I was hoping to have time to talk to you as a fellow professional planner - I've attached my resume so that you can see my background if you didn't know it from before. I remember attending the Advancing Regional Equity conference with you in Philadelphia and a group of other people from Lake Worth in 2005. I happened to be chair of the Planning and Zoning Board at the time - the trip was paid for by the CRA. I still have my notes from the conference, if you're interested, but if memory serves me correctly, it examined ways in which to plan for a more egalitarian distribution of income structure throughout a metropolitan area with an eye towards providing adequate public services and basic human needs to areas of very low and low income persons.
What concerns me about the current majority of the dais, who are actively supporting your campaign, is that they feel it is necessary to target very low and low income households to come to Lake Worth - increasing the concentration of those households in our city which is already handicapped by limited resources that cannot meet the current needs of these populations. You should check out the Palm Beach County Children Services Council website and look at the scorecard for various zip codes in Palm Beach County. You will find that the 33460 zip code has 15 of 17 factors contributing to at-risk youth - the most of any zip code in the county.
Over the past four years, the majority of the Commission, who supports your campaign, has presided over the greatest decrease of property values in Palm Beach County in relation to the 37 other municipalities and the unincorporated area of the county. You cannot help poor people by getting poorer. Your supporters seem not to realize that. They seem to have found a way to discourage investment in our city in overt and covert ways.
For example, just yesterday, I received an e-mail from a planning colleague of mine, who asked about the availability of a current zoning map for Lake Worth. He came to me since he knew about my longtime involvement and interest in the city. He included a 2005 version of the city's zoning map and wondered if that was the most current. I told him that it probably was and it does not reflect the changes made in the Future Land Use Map that was approved in 2008 as part of the EAR-amended Comprehensive Plan. I pointed out the new height restriction table in the Comp Plan and told him that there are zoning districts there that have not yet been created since the re-writing of the LDRs (zoning code) is still on-going.
My professional friend's assignment was to survey Palm Beach County municipal locations for an out-of-state client that is looking to establish a presence in the area. With the disconnect between the zoning code and Comp Plan, people and institutions with money to invest will go to one of the other municipalities that don't have these inconsistencies or complications - or the history of political divisiveness that we seem to be known for.
You might recall, with the constant and repeated lobbying of those in power at the time by your friend and mine, Tom Bott, the city embarked on a visioning and master planning process some 7 years ago now in an effort to address long standing inconsistencies between our zoning code and Comprehensive Plan - which would result in a new set of both documents. This effort ended up costing well over $1 million and what we have to show for it is a long-delayed Comp Plan, finally in compliance only earlier this year, with no corresponding zoning code. The big hang-up now seems to be that there is not a strike-through and underlined version of a draft - this due to the wholesale re-working of the zoning code to make it user-friendly. The long and short of it is that this situation amounts to a de-facto moratorium and that seems to suit your supporters on the dais just fine. By the way, my last meeting as a member of the Planning and Zoning Board was December 2006 - we were meeting every week at the time to address this issue along with handling current cases. There has been a lot of turnover in the director position - William Waters now seems to have a better handle on things than most - if he stays.
Regarding the beach, Commissioner Mulvehill, one of your supporters, was elected on the premise that the casino building would be saved and rehabilitated, if not "restored." Likewise, REG Architects was hired under the same premise. It was also done with the expectation that many green building features would be incorporated into the final building. Looking at the DEMOLITION plans as part of the project, nearly all the building is being demolished and the favorite anchor tenant (John G's) has left and is not coming back - despite promises from your supporter, Commissioner Mulvehill. It is also my understanding that nearly all the green building features are being value-engineered out of the project now in order to stay under the guaranteed maximum price through Morganti. There is no representation of these facts coming from the City Commission - the majority that supports you - or the city administration. It's time people start telling it like it is - if you are supported by people that continue to perpetuate myths, why are we to think you would be any different?
Your heralded return to Lake Worth as documented by the Palm Beach Post in February makes one scratch one's head. Why would one person who lived here for such a short time need a fluff piece announcing their triumphant return to Lake Worth and the fact that you were appointed to a board created by one of your dais supporters, Commissioner Mulvehill. Your endorsement by the Palm Beach Post, four months later makes people go "Hmmmm."
Congratulations on your endorsement by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Voters Alliance. I am not sure why you weren't endorsed by them for the special election and they chose Lisa Maxwell as their endorsement before, but that is their business. I have been endorsed by that organization the two times that I ran for a Commission seat. I would note that each time that I ran, I was open about being a gay man and have been out for too many years to remember. I do know that many of your supporters found it very convenient to mention that at doors during the two campaigns that I was running - this I heard from many friends that were visited by people who support you and are campaigning for you now.
I respect your background, but your associations and itinerant history concern me. What I think we need on the dais is a bit of a 3 and a half month "SHOCK" treatment and I think Tom Ramiccio would fit that bill the best. I am not at all sure that the city needs him in place for a longer term, but the chemistry on the dais would beat any primetime entertainment offering for sure. That's why I am supporting him in this run-off election. It is also consistent with Lisa Maxwell's direction to her supporters and I count her as a good friend.
Best of luck and may the better candidate win.
![Dr. W. H. Cotton’s ode: “Oh, My Lake Worth, Florida!” [circa 1920].](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUL75cv6zJQFjX15ojOIIz9AjnbqH4asHJTYSDhnGnYr7rJZRha1NcNTirj2xPcId158vkz5Hw-wXgOfrlztj8Zr8jLFFCfuEN6PyV44ZlpMRmJ68xbtFL9vzxNiG7xDs_HJvm/s1600/LakeWorthPioneers.JPG)
