Showing posts with label environmental stewardship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label environmental stewardship. 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?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Comprehensive Growth Amendments Fail to Protect Residents
The city of Boca Raton is currently proposing amendments to their State-mandated comprehensive growth management plan which does not protect the residential interests of our city based upon the following concerns:
1) Hotels will be allowed in all residential land use categories based upon the Land Use defintion in Section L.U.1.1.6.
*Hotels are NOT COMPATIBLE with residential areas so why is the city making this proposal?
*Is this an attempt to bailout developers with residential projects approved that now want to change their plans to hotels from condos or townhouses?
* World-Class cities, such a Palm Beach, do not allow hotels in residential areas, so if the city council wants to be considered a "world class" city, then they need to DELETE this provision in their proposed amendments.
2) Open Space - nearby cities have heard concerns from residents at past elections and have heeded voter concerns by including open space protections in their comp plan amendments, so why hasn't the city of Boca Raton considered these requests from their voters?
3) Environmental Stewardship - nearby cities have included provisions to require environmental testing of soil and groundwater prior to consdiering any development application, so why hasn't Boca Raton included this protection in their current comp plan amendments?
* How can city staff recommend a development for approval if they do not know if the land is safe for the deisred use by the developer?
* How can city council vote to approve a development without knowing if the land is safe for the requested use?
* If one of the primpary goal of local government is protection of public health & safety, then why are they ignoring this issue in their current comp plan amendments?
3) Ocean Strand - this land on North Ocean Blvd. was purchased over 10 years ago to protect it from development, yet the city never changed the land use to PR-Open Space & Rec. so why won't they correct this oversight in the current comp plan amendments?
* The Mayor has indicated that she is in favor of developing Ocean Strand in exchange for a larger development proposed for the area of Camiono Real and Fed. Hwy.
* If the current comp plan proposals are approved, then there is virtually nothing the public can do to stop the development of this land since there is no requirement of a referendum for such a development order--in fact, FL statutes do not allow referendums on development orders that impact less than 5 parcels of land....no accountability to residents!
What can resident do to express their concerns about their property values and quality of life?
1) Speak at the public meetings on Aug. 3rd at 6:30pm/P&Z meeting at city hall regarding these comp plan amendments.
2) Call & email city council members with your concerns about the impact of this proposal
3) Speak at the Aug. 9th & 10th meetings of the city council--2pm+ on 9th/workshop and 6pm on the 10th per approval by the council based upon city staff recommendation
1) Hotels will be allowed in all residential land use categories based upon the Land Use defintion in Section L.U.1.1.6.
*Hotels are NOT COMPATIBLE with residential areas so why is the city making this proposal?
*Is this an attempt to bailout developers with residential projects approved that now want to change their plans to hotels from condos or townhouses?
* World-Class cities, such a Palm Beach, do not allow hotels in residential areas, so if the city council wants to be considered a "world class" city, then they need to DELETE this provision in their proposed amendments.
2) Open Space - nearby cities have heard concerns from residents at past elections and have heeded voter concerns by including open space protections in their comp plan amendments, so why hasn't the city of Boca Raton considered these requests from their voters?
3) Environmental Stewardship - nearby cities have included provisions to require environmental testing of soil and groundwater prior to consdiering any development application, so why hasn't Boca Raton included this protection in their current comp plan amendments?
* How can city staff recommend a development for approval if they do not know if the land is safe for the deisred use by the developer?
* How can city council vote to approve a development without knowing if the land is safe for the requested use?
* If one of the primpary goal of local government is protection of public health & safety, then why are they ignoring this issue in their current comp plan amendments?
3) Ocean Strand - this land on North Ocean Blvd. was purchased over 10 years ago to protect it from development, yet the city never changed the land use to PR-Open Space & Rec. so why won't they correct this oversight in the current comp plan amendments?
* The Mayor has indicated that she is in favor of developing Ocean Strand in exchange for a larger development proposed for the area of Camiono Real and Fed. Hwy.
* If the current comp plan proposals are approved, then there is virtually nothing the public can do to stop the development of this land since there is no requirement of a referendum for such a development order--in fact, FL statutes do not allow referendums on development orders that impact less than 5 parcels of land....no accountability to residents!
What can resident do to express their concerns about their property values and quality of life?
1) Speak at the public meetings on Aug. 3rd at 6:30pm/P&Z meeting at city hall regarding these comp plan amendments.
2) Call & email city council members with your concerns about the impact of this proposal
3) Speak at the Aug. 9th & 10th meetings of the city council--2pm+ on 9th/workshop and 6pm on the 10th per approval by the council based upon city staff recommendation
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