Just in case you missed this blog post from yesterday.

Re-posted once again today. The post was titled,

“Kudos to Alexis Rosenberg and Kevin Fischer!

“Two planners who became heroes
to the City Commission”

This blog post is a rather long one, longer than typical. So if you are short on time will move this to the top of the right-hand and you can pick up where you left off tomorrow.

This a good story and a bad story about this little six square mile City of Lake Worth. But the bad news is just temporary. If you are one of those that doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about shade trees, well, you are not alone. The City Commission doesn’t understand it either. And that’s why the landscape regulations are being rewritten. Again. Learn all about that below.

Briefly, before we continue, the practice “hat-racking” of trees is prohibited in this City. But should this pruning practice be allowed? Or just regulated in some cases for a particular type of tree? Information recently came to light in the Palm Beach Daily News by reporter William Kelly about discussion at the Ordinances, Rules, and Standards Committee meeting last December in the Town of Palm Beach; here is an excerpt:


“I urge you to table it [hat-racking regulations] and bury it and kiss it goodbye,” said Jorge Sanchez, principal of SMI Landscape Architecture.

Hat-racking, also known as pollarding, is a practice that can be traced back for centuries, Sanchez said. He said he does it to his own trees every few years and there’s no harm done.


Since the City of Lake Worth’s landscape regulations are being rewritten possibly the practice of hat-racking can be addressed.

Now moving on. Back to planners Alexis Rosenberg and Kevin Fischer.

City Commission meetings are the big stage. But for all that to happen a lot of work has to happen off-stage. You may have heard about Commission meetings called workshops and work sessions. They are both the same thing.

This blog post today is about a work session held last Thursday evening at Lake Worth City Hall. And will try to make this blog post interesting. We will be examining a thing called “public policy”.

It was Mark Stivers, AICP, who led the presentation to the Lake Worth City Commission on the land development regulations (LDRs). And Stivers expressed much praise for the work of neighborhood planner Alexis Rosenberg and Kevin Fischer, the planning and preservation manager. It was a very good and positive display of support by Stivers and the Commission was very much appreciative as well.

Rosenberg and Fischer were tasked with coming up with an understandable way for the City Commission and the public to understand all the changes to the LDRs. They came up with a plan and it turned out spectacularly. Previously the electeds were very unhappy with the backup material they were given. LDRs are very important.

So last Thursday the City Commission was very happy. Now they can take this material from Rosenberg and Fischer and explain this to the public. Which stands in dark contrast to what happened later in the meeting.

You can watch that part where Stivers praises the staff and their work after the 35 minute mark in the video below (at the end of this blog post).

From the start of the video, for about twenty minutes or so, one can clearly hear an annoying sound and you’ll find out what that sound is when you watch the video. So maybe the mayor can institute a new rule: do not eat potato chips during public meetings. And texting is not a good idea either.

Remember, last Thursday was a scheduled Work Session and besides the LDRs there was a discussion about the proposed amendment to the landscape regulations. Mark Stivers and William Waters of the Dept. of Community Sustainability led both efforts with staff. Is is worth noting that banks and drive-thru’s in the Downtown was a topic in the LDRs the Commission wanted to talk about. So before long that may become an issue once again. After a bit they moved on to the landscape regulations.

What a mess.

For a City trying to do its best attracting new residents they are doing a terrible job in this department.

On the one hand you have the Tree Board trying its best to rid the City of palm trees and create streets lined with shade trees and tree canopies so thick light cannot escape from sunset to sunup. From satellite this place would look like a dark green hole on the eastern coast between Lantana and West Palm Beach (a city without a beach). Many in the City apparently were unaware the Tree Board was involved in rewriting almost the entire landscape ordinance that ended up resembling Draco’s Code than a landscaping guide and in between was the City’s horticulturist trying to get everyone to communicate. Sort of like sending smoke signals in a hurricane.

By the way, from Draco’s Code came the English word “draconian”.

Mr. Dave McGrew, the City’s horticulturist, does an exceptional job for the City. He has been with the City for a very long time. But just like President George Washington and the cherry tree Mr. McGrew will always be remembered for that ONE TREE he cut down which is unfortunate. He’s paid his price to society and everyone should move on.

For reasons unknown people keep bringing up that ONE TREE. And then Mr. McGrew has to say he’s sorry and learned his lesson. It’s time everyone gets over that ONE TREE and move on. McGrew has done a lot of very exceptional things over the years. Like dealing with the public on a daily basis. And staying polite and professional. Not an easy task.

But as good as Mr. McGrew is at making things happen in the natural world he can’t perform miracles or magic. So last October when the landscape regulations, the Tree Board, City staff and the City Commission all met together it created the so-called “Perfect Storm”.

Basically, all hell broke loose.

