Sunday, June 7, 2009

The CRA Family Tree

Above is a chart that is included in the back-up information for the City Commission special meeting tomorrow evening re board appointments. It shows the history of appointments, length of terms, policy changes, etc. that resulted in the current situation. One of the more controversial matters regarding this series of board appointments and re-appointments is that a total of six of the seven seats are up on the CRA board - only Commissioner Ross would remain from the current group. We do have an explanation - maybe not the total "why" - but at least we know when the elimination of staggered terms, as required by state law, happened according to the explanation below.

Of course, staggered terms are in place to prevent a wholesale turn in direction of a board and support the concept of continuity in operation and programs. Recently, we on the CRA have been talking about budget priorities for the next fiscal year and the probable draconian cuts that will be necessary based upon the falling property tax valuations in the city, especially within the CRA district. We have asked ourselves how this discussion will be carried forward by a potentially "new" board. We shall see.

My interview for re-appointment happens to be at 6:10 p.m. tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

Click the title for a link to the complete back-up material with applications.

More sprawl feared in Legislature's bid to boost Florida economy

Good assessment of SB 360's impact to the State of Florida, this time from a Jacksonville perspective. This is a key point from the article:
...because older areas are often years behind on infrastructure upgrades and because downtown streets in particular are difficult to widen, the law effectively discouraged developers from building in urban areas or undertaking downtown redevelopment.

The new law would strip away those rules for most cities with more than 1,000 people per square mile, all counties with that population density and any counties with more than 1 million people.

Mosteller said that simply exacerbates the existing problem. Land still costs less in the rural areas of urban counties, she points out, but the transportation break is countywide.

"This bill has said sprawl is even cheaper," Mosteller said.

For Jacksonville, city leaders may need to come up with new incentives to encourage in-filling in urban areas and combat sprawl.

The moral of the story: In-fill redevelopment in cities like Lake Worth is a good thing environment-wise compared to the alternative sprawl pattern this bill encourages. It is selfish in terms of land use not to act on this principle.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Tropical. Ridge Neighborhood Association - Crime Walk | June 5, 2009

This evening, June 5th at 6:00pm, the Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association will be meeting at the First Church of the Nazarene, located at 1422 Lucerne Avenue for a Crime Prevention Walk. We will be spending approximately one hour walking the streets of our neighborhood meeting neighbors, promoting association activities and making our presence known to the community.
There will be deputies from the PBSO that will be accompanying us on our walk. Please come out to show your support for our association and to make it clear that the residence of Tropical Ridge are caring, thoughtful and will not tolerate crime and blight.
For more information regarding upcoming TRNA events please visit www.tropicalridge.org.
Upcoming Events
- ROLOH Crime Walk – June 15th – 6:30pm – West end of Collier at Lake Osborne
- Vegetation Amnesty – June 15th-19th – Hurricane preparedness
- Security Expo – June 20th – 12:00-4:00pm – First Church of the Nazarene
- Raft Race - July 4th – Please volunteer to row!

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Wisdom of Buddha

"Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared."

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

DCA Hosting Two Events to Explain Impacts of SB 360

June 12 Virtual Forum with DCA Secretary Tom Pelham on Senate Bill 360

The Florida Department of Community Affairs will host an on-line event on June 12, 10:00 AM – Noon on the subject of Senate Bill 360, which became law on June 1, 2009.
· The program will focus primarily on the provisions of SB 360 relating to transportation concurrency and how these provisions affect local governments.
· The Secretary will present remarks and information about the new law, including DCA's interpretation and implementation plans.
· The floor will then be opened to questions from statewide participants.
· Questions may be submitted in advance of the event on-line or by email, through June 11. Questions may then be submitted live on-line.
· The event is free to the public and advance registration is encouraged but not required.
· Those who wish to listen in by phone rather than taking part on-line may do so as well. Speaker phones and cell phones are permitted.
To register for this timely event, go to: http://www.dcatechnicalassistance.com/Event_and_Replays.html. There you also will find an on-demand replay of the Secretary’s May 21 virtual forum on planning and growth management.

The registration link provides the opportunity to submit your questions early and to access information on the phone-in option. In addition, you will receive an automatic reminder by registering in advance.

Mark your calendars and register now to be a part of this important event on legislation affecting Florida communities.

June 25-26 DCA Growth Management Implementation Workshop

DCA is holding its 2009 Growth Management Implementation Workshop on June 25-26 at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, and will include information on how the agency will implement the provisions of SB 360. The cost is $115. For more information regarding the workshop or to register, please visit http://www.dca.state.fl.us
and click on the registration tab under the "Spotlight" header. AICP (10 hours), PE (12 hours) and CLE (hours TBD) continuing education credits have been applied for with the respective associations. Approval is expected prior to the workshop.

ALL TIME RECORD DAY! Thanks for visiting!!

Link to Neat Piece on Lake Worth Bike Night - thanks Adam!

Lake Worth moves ahead with water treatment plant

From last night's meeting, click for link to PB Post article. This from the article:
On Tuesday, commissioners deadlocked 2-2 on a recommendation that the city spend $510,000 to buy supplemental drinking water from West Palm Beach through Sept. 30. After much discussion, commissioners agreed 3-1, with Retha Lowe dissenting, to buy supplemental drinking water from Palm Beach County and West Palm for the next week.
Are we buying water from the County and West Palm from week to week? What level of insanity have we reached?

