Lake Worth Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell making sense; answers grandstanding by Comm. McVoy

A new housing project is moving forward in the City but with one last gasp at grandstanding by Commissioner McVoy, again. This time it's about a new community with GATES! in an area downtown that's had crime issues. Here is my post on July 18th which includes a video of the painful proceedings. This, mind you, ended up a unanimous vote for the developer to proceed. Here is the Post's Kevin Thompson article which appeared today in the print edition:

     Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell said he’s not fond of gates, but understands the reasons for them.
     “We have to remember, unless our code prohibits it…this is not our money and it’s not our property,” [emphasis added] he said. “We really need to embrace folks who want to invest in this city and that’s something that’s alluded this city for decades. We pay lip service to it, but when (investors) come in, we beat them up.”
     Under the new plan, Bella Terra will have 12 one-bedroom units priced at $145,000 and 24 two-bedrooms townhomes selling for $225,000.
     White [Bella Terra owner Troy White] said the one-bedroom units should catch the eyes of young people looking to become homeowners.
      “These will be extremely marketable to millennials,” White said. “A lot of them are being priced out of the market and forced to rent.” White plans to start construction in the fall.

If you have good news you want to share with Kevin Thompson at the Post such as a community cleanup or a recent Crime Walk with PBSO here is how you contact the reporter:
Email: kthompson@pbpost.com
561-820-4573
Twitter: @kevindthompson1

From the Tom McGow Archives: Laurence and Dieudonne "Dee" McNamara with pitchfork and happy piglet in Greenacres

Tom McGow's clever satire of Mr. Laurence McNamara and Mrs. Dieudonne "Dee" McNamara in 2009. Tom McGow was quite disturbed at the prospect of Mr. McNamara (on left) becoming the mayor of Lake Worth.

Another classic photoshop from the inimitable, superbly talented Mr. Tom McGow. Here is the original post by Tom McGow where this image first appeared. Remember, Tom McGow produced this in 2009, well before the software we use today that is so "user friendly".

Concerned residents sound off about proposed code changes

"We are alarmed to learn that a special interest group has been formed to promote approval of commercial businesses locating in any and all areas of Lake Worth that are zoned Residential only. In order for this to occur, the City would have to decide that depriving Lake Worth voters the quiet enjoyment of their home was acceptable in order to forward the goals of a special interest group.

Any such action by the City of Lake Worth would be a disaster on multiple levels. First, it would destroy homeowners equity, second, it would significantly reduce the number of families that would consider purchasing a home in Lake Worth and third, local businesses such as Art Galleries would suffer from City support of Special Interests. The problem of lawsuits is, of course, a given.

With Lake Worth struggling to increase real estate values while fighting blight, crime and disorder, crumbling infrastructure and issues like Sober Houses, the least rational action would be to make that job even harder by taking a step to make Lake Worth less desirable.

We made a decision to buy a home in a Residential zoned location. We want that condition to remain unchanged and will enthusiastically support efforts to avoid Commercial incursion that would injure our home value.

Marty Welfeld
Teresa Miller"

COMMUNITY CLEANUP Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association

Greetings friends and neighbors of Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Association.

Make plans now to join the Lake Worth CRA, Royal Poinciana & Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Associations, Commissioner Andy Amoroso & many other volunteers of all ages taking part in efforts to clean up and improve our local community.

When: Saturday July 25th, 8am - 11am
Where: Lake Worth Arts Center (Shuffleboard Courts): 1121 Lucerne Ave.
Any questions? Call Lake Worth CRA at (561) 493-2550.
Light refreshment provided.
Community Service Hours Offered.

Look forward to seeing you there.

And as far as having an enlightened dialog about community issues, consider this.

As if we didn't have enough to be concerned about...manufacturing in a residential neighborhood

It has come to my attention that there is a new group formed in our City called "Lake Worth Artists & Cottage Entrepreneurs." Here is their mission statement:

Here are a list of their goals:

I am still reviewing all of the information that was given to me. From what I can tell, this is an organized attempt to open up single and multifamily zoning districts to a greater range and intensity of what can be considered "home occupations." 

Goal #6 is especially interesting. 

Currently, the city defines home occupations as being the following:

Home occupations: Any regularly pursued activity conducted on a building site which is secondary to the principal use of such premises as a residence, and which produces a reliable and regular livelihood income for the resident so employed. Home occupations are those occupations customarily practiced in the home which have limited client presence on the residential site. Such occupations are incidental and secondary to the principal use of the premises as a residence. Home hobbies where services or products are not sold are not considered home occupations.

The keywords here are "secondary" and "incidental" to the principal use as a residence.

