Lake Worth leaders puzzle over fixes to fallen property values

Click title for link to Palm Beach Post article.  No where is mention made of the enormous amount of vacant and fallow property throughout the city - or our vacant downtown storefronts.  Seven years ago we started a Master Plan/Visioning process that the city spent over $1 million, oodles of staff and volunteer board review, only to have it hi-jacked by "Just Say No" Commissioners Jennings, Golden and Mulvehill.  They led the charge for a "low rise city" that provides no incentive for redevelopment along our major transportation corridors.

We still do not have a working set of land development regulations (zoning code) that is based upon the Master Plan effort.  What would someone refer to if they wanted to redevelop anything or invest in property?

Meanwhile, we keep driving for basic goods and services outside of our city's borders - using the same oil that is spewing in the Gulf of Mexico in our single passenger motor vehicles - and we do the same in terms of exporting people in cars so that they can work in other places.  This is not a "green footprint" for a city - something that many in the city seem deluded into thinking Lake Worth has.

Under the "I want to..." tab on the city's website is a link under "Learn about business development" which then leads to a pdf document "Incentives for Opening or Expanding a Business in Lake Worth."   There we learn that the city has certain targeted industries:

• Clean/alternative energy, research and manufacturing;
• Aviation/Aerospace Engineering
• Communications/Information Technology;
• Business and Financial Services (non-retail);
• Education and business incubator programs related to the above industry clusters.

 When were these decided upon and by whom?  How are we promoting the city of Lake Worth to these industries?  Of all the links provided, none is to the city's own CRA website.  Hmmm.

And then we say that the only area for development is the Lake Worth Park of Commerce - which is undergoing a study right now about long term infrastructure needs and really is not "ripe" yet for anyone large employer to take as a serious location alternative.  It also says that zoning density "increases" may be offered.  Really?  And if you aren't part of an industry on this list, would you get a return phone call?  Or even if you were?

Examples like this do nothing to entice anyone that Lake Worth is to be taken seriously as a redevelopment location.  Unfortunately, those private commercial interests will continue to choose other locations that are not as environmentally kind as our vacant and underutilized land in Lake Worth.

Ideally, we could take the lead in promoting redevelopment and advocating at every turn that the County enforce its Urban Service Area Boundary.  Until then, we will be red-lined by the investment community as a city of "no" with a drastically sinking tax base that cannot support basic municipal services.