Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Follow-up post on Lake Worth's lodging opportunities...
We decided to check out the current state of some of the lodging opportunities for visitors of Lake Worth and their current status. We identified several in this post from yesterday. First of all, some of you may be relieved that the Sabal Palm House is no longer described as "action packed" on the state's VisitFlorida website.
Gone is the sign identifying the property as South Palm Suites. We found out by talking to one of the property's managers there that about 7 months ago it become a sober house.
The property was clean and well kept, with few cars in the parking lot. No one hanging around outside and it seemed like any other property in the area. Perhaps nicer than most, actually.
In his talk to Parrot Cove, William Waters talks about sober houses and how the city can do little, unless they are causing a nuisance, to regulate this type of use. It is simply a choice by the owner of the property who they choose to rent to.
The Mango Inn is now "chilled out", in place of "budget minded."
We also checked out South Palm Suites. This is how it appears on the state of Florida-run website.
Its last Trip Advisor entry was in March of 2013. Here is how it looked yesterday.
Then we went to check out the Silver Lions Motel at 504 South Dixie Hwy.
While impressed by the majesty of the silver lions, forever looking west, with the afternoon sun glistening from their metallic manes, this probably isn't the place to visit for local hospitality. We actually went in to inquire about room rates, and between the bars, notices and penetrating stares, we clearly got the impression that we were not welcome there. No words were said. So, you can mark this off your list as a suggestion for when Aunt Zelda and your cousins come to Lake Worth for a visit.
Then we went up Dixie Hwy. to the Ixora motel. There was some sort of active crime scene right across the street which you can see going down in this picture. So we decided not to dawdle there for long.
Again, not a recommendation for Aunt Zelda, unless she and the kids enjoy a mirror mounted at a 45 degree angle over the bed. Probably used as a grooming aid or some such. We didn't get information on room rates.
From the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association Meeting held last night (4/21/14)
This is a playlist of three videos of a talk by Director of Community Sustainability, William Waters. He reviews six hypothetical redevelopment sites and walks through the presentation previously given to land development professionals. That meeting took place at the Casino building a few weeks ago. He touches on how the new land development regulations would assist in the redevelopment of these sites, but caters his talk to a "lay" audience. He also fields many questions from neighbors who attended the meeting.
You will see why, if you watch the videos, that this may be referred to as William's "God" talk. He really is quite knowledgeable and you will learn a lot about the city in general. He also talks about code enforcement, redevelopment and the possible re-configuring of Dixie Hwy., short term vacation rentals and sober houses. I believe he plans to appear at more neighborhood associations and community groups with this same presentation.
Keep in mind that these are "hypothetical" scenarios. Implementation of them depends on land assembly, developer interest and resources and could vary widely from the designs shown here. These are "what if" scenarios that the city has put together by a third party consultant. None of them represent a vision of a project as proposed by an actual developer.
A chart shown in the presentation compares "development fees" charged in Lake Worth versus other municipalities. Lake Worth's are markedly lower in contrast. When asked what all those numbers represent, this was William's response:
As for the fee comparisons, Dolores Key researched all the costs associated with a project to obtain a building permit. The costs include development and planning review costs, impact fees, building permit fees and other fixed costs required to get a project approved in the various municipalities. As for unincorporated county, their zoning categories were not conducive to our study and we wanted to focus on urbanized areas.
Monday, April 21, 2014
REMINDER: Parrot Cove Meeting Monday April 21, 7:00pm at Believer's Victory Church - 10th and N Lakeside Dr.
Parrot Cove and Lake Worth Neighbors:
This month we will be featuring Lake Worth's Director of Community Sustainability, William Waters as our guest speaker to discuss the unveiling of Lake Worth's revised Land Development Regulations (LDRs). You may have recently heard about the announcement of 6 sites spotlighted in Lake Worth that the City has shown as promising examples of what could be and relaying the message to those outside our city that we are open for business. William Waters will be giving a presentation and speaking about the plans our city has to move us into the future with positive partnerships to foster a more inviting environment for people to do business in our city.
Text of the initial announcement:
"Invitation to Experience Lake Worth.
It is the Dawn of a new day in Lake Worth, where opportunities abound and the possibilities are only limited by one’s creativity. Over the past four years the City has developed a new set of Land Development Regulations to guide the future of our City. They respect the past, build on the present and set the stage for an exciting future. Embracing the City’s diversity, encouraging new investment that is sympathetic to the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of the City and invigorating partnerships and participation are the primary goals of the new rules. The City is the unveiling this cutting edge effort through an interactive overview of how to become a part of the community through investing in its opportunities. The new regulations will be explained with visual examples of how they can become a reality. The process and incentives to encourage investment and redevelopment will be outlined. A question and answer session is offered to go over particular areas of interest. City incentives will be explained. Disincentives and myths will be dispelled. The time for the Lake Worth of tomorrow finally has arrived and you are enthusiastically invited to be a part of the City’s bright, exciting future."
