Csaba Kulin: Hallandale Beach taxpayers & residents want straight answers from Hallandale Beach City Hall about the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa's future plans. Please attend 6 pm meeting tonight at HB Cultural Center

My friend and fellow Hallandale Beach & Broward civic activist Csaba "Chuck" Kulin is sounding the alarm bells today so that the city's residents, taxpayers and Small Business owners can become properly informed about development plans afoot by the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa before something else happens that the public will regret.

The Diplomat's past project, the Diplomat RAC, being a source of dozens of fact-filled blog posts here over the past 8 years, especially my effort to highlight the deliberate efforts of the not-so-fine folks at Hallandale Beach City Hall to keep the community in the dark until the last possible minute, so that their developer friends and associates can keep a lid on facts and plans.

Well, we know how that finally wound up, with me often making like Paul Revere at the time...

The community won, the developer lost.  

See also: via @trdmiami
25th new condo tower completed in South Florida this cycle At least 50 units have been recorded at Related's new Beachwalk in Hallandale Beach April 21, 2015 12:00PM
By Peter Zalewski
http://therealdeal.com/miami/blog/2015/04/21/25th-new-condo-tower-completed-in-south-florida-this-cycle/

Below, my blog post on the current news about the Diplomat Resort & Spa, but first, two helpful
reminders from early 2010, the first of which has generated 2,556 individual pageviews since then:
Sore loser Mark Kukulski & Westin Diplomat renew threats: they'll huff and puff and blow the Diplomat Golf Course down
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sore-loser-mark-kukulski-westin.html

With friends like Gregory M. Dell, concerned citizens of Hallandale Beach don't need enemies in their battle against the
Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa's ill-conceived plans that threaten the area's Quality of Life
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/with-friends-like-gregory-m-dell.html

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Friends

During the April 21, 2015 City Commission meeting there were several comments made about the Diplomat Golf Resort and the need for the City to define “condo-hotels”. Nothing definite but if you read between the lines, the Diplomat’s new owners are getting ready for something new and big.

If you remember the Diplomat in February 2007 requested to build 1,050 condominium units and 349 hotel rooms. The Planning and Zoning Board rejected that idea and the Diplomat withdrew the application.

In September 2009 the Diplomat filed a new application asking for 1,078 condominiums, 500 room hotel and 3,000 square feet of commercial space. On December 16, 2009 our City Commission approved it 3 to 2. Commissioners Julian and London voted NO. Mayor Cooper, Commissioners Sanders and Ross voted YES. The City Commission voted at 2:30 AM (yes, after midnight) in front of a “standing room only” full of residents to approve the application.

On April 27, 2010 the Broward County Commission denied the application. A bus full of residents were in attendance and many spoke in opposition to the application.

I believe that it is time to ask questions now of your elected mayor and city commissioners about the Diplomat project. What is requested? What is allowed? What is in the best interest of the residents?

An excellent place to start asking questions is tonight, April 21, 2015, at Commissioner Keith London’s monthly meeting at the City Community Center at 6:00 PM. Since it is a “Publicly Noticed” meeting, there may be more than one city commissioners in attendance.

I know it is a late notice but it is an important meeting. Please, try to attend.

Chuck Kulin
President
Fairways North, Inc.  

 

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