Hey everyone...

I am backing up with topics for up-coming posts. Just need to find time to do them. FYI - the City Commission adopted the land use and zoning changes for the beach last night. I am waiting on itemized (minor) changes to the zoning district. Also, I will have pictures and a write up on the Master Pump Station ribbon cutting - in the meantime check out this link. It is a site prepared by Mock Roos regarding the facility. And today I'll head on down to the ribbon cutting for the Promenade and will have pictures from that.

So, stand-by, more stuff on the way.

Well I love a rainy night ...

Well I love a rainy night
I love to hear the thunder
Watch the lightning
When it lights up the sky
You know it makes me feel good
Well I love a rainy night
It's such a beautiful sight
I love to feel the rain
On my face
To taste the rain on my lips
In the moonlight shadow

Wish I was washed
All my cares away
I'd wake up to a sunny day
'Cause I love a rainy night
Yes I love a rainy night
Well I love a rainy night
Well I love a rainy night

Well I love a rainy night
Well I love a rainy night
I love to hear the thunder
Watch the lightning
When it lights up the sky
You know it makes me feel good
Well I love a rainy night
It's such a beautiful sight
I love to feel the rain
On my face
To taste the rain on my lips
In the moonlight shadow

Puts a song
In this heart of mine
Puts a smile on my face every time

'Cause I love a rainy night
Yes I love a rainy night
Ooh I love a rainy night
Yeah I love a rainy night

Wish I was washed
All my cares away
I'd wake up to a sunny day
'Cause I love a rainy night
Yes I love a rainy night
Well I love a rainy night
Well I love a rainy night

I just got back from a walk with the dogs and am just about soaked to the skin. Ditto Mars and Venus. Nice to hear the rain on the roof.

Reason to Celebrate!

This invitation was sent out by the Greater Lake Worth Chamber of Commerce announcing the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new mixed use building at the southeast corner of Federal Hwy. and 2nd Avenue North. It will take place next Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.

I consider this one of the best projects that we reviewed and approved while on the Planning and Zoning Board. Think about what was there (wish I had a picture, the image is burned into my mind however). The derelict gas station/car "fix it" place on the corner and the empty building in the middle of the property - right in the midst of our downtown.

In its place we have a nicely designed (thank you architect David Lawrence!) building with soon to be lush (pray for rain) tropical landscaping. Retail will be on the first floor, with office on the upper two floors. A new population will be introduced into our downtown environment - invigorating our already buoyant restaurant economy and helping nurture new retail establishments.

This building also represents the restraint that the City has shown in approving projects with a lower scale overall height than our neighboring coastal municipalities. This will be the only "Class A" office building that I know of in the City of Lake Worth - for now. More are on the way...

It really is O.K. to feel good about this building.

Some Blog Stats...

You might be interested in knowing that there were a total of 649 visitors to this blog in the month of May 2007. About 310 unique visitors (accessing from one specific PC) visit the site every other day. There were also 274 unique visitors that wandered here for the first time. The third highest category are those that visit here every two to three days (45).

Thanks for coming by!! I hope that you are able to pick up bits of information that help you understand a little more about the City of Lake Worth and the political, social and physical environment in which we find ourselves.

Remember too that you can reply or submit a question to any post on the blog by clicking on the "quote balloon" at the bottom of the entry. You can also contact me by email at wesblackman@gmail.com.

Quick up-date on the Gulfstream

I am waiting on the official vote/motion tally, but I am pleased to report that all of the Gulfstream requests were approved with conditions. I hope to post them and all the conditions (22 of them) here soon.

Thanks to all who attended and expressed their support of the project. It will contribute to our re-emergence as a tourist destination.

Be looking here in the future for a review of the project's evolution. I have some earlier versions of their proposal and you'll be able to see how much the project changed over time.

Gulfstream Hotel Expansion - Subject of Tonight's Planning and Zoning Board Meeting - 6 p.m.