Update: We will have a director from our code compliance division attending also.
This meeting is open to all who wish to attend.
We hope to see you there.
This month we will be featuring Lake Worth's Director of Community Sustainability, William Waters as our guest speaker to discuss the unveiling of Lake Worth's revised Land Development Regulations (LDRs). You may have recently heard about the announcement of 6 sites spotlighted in Lake Worth that the City has shown as promising examples of what could be and relaying the message to those outside our city that we are open for business. William Waters will be giving a presentation and speaking about the plans our city has to move us into the future with positive partnerships to foster a more inviting environment for people to do business in our city.
Text of the initial announcement:
"Invitation to Experience Lake Worth.
It is the Dawn of a new day in Lake Worth, where opportunities abound and the possibilities are only limited by one’s creativity. Over the past four years the City has developed a new set of Land Development Regulations to guide the future of our City. They respect the past, build on the present and set the stage for an exciting future. Embracing the City’s diversity, encouraging new investment that is sympathetic to the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of the City and invigorating partnerships and participation are the primary goals of the new rules. The City is the unveiling this cutting edge effort through an interactive overview of how to become a part of the community through investing in its opportunities. The new regulations will be explained with visual examples of how they can become a reality. The process and incentives to encourage investment and redevelopment will be outlined. A question and answer session is offered to go over particular areas of interest. City incentives will be explained. Disincentives and myths will be dispelled. The time for the Lake Worth of tomorrow finally has arrived and you are enthusiastically invited to be a part of the City’s bright, exciting future."
Update: We will have a director from our code compliance division attending also.
This meeting is open to all who wish to attend.
We hope to see you there.
‘No vacancy’: Palm Beach County’s tourist season booms | www.mypalmbeachpost.com
Palm Beach County hotel occupancy was 90 percent in February. Just for kicks and giggles, I checked out the VisitFlorida website last night to see what "Lake Worth" lodging opportunities were listed there. This is the state of Florida's main tourism website. If you search for Lake Worth, this is what you get:
This says to me that the city's focus should be promoting South Federal Hwy. as a hotel location. And then we have other offerings that we have come to expect. This particular offering, South Palm Suites, when I tried to call their phone number, had a full voice mail box. Not very welcoming to the potential Lake Worth visitor. Their website seems to be inactive and the latest review on Trip Advisor is from March of 2013. We will go by today and see if it is open for business or not.
These are the two, quality bed and breakfast establishments that we have in our city.
 |
| Clearly outside of Lake Worth |
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| Clearly outside of Lake Worth |
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| A campground, really? |
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| Click here for what Trip Advisor says for South Palm Suites. |
These are the two, quality bed and breakfast establishments that we have in our city.
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| Interesting tag line here. |
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| I'm not sure what the Rinaldis are doing that makes their place "action packed" - do tell! |
We'll also go by the Silver Lions and the Ixora today and do somewhat of a photo documentary. We can't forget our mothballed historic hotel, the Gulfstream, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here is a picture of it in its heyday.
The point to be made here is that we should have people beating down the door of the Department of Community Sustainability for applications to develop a hotel in Lake Worth SINCE THERE JUST IS NOT A SELECTION OF QUALITY HOTEL ROOMS HERE IN THE CITY OF LAKE WORTH. Here we have Palm Beach County reporting record occupancy - 90% - Lake Worth is sitting right in the center of the coastal part of the County, with a BRAND NEW BEACH COMPLEX (that we are still waiting to pay ourselves back now that it is built). One would think that the laws of supply and demand would be working to fill the void. But they aren't. Something is broken. Remember that survey I posted a while back about the cheapest hotel room night stay in Delray Beach was $200 during February? Later today, I'll find out what the "rack rate" is at the Silver Lions and the Ixora.
Here is part of the article that appeared above the fold, right in the center of the printed edition of the Palm Beach Post today. Click title for link.
As the Northeast thaws and 90-degree days return, 90 percent hotel occupancies become a (sunny) winter memory, but the booming season that just wrapped up set records.
“Early February, we just knew it was just cranking,” said Jay Badillo, general manager of the Embassy Suites across from Palm Beach International Airport. His hotel was booked, and so were the overflow hotels where he usually referred drop-in visitors.
