of East Lansing in the Planning Department. It really was my first exposure to zoning and working in a municipal setting. It was interesting, for the most part, and I worked with a very professional group of people, but it was too familiar to me - I had grown up in the area and was aching for something different. But, for me it was more related to a new job - anywhere else but there. I happened to be in a relationship at the time and my partner begged to move somewhere that was warm and had beaches. So, that year I went to the American Planning Association conference in Atlanta. Interviewed with about 5 different governmental entities, got some offers and accepted a job with the City of West Palm Beach. Compared to the other city's, at the time West Palm Beach offered the best compensation -although less than what I was making in Michigan - over the others and I couldn't help be entranced by the location - part of a large and growing metropolitan area, tropical and on the ocean (at least from a Midwestern point-of-view). Somehow, I just knew it would be a good investment in my future - errr, I should say "our" future.

I sold my house, found a newer apartment in the Westgate area and began work in WPB. My partner joined me once the house closed. In 1989, all the municipalities were working on their comprehensive plans in order to meet the "Rule 9.J.5" requirements related to concurrency (mandating the public facilities be in place at the time of the impacts of development). Busy time and I really was energized by the whole process. I also reveled in the diversity of South Florida - different cultures, loved the sun and the tropical breeze. Unfortunately, the joy I experienced with the move was not shared by my partner. I guess that is called being geographically incompatible. But, the important note here is that I would not have moved to this particular area if it wasn't for his push for a warmer climate. Everything has a purpose.

I ended up moving from the initial apartment to a house on Churchill road in the southern part of West Palm Beach. I lived in a room within this rambling 1920s era Mission-style house, complete with a courtyard, roof-top sun deck, pecky cypress everywhere. Really a cool house. I always gravitate towards the unique and the historic and detest the banality of "suburbia" for all kinds of reasons - dislike "malls", etc. and the neighborhood fit the bill. Its proximity to the water was a plus too. I also don't like being "wedded" to my car seat and like to live near work, etc. This is the time when Lake Worth first entered by radar screen as a potential place to live.

Moved from there to a couple blocks further north in WPB and lived in a garage apartment for a while. My landlord, who lived in the main house, owned other properties with many being in Lake Worth. He was from Washington, D.C. and benefited from wise investing in the DuPont Circle area the decade before. He always said that the same thing was bound to happen in Lake Worth. It would eventually be discovered, renovated and be known as a funky, quirky place.

Jump to the present: It turns out that I happened to bump into him last week in front of the Post Office downtown and he has sold most of his properties in LW now. He is frustrated about the rising taxes and how the rent from his properties can barely cover the burden. He is also frustrated by the City's inattention to basic neighborhood issues - street lighting and sidewalks being at the forefront. He has properties on South J Street near the downtown. The people that live there love to go downtown to the restaurants, Friday on the Avenues, etc. but they are frustrated because they feel that they have to drive (all of six blocks) due to inadequate street lighting along South J Street. His other property, I think he said along South D Street, had a whole section of sidewalk damaged by either an accident or weather, or a combination of both. I guess a whole section was missing. When he called Public Works, he was told "Oh, we don't fix those until someone files a lawsuit" - ARGHH! Can you believe that?!?!??

Anyway, back to our story...

So, my next move was to Lake Worth, this being 1992. I lived in a duplex on the 700 block of South H Street. Hardly the garden spot of the world back then, but it fit the bill for about 5 years. All my time there, the property to the south was this "bombed out" former lodge building (which is now converted to a church and came out rather well). In the parking lot adjacent to where I lived, there was an out building that housed an Ambulance dispatch office, complete with ambulances that would go out at all hours of the day or night, lights flashing - with a siren here or there for extra effect. Some previous "Organ of the City" approved this use for the property without any regard for the neighborhood around it - it was around this time that I started thinking about getting involved and using my planning experience to somehow better the conditions of the City. I must say that even though this area was notorious for crime, gunshots (we could hear them during the winter nights when the windows were open), prostitution, etc., we never had a break-in. When we did have someone "jump the fence" or there was "suspicious activity", we called the Police Department and they were always there in minutes - I think they appreciated the fact that we weren't adding to the problems of the area.

But on the good side, we were really close to downtown - loved to go to Rosie's for their lobster specials, went to the beach often, enjoyed the various events at Bryant Park, etc. Too scared to do much walking in the area, but I did ride my bike quite a bit during the daylight hours. It was while I lived here that I served on the City's Leisure Services Board - got to know Babara Aubel and Lynnette Romano, the Webbers, among others.

My next move was to First Avenue South, between L and M Streets - still renting and trying to save for a down payment on a house in LW. When I first moved in, the Baptist Church on M Street owned properties to the west of my place (still do, now a parking lot). Not more than a month after I moved in - I woke up one morning to the sound of a bulldozer knocking down both structures (prior to our historic district regulations) - one was chopped up former single family house, but it looked pretty intact and the other was more of a "boarding house" that was built right to the sidewalk - looked like it dated from the late 20s or 30s. Well, it turns out that those structures, since they were west of the place I lived in, used to block the western sun. With them gone, I then referred to my place as the "Vietnamese Hot-Box". Especially during the summer, the temperature would be over 90 inside. Due to the high electric rates, I left a smaller A/C on during the day (so the candles wouldn't melt) and turned the larger one on when I got home. It would take 6 hours for the place to cool down to the high 70s. And then the cycle would start over again the next day. I didn't like being in there a lot so I spent a lot of time downtown - Coffee Gallery, Club 502, Toojay's - went to the beach, rode my bike, worked like a dog. It was around this time that I was appointed as the last alternate to the Planning and Zoning Board.

It was then I started to panic (and not because I was appointed to the Planning Board - LOL). I saw what was happening to housing prices south of us and knew that the wave was moving north. Somehow I knew that if I didn't hop on the "equity train", I would be left in the dust. I started the search for a house in LW and remember being shown a lot of marginal properties. Finally, in the summer of 2000, I found my current residence and I really consider myself lucky. It is humbling to know now that if I were in the market now and had to re-buy this house, I couldn't afford it or the taxes or the insurance, etc. And I am sure that many people who read this draw the same conclusion. We really have to think about what this means for preservation of the LW way of life, if there is such a thing.

I've gone on too long. Now it's your turn.

"Political advertisement paid for and approved by Wes Blackman for Commissioner – District #3"