Showing posts with label Environmentally Sensitive Land. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Environmentally Sensitive Land. Show all posts
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Boca Raton Approves Future Development on Environmentally Sensitive Land
The city of Boca Raton has changed the Land Use (similar to rezoning) on 79 acres of land that the city's own comprehensive growth management plan has designated as Environmentally Sensitive Land. Why do city officials talk about being green or responsible environmental stewards and then bend over backwards to bailout a poor real estate investment? This property is located between Spanish River Blvd. & Yamato Rd. & East of I-95 and West of NW 5th Ave. The current city leaders approved over 1 million sq.ft. of development on this property against the wishes of the area residents.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Environmentally Sensitive Land Cleared in Boca Raton WITHOUT a Permit from City
Why has over 20,000 sq. ft. of 
environmentally sensitive land (ESL) been cleared between I-95 and NW 5th Ave. over the past few days? It appears that there has been no permit issued by the city for clearing this ESL. There appears to have been no attempt by the operator of the Bobcat equipment to protect or preserve any of the endangered wildlife, such as gopher tortoise that are known to habitat the area.
Is it a coincidence that on 12/21 the city received the contingent approval from the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) to change the land use on this 79 acres of land the city (which has been designated as environmentally sensitive by the city) from residential-low
density to planned mobility and less than a week later the land is being cleared? This land use change was actively opposed by residents in the adjacent single family homes along NW 5th Ave. between Spanish River Blvd. & Yamato Rd./East of I-95. This land use change would allow over 1.3 million sq. ft. of development and over 1,500 residential units to be developed on this land instead of the approx. 240 units allowed under the existing land use designation.
On 12/23 & 12/24 neighbors in the Spanish River HOA area along NW 5th Ln. & NW 50th Place heard land behind their houses being cleared.
When residents investigated the activity on this environmentally sensitive land they were told by the operator of the Bobcat (with a bush-hog clearing implement on the front) that this was a fire road he was clearing.
This operator of the Bobcat did not have any surveying stakes or protective fencing to designate the specific area to be cleared or to protect the sensitive wildlife in this area. There was no permit visible on the site which was entered on the west end of NW 50th Place.
These pictures illustrate the extensive damage
done to the ESL on this property. At a public meeting on Nov. 3rd the CEO of the property owner stated that this property was for sale.
Was this clearing related to the approval of the land use change and the planned sale of the property?
What legal responsibility, if any, does the property owner have for this clearing of ESL without a permit from the city? Will this be investigated in a similar manner to the recent US Foodservice damage to ESL in north Boca Raton in which they were fined over $200k and had to restore the damaged ESL adjacent to their property?
The Notice of Intent issued by the DCA on 12/21 indicates that the amendments to the city's comprehensive growth management plan are not effective until after 21 days of publication of the notice and is subject to being challenged by affected residents. Accordingly, the land use change was not effective as of the date of this clearing operation so who is responsible for this destruction of this ESL area?
environmentally sensitive land (ESL) been cleared between I-95 and NW 5th Ave. over the past few days? It appears that there has been no permit issued by the city for clearing this ESL. There appears to have been no attempt by the operator of the Bobcat equipment to protect or preserve any of the endangered wildlife, such as gopher tortoise that are known to habitat the area.Is it a coincidence that on 12/21 the city received the contingent approval from the Florida Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) to change the land use on this 79 acres of land the city (which has been designated as environmentally sensitive by the city) from residential-low
density to planned mobility and less than a week later the land is being cleared? This land use change was actively opposed by residents in the adjacent single family homes along NW 5th Ave. between Spanish River Blvd. & Yamato Rd./East of I-95. This land use change would allow over 1.3 million sq. ft. of development and over 1,500 residential units to be developed on this land instead of the approx. 240 units allowed under the existing land use designation.On 12/23 & 12/24 neighbors in the Spanish River HOA area along NW 5th Ln. & NW 50th Place heard land behind their houses being cleared.
When residents investigated the activity on this environmentally sensitive land they were told by the operator of the Bobcat (with a bush-hog clearing implement on the front) that this was a fire road he was clearing.This operator of the Bobcat did not have any surveying stakes or protective fencing to designate the specific area to be cleared or to protect the sensitive wildlife in this area. There was no permit visible on the site which was entered on the west end of NW 50th Place.
These pictures illustrate the extensive damage
done to the ESL on this property. At a public meeting on Nov. 3rd the CEO of the property owner stated that this property was for sale.Was this clearing related to the approval of the land use change and the planned sale of the property?
What legal responsibility, if any, does the property owner have for this clearing of ESL without a permit from the city? Will this be investigated in a similar manner to the recent US Foodservice damage to ESL in north Boca Raton in which they were fined over $200k and had to restore the damaged ESL adjacent to their property?
The Notice of Intent issued by the DCA on 12/21 indicates that the amendments to the city's comprehensive growth management plan are not effective until after 21 days of publication of the notice and is subject to being challenged by affected residents. Accordingly, the land use change was not effective as of the date of this clearing operation so who is responsible for this destruction of this ESL area?