My Truth Matters show reviewed this project on Lake Worth Talk last night. Here are a series of exhibits related to the project that will help explain what is proposed. You need to know about my relationship with the owner of the property, so please read the disclaimer.
This is a narrative from the application:
These are the three (3) variance requests that will be considered tonight:
Site Plan (click on image for greater detail):
Rendering looking southeast:
Rendering - south elevation:
Rendering - view looking east from Lake Avenue:
Rendering - aerial looking at entire block and surrounding area:
CLICK HERE FOR LINK TO CITY STAFF REPORTS

Negative Post from Lake Worth Talk.com:

Did anyone actually look at the rendition of the hotel? It does not appear to be anything like the decor of the Gulfstream. In fact it looks altra modern to me. Doesn't fit our downtown area at all.

Now let's talk water. 51 rooms, meetings and catering, plus a high end spa. Even with a green building, where are we going to get the extra water for that kind if consumption?

And BFT, where did you read that the public will be using the garage, thus lending a hand to our parking woes? The valet parking will be for hotel and spa patrons only. And as far as leading to more downtown patronage, don't count on it. The people who will be able to afford these rates of rooms and spa treatments will be limo'd in and out of the area, never stepping foot in downtown shops or restaraunts, bet on it.

This is going to be another one of our P&Z screw-ups, watch and see. They will cave and grant whatever comes before them, the right people are backing the movement, like our Jeffy boy, Paxman, and of course Tom R. It will sail thru tonight's meeting with very little or meaningful changes to their requests for variances.

My response:

A couple of points:

The architecture of the new building reflects our current period of time. It will be a silver LEED standard building. Its height along Lake Avenue is less than the hotel to preserve a view of the historic hotel from the west, making it the most important building. Not copying the existing hotel respects it for what it is and will not be a cheap copy of it. This is a historic preservation principle. Architecture is subjective and creates different reactions. It does represent change and that is something people have a hard time accepting.

The City does not have a moratorium on new construction due to the drought. If the affects of the drought are that bad, then the City Commission should consider it. We can't arbitrarily say we don't have the capacity for this project.

Parking will be contained within the new building and take care of the demand generated by the historic hotel and the new building. Doing that opens up the public spaces along Golfview by Byrant Park for general public parking.

This will be a destination and will bring people to our City that otherwise would not be here, bringing their money with them. It will help the historic hotel remain economically viable and assure its continued operation - we need to have our flagship waterfront hotel operational. Its economic success is not guaranteed - look at its ownership history. This occupies some of the most valuable land in the City and represents a significant contribution to the tax base. Compare this to how other communities (West Palm, Boynton, Delray) have treated their land along the water and this is a reasonable example of in-fill redevelopment.

Wes Blackman

I understand that the replay of last night's show is up on Lake Worth Talk.com. About the last half of the show talked about this project. You can take a listen to it today and don't forget to refer to the TalkBlog for the seventh show exhibits.

If you hit the link to the City's website for copies of the staff reports, please be patient. There is a lot of material and it takes a while to appear in your browser.

Please try to attend the meeting tonight regardless of your opinion of the project. This is an important piece of property in our City and you really need to hear the facts and discussion that will take place tonight.

Thanks for visiting!

Special City Commission Meeting - 5 29 07, 5 p.m.

Gymnasium Re-Opening - Ribbon Cutting and Basketball Game

I took in the opportunity and attended the grand re-opening of the gymnasium on Wingfield that had been closed since the hurricanes. It looked great and good to see a lot of people in attendance. The highlight of the event was a basketball game between the "Mayoral Allstars" and the Police Athletic League. Food furnished by Toojay's was served at half-time. Mayor Clemens and Commissioner Vespo looked half their chronological age running up and down the court - impressive! Here are some pics from the event. Enjoy! re-

Vice-Mayor Lowe with the ceremonial scissors in hand for the ribbon cutting. Go Retha!

Great showing - what a positive thing to have this facility open again!

Tip-off!

Mayor Clemens kicking it up the court; Commissioner Vespo on right.

Final Score:

Mayor's Allstars 35 vs Police Athletic League 14

Truth Matters - Next Show Tuesday, May 29 8 to 9 p.m.

Due to the Memorial Holiday weekend, we will be postponing this week's Truth Matters show on Lake Worth Talk.com until next Tuesday. Hope to chat with you then.'

Have a safe and healthy weekend.