Hotel occupancy was 90 percent countywide in February and translated into a record $5.1 million in bed taxes, according to the Tourist Development Council.
Sunday, April 20, 2014
State Road A1A: Lack of bike lanes frustrate cyclists, who often have a contentious relationship with motorists who also enjoy A1A's scenery. - Sun Sentinel
I, for one, do not like to bicycle on A1A. That is, unless it is after snowbird season and it is during a time when other bike "packs" are not likely to out. From where I live, it is a 16 mile round trip to the Boynton Inlet. That route takes you through some scenic areas with nice water views of either the Intracoastal or the ocean. There is a tight spot without any bike lane or shoulder just north of the inlet. It has a beautiful tree canopy. You have to be careful through there as two cars, or especially trucks, going opposite directions, take up the entire right-of-way. Going north to the Palm Beach Inlet is a 20 mile round trip and there is generally more room for bikes between the traffic land and the edge of the asphalt. Click title for a link to the Sun-Sentinel article which reports about increased enforcement along this popular road for biking.
Acreage residents say Minto West supporters were paid; want...
Hmmmm...something fishy going on here, it seems. Click title for link to a Palm Beach Post article on the Minto development - 6,500 residential units on the former Callery-Judge Groves property. People living in the Acreage and other western communities are concerned about the prospect. The property is already approved for just under 3,000 units. More needs to be done to attract redevelopment to impoverished areas in the eastern part of the county, if you don't mind me saying.
Coming to the Delray Beach Town Hall Lecture series this Thursday 4/24
Urban Planning Professor from UCLA, Donald Shoup, will be giving a talk on the "High Cost of Free Parking." He argues that there is a sweet spot in the pricing of parking for downtown commercial areas, money generated from which can stay in area to fund and maintain public infrastructure. This is a short video where he talks about a turnaround in Pasadena, California after the installation of parking meters and new parking structures with ground floor retail. People choosing to park in the parking garages get the first 90 minutes free, in this example.
I think that there is more to know about the unique circumstances of Pasadena, and there are likely other forces at work that have brought about the changes there. But, it is an interesting hypothesis.
Pay parking in downtown Lake Worth has been discussed as a revenue-generating budget fix in the past, and discarded before adopting it for many reasons. But, I am sure that we will eventually hear about the prospect again. I plan on attending the talk this coming Thursday. If you want to car pool, get in touch with me.
I think that there is more to know about the unique circumstances of Pasadena, and there are likely other forces at work that have brought about the changes there. But, it is an interesting hypothesis.
Pay parking in downtown Lake Worth has been discussed as a revenue-generating budget fix in the past, and discarded before adopting it for many reasons. But, I am sure that we will eventually hear about the prospect again. I plan on attending the talk this coming Thursday. If you want to car pool, get in touch with me.
William Wordsworth
“What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower."
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower."
Sights set high (?) in Greenfield, California after an annexation...
Keeping it classy in Greenfield. Doesn't every community want its own truck stop? Also notice that it is an "acting" director making the statement. Evidence of staff turnover at the top of the organization chart? The last comment is especially telling.
Former commissioners among applicants for zoning board
The Town of Palm Beach is out to re-populate its Planning and Zoning and Landmarks Commissions. So far, two people have been interviewed, who were past town board members. These two were former alternate members that were passed over for re-appointment by a previous Town Council. In Lake Worth, we really do have a limited pool of qualified people to fill our board positions. Due to attrition for various reasons, it is difficult to keep enough people on the board to maintain a quorum, a minimum number of members present to conduct business.
Lake Worth also has what I think is a sneaky attendance requirement. If miss 20% or more of meetings each year, you are automatically removed from the board and the seat you occupied is declared vacant. The problem is, you never are sure of how you are doing since the calculation is based upon a different set of months as time goes on. Right now there are vacancies on many boards, including the CRA, Historic Resources Preservation Board and the Recreation Board, to name but a few. Check the current rosters of the city's advisory boards to see if you are interested in serving on any of them.
Click title for link to the Shiny Sheet article.
Lake Worth also has what I think is a sneaky attendance requirement. If miss 20% or more of meetings each year, you are automatically removed from the board and the seat you occupied is declared vacant. The problem is, you never are sure of how you are doing since the calculation is based upon a different set of months as time goes on. Right now there are vacancies on many boards, including the CRA, Historic Resources Preservation Board and the Recreation Board, to name but a few. Check the current rosters of the city's advisory boards to see if you are interested in serving on any of them.
Click title for link to the Shiny Sheet article.
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