Commissioners Hal Valeche and Steve Abrams did nothing wrong

There was a short item in the Palm Beach Post yesterday (in the online edition) about the Double D Ranch on Southern Boulevard out west past the Turnpike. For those of you unfamiliar, this topic is a hot one in that area of the county. The Double D Ranch is going to be a strip club and it was permitted in 2001. Yesterday the Post reported on the 're-review' of the permitting process after a public outcry and the result is still the same, the project can proceed. Wayne Washington of the Post writes this:

Palm Beach County found no irregularities or discrepancies in what staff members called a “re-review” of the permitting of a strip club now being built on Southern Blvd. west of the Florida Turnpike.

The review, conducted in December at the behest of a county resident opposed to construction of the Double D Ranch and Saloon, confirmed what staff members have told county commissioners — that there is nothing they can do to stop the project, which has generated fierce opposition.

On December 5, 2014, Post reporter Chris Persaud along with Wayne Washington wrote this article about the Double D Saloon controversy, titled: Abrams, Valeche accepted donations from strip club manager

From the article:

Two Palm Beach County commissioners — Hal Valeche and Steven Abrams — PREVIOUSLY [emphasis added] accepted campaign contributions from the man behind the Double D strip club, whose construction along Southern Boulevard west of Florida’s Turnpike has generated fierce opposition from western communities’ residents.

A full eight paragraphs later in the article, Mr. Persaud and Mr. Washington write this:

The permit to build the Double D was issued in 2001, long before either Valeche or Abrams won a seat on the county commission. [emphasis added]

Some day in the near future, I will go out and take some pictures of this location for my readers, for perspective. Zoning issues can be very complex, but in this case the zoning process was fairly simple and straightforward. Without any churches, schools, parks, and other strip clubs nearby you simply cannot deny a project because people don't want it there. Zoning laws serve a real purpose and if someone follows the rules and goes through the process in good faith they have the right to proceed regardless of the public's displeasure. This falls under the First Amendment freedom of speech and expression provisions of the Constitution.