Three months ago the Commission said to City staff go back to square one and rewrite almost the entire proposed landscape regulations. Again. Last Thursday we found out the Commission is still not happy. At one point Mayor Pam Triolo said, “I feel like we’re at a condo association meeting” and later added she felt “[L]ike in a Twilight Zone episode”. And the mayor referenced ‘Big Brother’ too.

Mark Stivers used the phrase, “Lots of cleanup and clarification language” about twenty times. For single homes the requirement to employ a landscape architect, a soil analysis, irrigation, hedge height, and all sorts of regulations were just eliminated. Can a group of three palm trees be substituted for a shade tree? The Commission took an straw poll and the consensus was “Yes”. What’s the definition of a “small tree”? Well, if you’re between 5′6″ and 6′ tall and you can see the top of the tree. . .

Maybe it would be a good idea to temporarily transfer Alexis Rosenberg and Kevin Fischer from the planning department over to Mr. McGrew to help coordinate with all the departments involved in the landscape regulations. Rosenberg and Fischer are up to the challenge and Mr. McGrew would certainly appreciate the additional help.

The public is already completely and utterly confused about the rules for landscaping and they have been for a very long time. The good news is once this is all straightened out the City will begin an intensive public information campaign like what happened when the new double-stream recycling program was rolled out. The rules will be very simple and straightforward. And if you prefer to have palm trees in your front yard instead of a shade tree, that will be OK too. Instead of the City’s Tree Board — which has been for the most part ineffective communicating with the public — the task of educating the public going forward will include the Neighborhood Assoc. Presidents’ Council (NAPC) and the City working in tandem.

At this Work Session last Thursday the discussion about the LDRs only took about thirty minutes. The discussion on landscape regulations took about an hour and a half. And at the end still almost everyone looked confused.

At public comment City resident Tammy Pansa said, “Just leave us alone.” A comment which pretty much summed it all up.

Let’s pause briefly for a musical interlude

(and please pay special attention to the chorus):

Now back to our regularly scheduled program today.


And maybe a future topic of discussion at the City Commission is whether or not this City needs a Tree Board at all. Or a “C-51 Canal Advisory Committee” (CAC) for that matter. The last time CAC met was some time back in 2017. Maybe. No one knows for sure. To look over all the City’s volunteer advisory boards click on this link.

Back to the Work Session this week
on landscape regulations.

The public needs to understand that “Palm Trees Are Not Evil!” Palm trees really took a bad rap in the latest and to-be-revised landscape regulations. True. A palm tree is not really a tree. But a lot of people really like them anyhow.

Other items worth noting from this meeting last Thursday is more discretion will be given to City utilities to clean up easements and permits will no longer be required for City work crews. Herbicides such as Roundup cannot be banned by the City. These are legal products and are regulated by the State and Federal government. The City can encourage the public to use other products and can tell the public that herbicides can only be used as recommended on the labeling. Synthetic turf, e.g., AstroTurf, will still not be permitted in the front yard of single homes but will be allowed in the backyard and along the sides of a home where appropriate. The City of Lake Worth, like most municipalities in Central Palm Beach County, does not use synthetic turf on public athletic fields.

And Mr. McGrew noted that the public should not cut down trees or bushes in the City’s easements (e.g., in the alley behind one’s home). That is the City’s responsibility and they want to ensure no one gets injured and that no underground or overground utilities are damaged. To learn more about easements, public safety, stormwater and drainage and the City’s responsibility vs. the citizen’s responsibility click on this link.


If you have an issue or questions about vegetation in an easement contact the Public Services Dept. at 561-586-7433 on Monday–Friday from 8:00 a.m.–3:30 p.m. or send an email to Dave McGrew: dmcgrew@lakeworth.org


Too much information was gleaned from this public meeting to be included in this blog post. But tried to touch on all the major points. Would encourage everyone interested to attend the next public meeting on this topic and will make note of that on this blog. As far as hardwood and shade trees in Hurricane Season that has been a frequent topic on this blog.

Remember: at work sessions no votes are taken. They are held for the City Commission, City departments and staff, and the public to gather more information and become more educated on a topic. Items go to a Work Session after thirty minutes of discussion at a Regular Commission meeting. If no vote is taken, for any number of reasons, that agenda item goes to a Work Session. Like the original ordinance last year on the proposed landscape regulations.

Eventually all this will get fixed and we’ll have a set of standards most of the public will be happy with.

Note that a straw poll was taken at this Work Session but straw poll votes are not official. They are just to gauge as to whether or not the City Commission has reached a consensus. So in conclusion, the proposed landscape regulations will either come back in another scheduled and public work session or as a proposed new ordinance at a regular Commission meeting. Stay tuned.


Here is the video and hope you found this information helpful today.

To meet City planners Alexis Rosenberg and Kevin Fischer go to about the thirty-five minute mark. Public comment begins at the one hour and forty-two minute mark.