RE-POST: More copies of what is being distributed through our fair city...

Since everyone seems to have acquired AMNESIA, I thought that I would repost items related to the "We Love Lake Worth" campaign throughout the day.  This is the door-to-door signature gathering campaign that ended up being headed up by our current District #2 City Commissioner Christopher McVoy.  The petition campaign was designed to repeal the land use and zoning on the beach property - the same Beach and Casino land use and zoning district that is being used for the current beach project.  As you will read below, this campaign had more to do with a power grab and misinformation than anything else.  Pictures I will post later show people wearing "NO Beach Lease."  Well, ladies and gentleman, these ordinances had nothing to do with a beach lease.  They are meant to correct an over-sight in the former land use and zoning designation for the beach.  This did not end well as the city sued Christopher McVoy and others related to the effort, the suit was later dropped and nothing came of the petitions - even though the PEOPLE who signed them were made to believe otherwise.


No - this was more about rallying the troops, voter identification and spreading lies than anything else - setting them up for the next election.  No wonder people want to forget it ever happened.


The following post is from June 2007.

 Here are the two other petitions authored by We Love Lake Worth, Inc. I happened to be in City Hall this afternoon at the Department of Environmental Protection public hearing on the issuance of the outfall permit for the Reverse Osmosis Plant. I left the meeting to head downstairs to the City Clerk's office.

I chatted with Pam Lopez and asked for copies of these. She said that she thought there were probably changes made after she met with whoever from the group that authored this. So, these may not contain the actual wording of those petitions going to your neighbor's door.

The one that I posted first related to the reconsideration and referendum to repeal the land use designation category "Beach and Casino". Sorry that the following are in reverse order below (it's hard to drag these images around once they're uploaded, so you gotta kind of take what you can get), but there are two petitions here that ask for the Commission to reconsider their decision on the change of the land use designation of Beach and Casino (Ord. 2007-10) and the decision on rezoning the beach property to Beach and Casino zoning district (Ord. 2007-20).

Remember that the two ordinances/petitions relating to the land use designation recognize already existing land uses present at the beach. We have always had commercial uses at the beach in the casino building. Passing these really just affirms what is there and we recognize the likelihood of that continuing in the future.

The accompanying ordinances are unsigned, but other than that they are identical in wording to what was passed. Supposedly the ones that are being peddled door to door have copies of the official documents. Also notice the received stamps dated June 7th with Pam Lopez' initials - on that date they became a public document. The "press conference" was held on June 12th, on public property, at the steps of City Hall. That is when the "We Love Lake Worth" people claimed the petitions were personal private property. Go figure.

What are they hiding?

These are public documents and should be treated as such. Any claim by those that carry these that they are somehow not available for viewing is a spurious claim. Politely challenge those that insist otherwise!

Petition re Ord. 2007-20 (click on image for greater detail)

Petition re Ord. 2007-10

Now, a couple of other things to consider. I am all for petitioning one's government, gathering signatures and getting an item or items on the ballot. However, I dare say that the same people that are distributing these petitions might have been collecting signatures for the repeal of the Sunset Drive zoning and land use decision. Now, you will recall that upon collection of those signatures and delivering them to the City, they were turned around at the door due to a State of Florida law regarding the inability of appeal of a land use or zoning petition in the form of a referendum. I think that will still be an issue here with these series of petitions. So, I hope that the organized group behind this effort realizes that in advance. There is a lawsuit regarding the Sunset Drive petition currently winding its way through the court, but I hear nothing is currently happening with it. I guess the plaintiffs may be occupied with other things, perhaps saving their money or perhaps realize their chances are small at getting it reversed. Who knows?

I also have it on good authority that there is great misinformation being delivered to doorsteps throughout Lake Worth. One instance included a discussion on the lack of windows on the east side of the Lucerne building downtown and how somehow that meant that the Library was coming down and the Lucerne expanded. It was suggested that with the signing of these petitions, that somehow that possibility would be eliminated.

A little explanation is needed regarding the Lucerne and the lack of windows on the east side of the building. When I was on the Planning and Zoning Board, the plans that we approved had real windows on the east side of the building (by the way, the building also had a public parking garage as part of it which was the determining factor in my vote recommending approval for the project). As the project wound its way through the building permit review process, the windows were eliminated due to provisions in the building code related to proximity of adjacent structures - existing or future. The Library is a contributing building in the Old Town Historic District and is protected as such. There is no plan to expand the Lucerne to the east and the library building is safe. In fact, I think we should put it forward as a National Historic Landmark (which really would not offer additional protections), but would honor it for being the important public building that it is.

So, you say, "Hey Wes, this was about the beach, why did you spend a paragraph talking about how the library is not threatened by demolition?" Well, I say back to you that I felt I had to since this is what is being talked about when the doorbell rings and signatures are being gathered for these petitions.

And that's where petitioning and signature gathering as practiced here in Lake Worth does a disservice to those people signing the petitions, to the City and its future and to the integrity of the process.

What this allows is a SPECIAL INTEREST group to seize this method so that they can ultimately and eventually get their way at the detriment of the City's long term interest, let alone not basing their appeal on the truth and the real subject matter.

So, here are the petitions. Their legal validity will likely be questioned. The real reason people are signing these may remain a mystery, except for those wielding words at the door.

BEWARE!