Yesterday's meeting of the Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District provided very good news to the large crowd of Ocean Blvd. residents when Chairman Bob Rollins announced that the Ocean Strand property is not for sale. Many residents of the nearby Boca Towers expressed their positive opinion at hearing the chairman introduce the public comment portion of the agenda with this announcement.
But, a few residents were concerned that the potential exists for the property to be sold without a "required" referendum of voters. One commissioner inquired from the district's attorney if the commission could request a referendum should a proposal be made to sell or lease the property. The reply from the attorney was yes, the commission could require a referendum. The attorney also emphasized that the beach and park district has never sold or leased any property since the district was formed over 20 years ago.
For more questions of the beach and park district, please contact them at info@gbrbpd.org
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Town Hall Meeting-May 24th at 6pm at City Hall
There is a town hall meeting May 24th at 6pm at city hall. City council members will be present to listen to your concerns and recommendations regarding city leadership. This is your opportunity to provide your opinion on the direction of the city, including development approvals, traffic congestion, foreclosure impacts, etc...
Saturday, May 22, 2010
North Ocean Blvd. Property Proposed Development Site - Ocean Strand
The property was purchased to protect it from development, so is the city now considering breaking this promise to neighbors on North Ocean Blvd.?
Developer proposes Boca Raton park district land for private beach club
By Angel Streeter Sun Sentinel - Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Many hailed the purchase of the Ocean Strand property in 1994 as a major victory for preserving green space. For $11.88 million, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District secured the city's last sizeable piece of undeveloped oceanfront property, saving the 15-acre site near Gumbo Limbo Nature Center from development. And there it has sat, undeveloped, untouched, in the midst of condominiums, single-family homes and other city parkland. Now, a developer is proposing building a private beach club on a portion of the property as part of a major development planned for downtown.
But residents who live near the property worry a beach club, possibly with dining and bars, could change the quiet, residential character of the coastal neighborhood."It would destroy the area," said Alan Goldman, who is on the condominium board of the Aegean, condominiums just south of Ocean Strand. "You've got an area here with no commercial property on the ocean side."District commissions have yet to agree; their lawyer is looking into the proposal.
"They said, 'We can think about this,' " said Bob Langford, park district executive director. "But there's a ton of things to think about. "The proposed beach club is critical to development of Via Mizner, a $1 billion redevelopment project at the northeast corner of Federal Highway and Camino Real, Penn-Florida Companies says. The mixed-use development, approved by Boca Raton's Community Redevelopment Agency in 2006, could consist of a 118-room luxury hotel, office space, 192 condominiums and high-end retail stores and restaurants. Penn-Florida has stressed to city and park district officials that the beach club would be a necessary amenity to attract an exclusive international hotel that has expressed interest in the Via Mizner project. And that hotel is critical to the success of Via Mizner overall.In an April 27 letter to City Manager Leif Ahnell, Penn-Florida President Mark Gensheimer asked the city to help the developer get access to the oceanfront portion of the Ocean Strand property to build a "low-rise beach club.
"In addition, a western portion of the property would be needed for beach club parking. In addition, Gensheimer said, Penn-Florida would help develop the Ocean Strand property as a passive park. In response, and at the direction of the City Council, Ahnell wrote to the park district board, stressing the importance of Via Mizner to the downtown and "its huge economic development potential. "He said the council was interested in exploring the beach club idea and getting public input. The developer's lawyer proposed the beach club to the district in December. Although at the time, the commissioners didn't know who the lawyer was representing or what major development he was referring to, Langford said. That had been the only contact the district had with Penn-Florida, he said.
At the December meeting, the developer's representative explained that the developer would want to lease the oceanfront property for the private beach club. But many questions remain unanswered: How much land does the developer want? How much is the developer willing to pay? When would the developer want to build the beach club?And a critical question for the park district is whether it should turn over public land to a private entity that wants to develop it.
"We haven't been too aggressive about building anything out there," Langford said. "We didn't buy it to develop it. We didn't buy it for any particular use. "The district bought it because neighbors and the city didn't want the previous owners to move forward with plans to build 79 condominiums and six beachfront homes on the site.Since the purchase, the district has done very little with the property.
Early on, it removed some old homes and duplexes. But nothing else has been done. And the land gets very little use. Neighbors seem to like that. They worry a beach club would bring traffic and noise. "It's basically like a nightclub in the middle of a residential area," said Mike Graham, who lives just north of the Ocean Strand property.While he approves of the Via Mizner project Penn-Florida plans downtown, he is skeptical about the district leasing prime real estate to a developer for a fraction of what it's worth."I'd sure like to know more about it," he said. "The beaches are nice. The traffic is minimal. It's our last piece of prime ground.
"Penn-Florida stressed it would work with neighbors to create a low density, low-rise beach club that would enhance the neighborhood, said Bonnie Kaye, a Penn-Florida spokeswoman. "The plans are conceptual," she said. "Nothing is finalized because the goal is to work with the city and the neighbors in a collaborative effort. The plans are to make it a showpiece and a welcome part of the community."
Developer proposes Boca Raton park district land for private beach club
By Angel Streeter Sun Sentinel - Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Many hailed the purchase of the Ocean Strand property in 1994 as a major victory for preserving green space. For $11.88 million, the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District secured the city's last sizeable piece of undeveloped oceanfront property, saving the 15-acre site near Gumbo Limbo Nature Center from development. And there it has sat, undeveloped, untouched, in the midst of condominiums, single-family homes and other city parkland. Now, a developer is proposing building a private beach club on a portion of the property as part of a major development planned for downtown.
But residents who live near the property worry a beach club, possibly with dining and bars, could change the quiet, residential character of the coastal neighborhood."It would destroy the area," said Alan Goldman, who is on the condominium board of the Aegean, condominiums just south of Ocean Strand. "You've got an area here with no commercial property on the ocean side."District commissions have yet to agree; their lawyer is looking into the proposal.
"They said, 'We can think about this,' " said Bob Langford, park district executive director. "But there's a ton of things to think about. "The proposed beach club is critical to development of Via Mizner, a $1 billion redevelopment project at the northeast corner of Federal Highway and Camino Real, Penn-Florida Companies says. The mixed-use development, approved by Boca Raton's Community Redevelopment Agency in 2006, could consist of a 118-room luxury hotel, office space, 192 condominiums and high-end retail stores and restaurants. Penn-Florida has stressed to city and park district officials that the beach club would be a necessary amenity to attract an exclusive international hotel that has expressed interest in the Via Mizner project. And that hotel is critical to the success of Via Mizner overall.In an April 27 letter to City Manager Leif Ahnell, Penn-Florida President Mark Gensheimer asked the city to help the developer get access to the oceanfront portion of the Ocean Strand property to build a "low-rise beach club.
"In addition, a western portion of the property would be needed for beach club parking. In addition, Gensheimer said, Penn-Florida would help develop the Ocean Strand property as a passive park. In response, and at the direction of the City Council, Ahnell wrote to the park district board, stressing the importance of Via Mizner to the downtown and "its huge economic development potential. "He said the council was interested in exploring the beach club idea and getting public input. The developer's lawyer proposed the beach club to the district in December. Although at the time, the commissioners didn't know who the lawyer was representing or what major development he was referring to, Langford said. That had been the only contact the district had with Penn-Florida, he said.
At the December meeting, the developer's representative explained that the developer would want to lease the oceanfront property for the private beach club. But many questions remain unanswered: How much land does the developer want? How much is the developer willing to pay? When would the developer want to build the beach club?And a critical question for the park district is whether it should turn over public land to a private entity that wants to develop it.
"We haven't been too aggressive about building anything out there," Langford said. "We didn't buy it to develop it. We didn't buy it for any particular use. "The district bought it because neighbors and the city didn't want the previous owners to move forward with plans to build 79 condominiums and six beachfront homes on the site.Since the purchase, the district has done very little with the property.
Early on, it removed some old homes and duplexes. But nothing else has been done. And the land gets very little use. Neighbors seem to like that. They worry a beach club would bring traffic and noise. "It's basically like a nightclub in the middle of a residential area," said Mike Graham, who lives just north of the Ocean Strand property.While he approves of the Via Mizner project Penn-Florida plans downtown, he is skeptical about the district leasing prime real estate to a developer for a fraction of what it's worth."I'd sure like to know more about it," he said. "The beaches are nice. The traffic is minimal. It's our last piece of prime ground.
"Penn-Florida stressed it would work with neighbors to create a low density, low-rise beach club that would enhance the neighborhood, said Bonnie Kaye, a Penn-Florida spokeswoman. "The plans are conceptual," she said. "Nothing is finalized because the goal is to work with the city and the neighbors in a collaborative effort. The plans are to make it a showpiece and a welcome part of the community."
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Grandmothers report Nudity on Boca Teeca Golf Course
Below is an excerpt from a letter to the Boca Raton City Council dated Aug. 22, 2007 from a resident of San De Vance condo association as a result of explicit nudity in full public view on the North golf course of Boca Teeca. Considering this illegal activity on the golf course do you think that the owners of the golf course deserve the support of the residents of Boca Teeca?
.....Lastly, there was a significant illustration of the lack of character of the developer/owner of the country club that occurred on June 3, 2006 as the country club hosted a golf tournament by the Cheetah Lounge, called the Cheetah Golf Classic. There were approximately 25 women who were topless or completely naked and performing various fornication gyrations within feet of the patios of the San De Vance community and witnessed by women and children. Numerous calls to the country club were unresponsive and the only reason this event was stopped at approximately 5pm was due to a thunderstorm that closed the course.
I reported this illegal activity in a certified letter sent to the police chief and the mayor that was delivered on November 13, 2006. There was no written reply from the city acknowledging this lewd behavior, but a telephone call from the Capt. Brancazio of the police dept. informed me that there had been plans for several of these Cheetah events at Ocean Breeze. A brief letter of apology was received from Dennis Taback at the Ocean Breeze Country Club to the grandmothers who witnessed this immoral event. In his letter of apology, Mr. Taback claimed that the golf tournament was for the benefit of cancer & diabetes research. This is believed to be a lie, as neither of these organizations would confirm their involvement with the Cheetah Lounge golf outing and it is doubtful that either would even remotely consider such involvement on moral policy issues.
With these problems of misrepresentation and immoral activity at the Ocean Breeze Country Club, I respectfully request that the city council deny the development proposal in order to protect the moral quality of life within our community.
.....Lastly, there was a significant illustration of the lack of character of the developer/owner of the country club that occurred on June 3, 2006 as the country club hosted a golf tournament by the Cheetah Lounge, called the Cheetah Golf Classic. There were approximately 25 women who were topless or completely naked and performing various fornication gyrations within feet of the patios of the San De Vance community and witnessed by women and children. Numerous calls to the country club were unresponsive and the only reason this event was stopped at approximately 5pm was due to a thunderstorm that closed the course.
I reported this illegal activity in a certified letter sent to the police chief and the mayor that was delivered on November 13, 2006. There was no written reply from the city acknowledging this lewd behavior, but a telephone call from the Capt. Brancazio of the police dept. informed me that there had been plans for several of these Cheetah events at Ocean Breeze. A brief letter of apology was received from Dennis Taback at the Ocean Breeze Country Club to the grandmothers who witnessed this immoral event. In his letter of apology, Mr. Taback claimed that the golf tournament was for the benefit of cancer & diabetes research. This is believed to be a lie, as neither of these organizations would confirm their involvement with the Cheetah Lounge golf outing and it is doubtful that either would even remotely consider such involvement on moral policy issues.
With these problems of misrepresentation and immoral activity at the Ocean Breeze Country Club, I respectfully request that the city council deny the development proposal in order to protect the moral quality of life within our community.
Federal Tax Lien on Boca Teeca Developer Dennis Taback
Joshua "Dennis" Taback has a history of not paying his Federal income taxes as shown by the attached Federal Tax Lien for over $36,000. Do condo leaders still have faith in the primary rep. for MCZ Centrum and his intent to fulfill his contract to pay condo associations $350k?
It would appear that Mr. Taback has a lot of experience with requiring debt holders to seek legal action for collection, including the Federal government.
Do you think that Boca Teeca condo associations or Teeca Woods HOA will ever receive a dime from the agreements signed by Mr. Taback to support his development on a portion of the Boca Teeca golf course?
This tax lien was not released until 3/8/06, while he was already negotiating with Boca Teeca condo residents for removing a portion of the deed restriction on the golf course in their community.
Boca Teeca Golf Course Developer Taback Doesn't Pay H.O.A. fees for Estancia
Ocean Beeze golf course principal Joshua Dennis Taback has required his personal Home Owners Assoc. to take legal action to collect their fees each of the last 2 years. $250 was not paid on January 1, 2008 and $266 for Jan. 2009. The 2009 lien is still outstanding according to Palm Beach Co. records.How would the Boca Teeca condo leaders treat a unit owner who failed repeatedly to pay their association fees while driving an expensive imported SUV?
Maybe Boca Teeca condo leaders should ask the Estancia Association their opinion of Mr. Taback's respect for his financial responsibilities? A neighbor who does not pay their association fees places a greater financial burden on each person within the community and is normally NOT considered a worthy neighbor to trust with additional financial responsibilities, such as business agreements with additional resident associations.
Ocean Breeze Developer Dennis Taback in Personal Foreclosure
Boca Teeca's Ocean Breeze golf course principal, Joshua Dennis Taback, is listed in foreclosure on his personal residence in Estancia. Mr. Taback has stated in the SunSentinel that he intends to fight the foreclosure on the golf course owned by his partners in MCZ Centrum, yet his personal residence is also in foreclosure.
What do you make of the chances that Mr. Taback will win these foreclosure actions and uphold the agreements with Boca Teeca residents?
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