Let me ask these questions for a start (this is very preliminary). These items and others will be examined further in the future:

• Look at the official future land use and zoning maps for the City and you will see that approximately 80% of the City carries a residential future land use and zoning designation. Is the intent to loosen the standards for home occupations in all residential areas of the City? 
• We have underutilized land along many commercial corridors, particularly North Dixie Hwy. How will this proposal impact the redevelopment of this designated commercial zone in the City?
• Does this mean that you could employ people who do not live in your home to work in your business there? 
• Does this mean that you could employ up to three people, working at the same time, on services or manufacturing products for sale in your home?
• Does this mean that customers would be encouraged to come to your home to access services or purchase products made in your home? Would this be at the same time that you and your three employees would be working?
• How would such an operation affect your neighbors? Parking availability on your street?
• Would there be regular deliveries of materials used for manufacture or production in your home? How would those be accommodated?
• Would there be regular hours of operation? 
• Could there be materials or equipment not suited to a residential area that may be used in the operation of your home business?
• Are there other regulatory agencies and related requirements (accessibility, health, food service inspection, etc.) that would be met?
• At what point does a home business not become secondary or incidental to the principal residential use of the structure?
• What were the expectations of you or your neighbors when they bought their single family home? Did they consider this as a possibility? If they did or didn't, would the establishment of these home industries have altered their decision to purchase their property? Would the loosening of these regulations negatively affect residential property values?
• Will there be standards for the review of these sorts of requests to use a residential structure for other than it was intended? Are there insurance or mortgage consequences for the operator/owner/tenant of these residential properties with expanded home occupations?
• Are there Comprehensive Plan changes that would be required if such an allowance were made for an expanded array of home occupations?
• What would the enforcement mechanism be? Code enforcement?
• What would the review procedure be? Would there be a requirement to notify your neighbors of this sort of request? How far a radius would that be from the subject property? Would they have to consent affirmatively to allow business in their neighborhood/building?

That's only a start. These are the current standards of what is referred to as a "conditional uses" must meet in order to be granted. Would these conditions have to be met prior to issuance of a business tax receipt for this sort of expanded home occupation?

Remember, our zoning regulations are "inclusionary." That means that anything not mentioned is expressly prohibited. Here is the language from the code:

Sec. 23.3-4. - Inclusionary as to permitted use.
The intent of this chapter is that it be "inclusionary." That is, principal uses, accessory uses, and conditional uses specifically stated for each zoning district shall be the only uses permitted. Any use proposed within any given zoning district which is not a stated use or use type within said district is expressly prohibited. Questions of whether a use is of a type listed shall be interpreted by either the planning and zoning board or the historic resources preservation board, but no use variance shall be approved. 

Your comments and concerns are welcomed. I also welcome input from those behind this initiative. Here is my email address.

I am also curious how this will work through the legislative process. All these changes would need to be reviewed by the staff and the two boards that regulate land use in the city.

Did you buy a house in the City of Lake Worth in January 2012?

If you did then you made a very good decision. Jeff Ostrowski at The Palm Beach Post has a very short item explaining why; here is an excerpt:

     The company [Zillow] crunched the numbers on rebounding housing markets and determined that Palm Beach County’s luckiest homeowners live in modest homes in Lantana — provided they bought in January 2012.
     Zillow looked at through-to-today trends. Lantana’s low point came in January 2012, when the typical house cost $84,200. Now it’s worth $148,900, a 77 percent jump.
     Other fortunate homeowners are in unincorporated Lake Worth (up 74 percent), the city of Lake Worth (also up 74 percent), Lake Park (up 73 percent) and Greenacres (up 73 percent).

Pool Survey on the City of Lake Worth's Website

Click here for a link to a survey for pool users and residents to fill out regarding their experience at the municipal pool. This just appeared on the City's homepage without much fanfare and it shows that they're interested in soliciting comments about the pool's operation and other factors. I have filled it out. It does ask for your name and address. I am not sure you can't fill out more than one survey. If you can determine that let people know through the comments section of this post. You can also share what you think about the questions. Are there any that should have been asked, but weren't?

Here is what you will see in the lower left side of the homepage if you get to the link that way.

Highlighting mine.

A portion of the survey.

There is no stated purpose behind this survey other than "Staff is dedicated to providing you an enjoyable experience." There is also no time frame given for the survey or if it is intended for the City to use in relation to the Invitation to Negotiate (ITN) process (which has been terminated).

The special City Commission meeting called for respondents to the ITN is due to occur July 30th, 6 p.m. in the Commission Chambers at City Hall.

Would you believe me if I told you. . .

If I told you an elected city commissioner in the City of Lake Worth who:

• Has a PhD in science
• Is a believer in sea level rise
• Is a believer in climate change
• Is a supporter of "Green" technology
• Is a supporter of "Best Practices"
• Is a supporter of "sustainability" and "resiliency"
• Is someone who demands accountability. . .