News: Transit Traffic on the FEC (East) Railroad

There is a whole bunch of news to report as it relates to the potential for transit on the FEC railroad tracks. FDOT has completed the first phase environmental impact assessment for the project. See cover of report below:



Please click here for access to the project's website - FAQ section.

Funny how things happen. I bumped into Kim Delaney from Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council last Wednesday at the Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium. We had met a couple times before when I was chair of the Planning and Zoning Board about the prospect for a Transit Oriented Development project in Lake Worth - at the Seaboard Rail tracks (west - where Tri-Rail and Amtrak trains run) and for the Florida East Coast tracks (east - only freight traffic). I asked about the status of the FEC transit project and she talked about the study that had been completed (above). This is the first tier report and another more refined report is in the process of being prepared now.

She said that she was disappointed that Lake Worth didn't score higher in relation to other communities in terms of priority for transit and is working for the priority to be raised. She said that intuitively, everyone acknowledges that Lake Worth should be a high priority stop on this transit line, given our grid street pattern, historic interest, beach, entertainment, etc, but that isn't reflected in this initial study.

Below are the sections of the study that she was referring to: (remember - images can be brought up larger in another window by clicking on them)



The selected pages here tell a couple of interesting tales about where the City of Lake Worth stands in the "municipal marketplace" within the South Florida region. They also highlight the importance of a Community's Comprehensive Plan as it relates to priority setting for federal, state and private grant funding and how it's important to keep the Comprehensive Plan current as new issues arise and priorities shift.

For example, the table above indicates that among municipalities within Palm Beach County, Lake Worth is "Transit Supportive but no policies and/or implementation" as compared to West Palm Beach or Delray Beach. The good news here is that the draft EAR based amendments for our Comprehensive Plan have a new future land use designation for "TOD" - Transit Oriented Development. Look at the end of this post to see the specific language. Furthermore, the text above indicates that the most effective areas are those that "focus their economic and redevelopment efforts around or in anticipation of greater transit mobility." It then mentions the existence of CRAs (Community Redevelopment Agencies) and brownfield designations (our entire CRA is a designated brownfield) along with housing and commercial growth as parameters that contribute to the framework for greater transit use.

Sometimes it does one good to look in the mirror and get an unflinching assessment of how you are appearing to others. Well, that's what these tables do as it applies to the City of Lake Worth in relation to other municipalities in the three county region. I consider this report to be an un-biased assessment of where Lake Worth stands in existing and future redevelopment trends as it relates to residential growth - and the prevalence of service, industrial and commercial employment. The tables read from bottom to top - smaller to larger communities and right to left - density of the specific attribute. Lake Worth is identified as a mid to large community with moderate to high residential density. Note that Lake Worth is not underline, which would indicate that Economic Research Associates (authors of the study) did not think that Lake Worth would experience a rate of relative growth in the upper quartile as compared with other communities in the corridor. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not an example of over-development.


More telling are the other tables related to different types of employment. Lake Worth has a small to mid-size concentration of service related employment. This category can be office workers to your corner barber. Lake Worth has a "low" service employment density - which puts us in a category with Lake Park and Lantana - both of which are projected to increase service employment significantly over time. In this way, Lake Worth is under-performing to its potential - both of the other communities are significantly smaller than Lake Worth and do not have the amenities and quality of life potentials that Lake Worth does. This is where we have to self-analyze and ask why are we under-performing in relation to our potential.

I think we are seeing an awakening of this service employment category. Perhaps those that prepared this study did not take into consideration the amount of office space currently proposed or under construction - the Vive Verde building(s), the Promenade at the southeast corner of 2nd Avenue and Federal and other potential projects.


Below are excerpts from our draft Comprehensive Plan language that address the Transit Oriented Development future land use designation:




By adopting this future land use designation, we move Lake Worth's priority up the list in relation to other municipalities - expediting the time that we will have a station or stations within the City. If we do not adopt language such as included in the draft, then we limit ourselves in relation to other communities that are competing for the same dollars and people that we are. We are in a competitive marketplace and for the sake of our future place in the regional economy, we have to make sure that we have the regulatory framework in place to encourage transit and transit oriented development.