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Green Stewardship? City Approves Huge Development on Environmentally Sensitive Land - Send Email/Oppose
On Oct. 26th the city approved an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan which included a land use change on 79 acres of land adjacent to homes along NW 5th Ave. and North of Spanish River Blvd. This land is currently designated for Low Density Residential (RL) land use that would allow approx. 240 homes, but as a result of the city's action this land has been approved for over 1.3 million sq. ft. of development. This approval is the equivalent of approximately 7 Super Wal-Marts and would allow approx. 1,600 new housing units.
Does Boca Raton need another 1,600 housing units considering the glut of foreclosures?
Does Boca Raton need the development of the equivalent of 7 Super Wal-Marts?
The property owner (Boca Raton Regional Hospital) has indicated that they have no specific plans for development, but their representative indicated at a public meeting in early Nov. that this land was for sale. They purchased this land in 2005 for $25 million and the value has declined to $5-6 million according to the PBC property appraisers office. It is expected that this approval will significantly devalue the adjacent residential property and result in a significant increase in the value of the 79 acres. You do not need to be a real estate expert to understand that this land use change is very detrimental to the residential property values in the area.
This 79 acres is designated as Environmentally Sensitive Land (ESL) and the FL Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) had objected to the land use change in their earlier review of this proposal. DCA recommended the city retain the RL designation for this land unless they could provide the "data & analysis" to justify the change on this specific location. At the Oct. 26th meeting of the city council there was discussion on the amount of development that should be allowed and an elected official suggested caution in approving a reduction from over 2 million sq. ft. originally proposed since the city council DID NOT HAVE THE DATA TO SUPPORT A CHANGE. This statement is clearly shown on the video of this meeting on Oct. 26th as sown on the wity web site under Agendas and Minutes.
This data & analysis is what the State oversight dept. requested in their prior objection, so how did the city continue to request this land use change in their Nov. 8th response to the DCA's objection if they did not have the requested "data & analysis" to support this approval at the time of adoption?
Is the development of approx. 1,600 residential units or a combination of over 1.3 million sq.ft. of commercial/retail buildings consistent with the environmentally sensitive nature of this property?
Where is the responsible "green stewardship" that the city leaders are always talking about?
These actions speak louder than words as this is very poor environmental leadership by the city and it is very detrimental to the residents in the Spanish River residential area.
Take action today to protect environmentally sensitive land and support your residential community - Email the FL Dept. of Community Affairs and request this Land Use change not be approved due to the inconsistency with the Environmentally Sensitive Land Use designation and the data and analysis has not been provided to support this land use change on the 79 acres (per DCA ORC Objection #3).
Email to: Bob Dennis - bob.dennis@dca.state.fl.us
Send your emails ASAP since the FL DCA will be issuing their final review of this proposal by Dec. 21st.
Does Boca Raton need another 1,600 housing units considering the glut of foreclosures?
Does Boca Raton need the development of the equivalent of 7 Super Wal-Marts?
The property owner (Boca Raton Regional Hospital) has indicated that they have no specific plans for development, but their representative indicated at a public meeting in early Nov. that this land was for sale. They purchased this land in 2005 for $25 million and the value has declined to $5-6 million according to the PBC property appraisers office. It is expected that this approval will significantly devalue the adjacent residential property and result in a significant increase in the value of the 79 acres. You do not need to be a real estate expert to understand that this land use change is very detrimental to the residential property values in the area.
This 79 acres is designated as Environmentally Sensitive Land (ESL) and the FL Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) had objected to the land use change in their earlier review of this proposal. DCA recommended the city retain the RL designation for this land unless they could provide the "data & analysis" to justify the change on this specific location. At the Oct. 26th meeting of the city council there was discussion on the amount of development that should be allowed and an elected official suggested caution in approving a reduction from over 2 million sq. ft. originally proposed since the city council DID NOT HAVE THE DATA TO SUPPORT A CHANGE. This statement is clearly shown on the video of this meeting on Oct. 26th as sown on the wity web site under Agendas and Minutes.
This data & analysis is what the State oversight dept. requested in their prior objection, so how did the city continue to request this land use change in their Nov. 8th response to the DCA's objection if they did not have the requested "data & analysis" to support this approval at the time of adoption?
Is the development of approx. 1,600 residential units or a combination of over 1.3 million sq.ft. of commercial/retail buildings consistent with the environmentally sensitive nature of this property?
Where is the responsible "green stewardship" that the city leaders are always talking about?
These actions speak louder than words as this is very poor environmental leadership by the city and it is very detrimental to the residents in the Spanish River residential area.
Take action today to protect environmentally sensitive land and support your residential community - Email the FL Dept. of Community Affairs and request this Land Use change not be approved due to the inconsistency with the Environmentally Sensitive Land Use designation and the data and analysis has not been provided to support this land use change on the 79 acres (per DCA ORC Objection #3).
Email to: Bob Dennis - bob.dennis@dca.state.fl.us
Send your emails ASAP since the FL DCA will be issuing their final review of this proposal by Dec. 21st.
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