. . .would support building a large public structure east of the Coastal Construction Line and immediately west of a beach on the Atlantic Ocean WITHOUT PILINGS? You wouldn't believe it would you?

That's right. Lake Worth Commissioner Christopher McVoy supported constructing the 'new' Casino building without pilings. And to make matters worse the seawall protecting the Casino was never properly inspected. 

So much for the "Scientific Method".

Steve Jobs

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: Another NET Community Cleanup, save the date

Save the date and join Commissioner Amoroso, Lake Worth CRA, Royal Poinciana & Tropical Ridge Neighborhood Associations in efforts to clean up and improve our local community. Community Service Hours Offered. For more information call 561.493.2550.

[UPDATE] Mike Olive and his church: Seeking the "Common Ground" or just a clever ruse in Lake Worth?

[UPDATE: Mike Olive and his church had a bad day today (7/22). After the post (below) on 7/21 The Palm Beach Post came out with an editorial, a complete smackdown of 'pastors' like Mike Olive and his ilk. In the next few days will have some excerpts from the Post editorial. In the meantime, read about Mike Olive and his 'church':]

Mike Olive and his flock at the Common Ground (no 's') church have taken a decidedly different tone of late which is very welcome in our tolerant, little City of Lake Worth. This recent tone is in sharp contrast to when he accused the City of a 'war on religion' and other outrageous, circus-like stunts to get attention.

He continues to promote his church on The Other Blogger's (TOB's) site which is awkward in light of her recent KKK debacle, Confederate battle flag support, and myriad instances of race-baiting. But where he goes to promote his church is his decision and none of my business. 

Below are four images: the first two recently appeared on TOB's blog and the second two are from the Common Ground (no 's') church's Facebook page in the days leading up to SCOTUS's gay marriage ruling:

Mike Olive at his Common Ground (no 's') church.

Note the words, "biblical insight in how to deal with cultural issues".

Here is a link to Romans 1:24-32. Mike Olive posted this on Facebook page with the question, "What do you think?" In retrospect we should ask Mike Olive the very same question.

Another image from Mike Olive's Facebook page.

Note that Lake Worth is home to the Compass Gay & Lesbian Community Center, has one of the largest Gay Pride parades in the country, raises the Gay Pride flag every year, has at least two gay commissioners, one of the must-attend parties every year is at the gay-friendly Mad Hatter leading up to the annual Raft Race, and I could go on and on about the gay presence in Lake Worth. 

Lake Worth is kinda gay, Mike Olive. If your intention is to seek the 'common ground' I suggest you stop cherry-picking Bible verses to buttress a dead-end argument; unless, of course, your intention was never to seek the "common ground" in the first place.

Meeting on Lake Worth Casino and Beach Complex July 30th, 6 p.m.

This item appeared in The Palm Beach Post today (7/21).

Click here for link to the article by Kevin Thompson at the Post. It's my understanding that the other two respondents to the Invitation To Negotiate (ITN) have dropped out (the wave park idea and a possible tenant for the second floor restaurant space) so it will only be a presentation by Hudson Holdings.

The "troubled" Casino and pool complex will be the focus of this meeting, not THE BEACH! Please check back to this blog for much more on this meeting and what to expect. This is the ITN process, by the way, that threw the 'editor' of a now-defunct tabloid into a hysterical frenzy she never quite recovered from:

Prior to PBSO taking over for Lake Worth PD: Annabeth Karson wanted roadblocks and checkpoints to enter City

One of the suggestions in 2008 to solve the horrendous crime problem in Lake Worth was by Annabeth Karson: she wanted to set up roadblocks and checkpoints to enter the City. That gives you an idea how terrible the crime problem was prior to PBSO taking over.

From Vox: We don’t say “plane accident.” We shouldn’t say “car accident” either.

Start paying close attention to news reports about vehicle 'accidents'. Words do mean things so an effort is being made to change how these events are reported. From Vox is this article on the subject:

     To most people, the terms "car crash" and "car accident" are largely interchangeable. But a growing number of traffic safety advocates have been pointing out that there's actually a big difference — and they want journalists, public officials, and everyday people to say crash, not accident.
     The two groups behind the recent campaign — Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets — argue that the term "accident" makes it seem like crashes are inevitable, rather than preventable. In a subtle way, it normalizes the crash and discourages us from looking more deeply into their causes — whether alcohol, reckless driving, or bad street design.

[and. . .]

     All this might seem pedantic, but there's a real point here. We live in an era when most Americans drive around in multi-ton machines at high speed, and these vehicles kill with surprising regularity. They cause 30,000 or so deaths per year, as many people as are killed by guns. If we want to cut down on that number, it's worth examining the language we use to describe these events.