“Moore” about what happened at the Lake Worth City Commission meeting last Tuesday night.

Did you hear that NBC5/WPTV reporter Wanda Moore showed up? She is a very nice young lady and we chatted briefly but I forgot to ask her one very important question on my way out of City Hall. Find out what that question is below.

First some background. A lot of people were very concerned and a big crowd was expected at this Commission meeting because on the agenda that night was the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) and the Revised Comprehensive Plan (read more about that below). Many people had good reason to be concerned but there were a few others who believed falsely the City could just sell public land without a referendum, you know, “They’re stealing our land!”

The worry was this meeting would turn into another dramatic scene at City Hall, “They’re stealing our Beach!” like what happened last year.

When The Lake Worth Herald published that 2017 editorial titled, “Does it have to be there?” the few people still left that thought an Olympic-sized pool at the Lake Worth Beach was a good idea marched to City Hall in lockstep with colorful pool noodles in opposition. You can imagine the sight, all those people angrily holding banana yellow, candy apple red and blizzard blue pool noodles and staring down the City Commission.

But this time it wasn’t ‘The Beach’ being stolen. This time in some people’s minds it was the ball fields along 22nd Ave. North being stolen. So imagine if those people marched to City Hall with plastic Wiffle Ball bats instead! A ‘Wiffer Ball’ bat would hurt a lot more than a pool noodle. But thankfully the worry was for naught because, for the most part, this Commission meeting was very civil, courteous and respectful.

Now back to Wanda Moore. . .

The last TV news reporter to show up at a City Commission meeting, I believe, was multimedia journalist Andrew Lofholm last November. He also is a reporter from NBC5 and he was covering another big story here in the City which was Ordinance No. 2017-27, the LDRs and historic preservation. And it was in big part and credit to Lofholm’s work that a lot of people became informed and educated about this issue which is barely an issue any longer.

So, following the City Commission’s final vote on FLUM last Tuesday night I got up to leave, talked briefly to Ms. Moore, and scooted on home and awaited the WPTV 11:00 news and to see Moore’s news segment on FLUM which ended up being news about something else entirely: City Attorney Glen Torcivia’s agenda item 14 “Sunshine Law and Public Records Report”.

So the lesson is. . .

When a news crew shows up don’t just assume why they are there! Just walk up and ask and you’ll find most reporters are really nice people and will be happy to talk about what they’re up to.

Now let’s get back to last Tuesday night: the Comprehensive Plan and FLUM.

At the end of this blog post are nine minutes of video that sum up everything very well.

The vote to approve the FLUM (Future Land Use Map), which is part of the revised Comprehensive Plan of the City, was approved on a vote of 4-1 with Commissioner Andy Amoroso voting against. It wasn’t easy getting there. The final motion was changed from one that would have adopted the FLUM with two changes which generated the most discussion from the dais and many of the public last night at public comment.

Two of those proposed changes — the ones that weren’t adopted — were to change the future land use designation for a two block area east of S. Lakeside Drive and north of the southern part of Bryant Park. That would have changed the potential density from 20 up to 40 units/acre. Zoning changes would have to follow suit to make such density possible.

In the northern part of the City, the other proposed change that drew much attention was a FLUM change which would apply to the City's ball fields along the north side 22nd Ave. North. The City proposed that area to become medium-density residential from public recreation and open space. This could potentially allow a private developer to build a single-family or multi-family project where those ball fields are located but only after much public input and possibly requiring the developer to contribute money to a fund for upgrading other public parks around the City in need of upgrades and new equipment.

City Attorney Glen Torcivia and the City Commission were firm in that if the land use were to change, and the city wanted to sell that property along 22nd Ave. North to a private entity, it would have to go through the process outlined in City Charter related to the sale of City-owned park property: by referendum. A number of other steps would have to take place prior to that happening as well. It would be a very, very long process.

After much public comment expressing concerns about the changes proposed for these two areas cited above, I think Mayor Pam Triolo said it best in her remarks, “It is not what you do, but how you do it.” Meaning the process of developing the changes to the FLUM did not adequately identify in advance all of the nearby properties that were being considered for a change in their future land use designation.

I’ve attended various workshops and City meetings on the review of the revised Comprehensive Plan and the presentation was indeed exhaustive. It went through all the elements of the plan but never specifically addressed individual private properties nearby those discussed above subject to the proposed changes. Whether intentional or not this was not the “model of transparency” the City should be following, hence Mayor Triolo’s comments.

After the vote was taken I got up to leave and overheard a City official saying, “Wow. I didn’t expect that.” This was in reference to the revised motion and a quick 4-1 vote after nearly two hours of discussion.

This process began seven years ago. Yesterday’s vote was a very big step forward.

Lastly, nine minutes of video from last night’s City Commission meeting are very much worth noting starting at the 1:43 mark when the city attorney explains that a referendum would be required to sell public land and a minute later Commissioner Omari Hardy begins to speak. Watch until the 1:52 mark and I think this best explains the situation our City finds itself in and all the “sacred cows” that have been holding us back for so very long.

Enjoy the video: