Past posts are here: http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search?q=%22Ben+Gamla%22
I've waited a few days before saying anything about it here on the blog because I wanted to give people in the larger HB community -and the specific NE Hallandale Beach neighborhood- a chance to read it, and share what they thought about it with me first before I chimed-in online.
Among the other findings of the city's staff, the application is Incompatible with the State of Florida requirements on item (7), recreation space, at the student population size desired by Peter Deutsch -450 students, down from his original 600-plus.
In fact, even if reduced to 300 students, as suggested by city staff, in order for the applicant to meet the state's requirement, they'd STILL legally be required to have a minimum of 5.0 acres for student recreation, but the site is only 1.90 acres.
Math is their problem -their numbers don't add up to something viable.
Many HB residents in the area most-affected along N.E. 8th Avenue have phoned or written me the past few days asking me variations of the same thing, after I emailed a version of this post as an email last Friday:
why didn't anyone ever say anything about this state-mandated recreation area requirement in the first place, since they could never ever hope to meet that standard, given where they want to locate the school, at the present Hallandale Jewish Center?
To which I would simply say that Peter Deutsch wants what Peter Deutsch wants.
I don't think you have to be a genius to know that Peter Deutsch & Company are now flexing his wide array of resources, calling-in longstanding personal & political chits, and communicating with his powerful and well-connected pals throughout the county to get what he wants.
Perhaps even people like Broward School Board members Ann Murray and Jennifer Gottlieb, neither one of whom attended the required public community meeting re BG at the HB Cultural Center they both knew about for quite some time -and which I wrote about here.
Yes, the required meeting that Deutsch grudgingly hosted and which he admitted a few times during that it would NOT be taking place if it was up to him, since he didn't care what the neighborhood thought, but the city required it.
In Ann Murray's case, she and her staff didn't even bother to respond to emails of HB residents asking whether she'd attend.
Surprise!
And by surprise, of course, I mean no surprise at all, since Murray has been an almost completely invisible presence in Hallandale Beach since first getting elected to the Board under the guise of being a "reformer."
As I've detailed here for years, Murray has proven to be no such thing, of course!
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/search?q=%22Ann+Murray%22
Prior to last month, nobody among my circle of well-informed friends and acquaintances recalls Murray EVER being in HB for any purpose other than politics or campaign fund-raising.
Ever.
Peter Deutsch & Company will leave no stone unturned in enlisting help from his pals and past supporters in persuading HB city officials to let him have the school that he wants, a school that the N.E. neighborhood and HB community are VERY OPPOSED to.
A school that if approved, would be 90% non-Hallandale Beach students.
The school that Deutsch insisted at a Resident Forum hosted by Comm. Keith London that "nobody" in this city could prevent him from getting -not citizens, not the neighborhood, not even the city's elected officials.
The Hallandale Beach Planning & Zoning Advisory board meeting is Wednesday the 23rd at 1:30 p.m. in the Commission Chambers, 400 S. Federal Highway.
My emphasis below:
Complete staff report at: http://www.cohb.org/
(7) That the land area is sufficient, appropriate and adequate for the use and for any reasonably anticipated expansion thereof.
Inconsistent. The land area of the subject property was reduced in size in 2005 when the lot to the west across NE 8th Avenue which was used for synagogue parking was sold and a townhouse development was constructed. The site, even with the proposed improvements, does not contain sufficient land area generally found in public schools and does not have sufficient recreational areas. A sodded area approximately 11,000 square feet (0.25 acre) is provided in the southwest corner of the property. According to the State Requirements for Educational Facilities (SREF), elementary schools shall contain a minimum of four (4) acres for the first two hundred (200) students plus one (1) acre for each additional one hundred (100) students. Based on this standard, the proposed school with 450 students should be on a parcel of land at least 6.5 acres in size. The subject site is 1.90 acres. Therefore, based on the State’s requirements, the site is not sufficient to accommodate the proposed use and is not adequate to accommodate future school expansions.
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http://www.cohb.org/
March 23, 2011
 | Ben Gamla Application and Plans 3271 KB, Last Uploaded: 3/14/2011 3:22:02 PM |
| | Ben Gamla Staff Report 79 KB, Last Uploaded: 3/17/2011 4:00:29 PM |
| | Planning and Zoning Board Agenda 03/23/11 11 KB, Last Uploaded: 3/17/2011 4:11:03 PM |
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