This cannot be another way for those that want to keep Lake Worth down to deny our rightful future as a green City - environmentally and economically speaking. It concerns me when Commissioner Jennings proclaims that higher density along our corridors, in proximity to the FEC railroad should be kept lower. Doing so diminishes our chances for a successful regional mass transit alternative. Instead, she says that people are only going to drive their cars and they won't use mass transit - so its useless to try. This coming from our most environmentally progressive Commissioner.

Let's hope that as this progresses through the review and approval process (first meeting at the Planning and Zoning Board on the EAR based amendments to the Comprehensive Plan will be on June 6th) that a rational and strategic vision will prevail.

Ribbon Cutting for New Pump Station - June 5 10:00 a.m.

Thanks to June Evans, resident of the Bryant Park neighborhood who sent this to me. I guess this means that the project is finished. Personally, I would like to know how much money was paid to Mock Roos, the number of change orders (caused by either the City or Mock Roos), etc. Not sure that we will ever know. Would the City even have the answer given the state of our finance department?

Another pet peeve of mine regarding this project is that it is an example of the City going ahead with a major project on City property, within our premier waterfront park and next to a residential neighborhood and the City administration - during the Boyer era - went ahead with the project without presenting it before the Planning and Zoning Board, even though required by law. The following is from our City Code:

23.23.01.03.Duties and authority.

A. The duties and authority of the city planning and zoning board shall be primarily to suggest plans for the arrangement of the city with reference to its general improvement, growth demands, and the extension, improvement and changes in public utilities and city works; also with reference to transportation, streets, alleys, sidewalks, highways, waterfronts, seawalls, docks, wharves, public buildings, parks, playgrounds, city-owned property, and other such matters as may be of a municipal nature or lawfully under municipal jurisdiction. However, the duties and authority of the city planning and zoning board shall not include any matter which is the responsibility of one (1) or more other city boards, unless the city commission specifically refers such matter to the planning and zoning board for recommendation. The city planning and zoning board shall be designated the local planning agency, pursuant to chapter 163, Florida Statutes. The planning and zoning board shall review and recommend to the city commissionon all changes to the comprehensive plan and zoning ordinance.

Again, another flower put at the base of the statue called "The Importance of Process". I will be going to the event. Hope to see you there.

Update on Items from the Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium

I talked to Gini Powell with Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management today and it will be a couple of weeks before the PowerPoint presentations made that were part of the Symposium will be on their website. I really want to use some of the images here to show what is going on with the clean-up. There were so many interesting historical pictures from Tom Twyford's presentation on fishing in the lagoon - you'll be interested in those too.

Things work-wise are busy now - a good thing - but I am sure to have time by the end of the week to review a report on the FEC Transit study. The report really helps pinpoint where Lake Worth is in relation to other South Florida municipalities. Some good stuff to share. Stay tuned! You might also want to check out my TalkBlog on Lake Worth Talk.com (see link on right) and listen to the last Truth Matters' show (5/20 - Sixth Show) in the mean time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium

All I can say is "WOW!" Well, that's not entirely true. I plan to say a lot in a review and summary of the day's events that took place yesterday. Excellent presentations by professionals working on improving our namesake ecosystem - the Lake Worth Lagoon. I will have links to the PowerPoint presentations from the Palm Beach County Environmental Resource Management website.

The good news: Things are improving and there continue to be significant efforts underway to improve conditions even further. One also got a sense of the importance of this ecosystem in the history of the area's development - and the importance of recreational fishing!

Look for more soon - expect multiple installments on various topics. Thanks to Colleen Rinaldi for the ride to and from!

And Thursday, if your commute is outside of Lake Worth...

Try Tri-Rail. Go to their site and print out this voucher for a free ride. I've taken Tri-Rail to Miami many times on the weekend and it's a great way to forget the car for a while. It's convenient if you or your spouse works north or south of Lake Worth. If you can integrate it into your own routine, even better.

It'll be even better when we establish transit service on the eastern (FEC) tracks. More updates on that later.

If you are planning on going to the Lake Worth Lagoon Symposium on Wednesday...

...shoot me an e-mail and we can arrange rides. It's an all day affair that will include lunch, so we shouldn't need our cars (or the trucks - see below) during the day. You can reach me at wesblackman@gmail.com.