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

The 1939 World's Fair - GM's Futurama Vision of 1960

This is a re-post from about this time last year. I thought I'd bring it to the front in light of GM declaring bankruptcy yesterday. In many ways, I see this as a turning point that moves us further away from the single passenger automobile as the primary mode of transit - one step on a very long road. These snippets from GM's Futurama remind us of what the auto companies' vision for land use was. A scary vision in retrospect.

Fascinating look back at what the future looked like almost 70 years ago. Many of the themes and paradigms shown here helped to shape the post World War II United States. Oh, but for the unintended consequences! I found these fascinating.

Part 1:


Part 2:


The hyperbole is so thick towards the end of the Part 2 you might need an air sickness bag. These really represented GM's vision of the future - traffic first, tons of their cars on the road, etc. Separation of industrial, commercial and residential uses for efficiency - yeah, get in that GM car and drive to each one rather than park and walk or bike or take mass transit anywhere.

Click here for a brief background on Alfred P. Sloan - GM's Chairman of the Board at the time. Click here for more information on the elimination of the streetcar nationwide and GM's likely role in it.

What's done is done. What this shows is that land use decisions that discourage the use of the automobile and encourage other modes of transit are the way of our future. We have a long way to go to make up for the sins of the past.

What do you think? Think of the ubiquitous role the automobile has played in the growth and development of our nation. Think about its role in the laying out of all of the post World War II subdivisions and its contribution to urban sprawl development patterns. Think about the current "echo" energy crisis and the $4.00 + we are paying for gasoline. Think about how Lake Worth can lead in the turning of the tide against the automobile. Think about our future 20 years from today.

EDITORIAL: The governor can't hide

Click title for link to PB Post editorial on Governor Crist signing SB 360 which would severely weaken growth management laws in the state of Florida. From the opinion:
Supporters say that Senate Bill 360 will improve the state's growth management efforts by removing unnecessary restrictions in urban areas. But the bill creates a ridiculous definition of "urban area." Tiny towns, such as 400-person Briny Breezes, qualify. So would rural areas along State Road 7. In all, eight counties and 245 cities qualify, including all cities in Palm Beach County along with Stuart, Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie on the Treasure Coast.
This is the worst part of the legislation - including a very liberal interpretation of what are considered "in fill" areas. We should be promoting in-fill development, but rural areas have no place in this legislation. Elimination of the Development of Regional Impact process is another major problem. Even though I am against the enactment of this legislation, I am sure that a certain "Princess and the Pea" blogger will find somehow to make it seem like I endorse it. So it goes.

Too bad for the future of the state of Florida.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Grant

The above was in an e-mail from the city's grant writer that was sent to the Commission, most senior staff and others. It introduced a fairly open-ended grant program that is funded with Federal Economic Stimulus dollars. You can read about the specifics if you wish by clicking the title to this post. This is potentially a BIG money grant that perhaps could be used to re-establish our trolley system or another imaginative transportation-related program in the city. The deadline is September of this year. Is anyone going to bite on this?

This is a section on grant programs from the city manager's report that's part of the agenda for this week's City Commission meeting.

I guess responsibility for grants will be going to the Assistant City Manager for coordination. Hmmmm.

Can we please make an attempt at additional grant money? The grant application would essentially write itself given our profound needs.

Tax rate/ increment calculation for CRA budget given revised (lowered) taxable value...

From Joan Oliva today to CRA members:

CRA Board Members,

Many of you have seen the recent headlines whereby the Property Appraiser has indicated a significant loss in values in the City. The CRA is predicted to have an even higher loss. As you can see from the calculation below, our increment dropped from $411 M to $254 M – a loss of 38%. New construction taxable value was less than $10M.

CRA - Current Year Increment Value $ 254,995,256

" - 2008 Actual Increment 411,323,015

Decline in CRA Tax Increment 156,327,759

Percentage Decrease =38%

This significant decrease in value, coupled with the City’s lower millage rate due to the County Fire Rescue merger, lessens our TIF revenues by almost 50% compared to last fiscal year. In 08/09, the CRA received $4.3M from both the County and the City in TIF. This year, that number will drop to approx. $2.2M.

We anticipate the City will report a tentative millage rate to the County before the end of July. Communication between the CRA and the City will be vital as we prepare our 09/10 budget. The availability of any supplement will determine the future of many CRA projects and programs.

I look forward to working with you all.

Joan

Robin McGehee's Msg to President Obama - "Show Me You Have The Courage"


Robin McGehee was forced to resign from her position as President of a P.T.A. board after she attended a "No on 8" rally. This rally was in Fresno, California this past weekend after the California Supreme Court's ruling to uphold Proposition 8 which banned marriage between same sex couples.

Live near an abandoned home with dangerous debris? If hurricane threatens, call your city

Click title for link to Sun Sentinel story. Today marks the first day of hurricane season. Here is an excerpt from the article regarding hazards and remedies for unkempt, vacant and foreclosed properties:
There aren't a lot of options for homeowners in this situation beyond relying on local code enforcement departments.

Municipalities discourage civilians from entering private property because to do so violates trespass law. Inspectors have to respect that restriction too, and are limited to taking action on what can be seen from a yard's border. But if a place is unsafe, officials can inspect and secure a property immediately. They also use code enforcement boards, special masters or magistrates or the courts to levy liens and pressure an owner, if one can be found, to clean up a site.
Can we rely on the city of Lake Worth to do this?

2009 America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places



A little more on Miami Marine Stadium...