FOLLOW me on my popular Twitter feed. Just click this photo! @hbbtruth - David - Common sense on #Politics #PublicPolicy #Sports #PopCulture in USA, Great Britain, Sweden and France, via my life in #Texas #Memphis #Miami #IU #Chicago #DC #FL 🛫🌍📺📽️🏈. Photo is of Elvis and Joan Blackman in 'Blue Hawaii'
Beautiful Stockholm at night, looking west towards Gamla Stan
Showing posts with label Mardi Gras Gaming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mardi Gras Gaming. Show all posts
Above, looking south from the southwest corner of U.S.-1 & Atlantic Shores Blvd., back when it actually had an operating business, near the entrance of Mardi Gras Casino. The building immediately south of the one in the foreground has NEVER been open in the nine years I have lived here, which gives you some clear idea of both how truly incompetent the former owners were, thinking it'd be a gold mine someday -and then the recession hit!- and how genuinely short-sighted and incompetent the Hallandale Beach City Commission and HB CRA -the same guilty parties!- have been that entire time, allowing a location that should've been a key economic engine along U.S.-1 to simply rot before residents eyes year-after-year. To say nothing of the empty space south of that which used to be the Kelly Chevrolet dealership. That whole area has been largely ignored by HB City hall for years, chronically poorly-lit and dangerous at night. And Joy Cooper has been mayor the entire time that's been the reality. Coincidence? I think not. Nice job, HB Chamber of Commerce!
Friday begins a very bumpy couple of weeks for real estate developer Jerome Hollo and his plan to NOT pay Hallandale Beach taxpayers the $450,000 that Florida East Coast Realty owes them. And a storm is coming... AFTER the city has already given him and his company $25k in a CRA grant to demolish HIS eyesore buildings on U..S.-1, near the eastern entrance to the Mardi Grass Casino. https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=25.994793,-80.14272&spn=0.001432,0.002663&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=25.994793,-80.14272&panoid=lV8wFVvQtGrRxC-Nmi7lHw&cbp=12,222.26,,0,-8.97 Hollo might want to consider putting a construction hat on, because I have it from good authority that a storm is coming, and part of that storm will consist of cold, hard facts raining steadily on the head of him and his company. Facts of the sort that his regular retinue of assorted attorneys, consultants, PR pals and business sycophants will NOT be able to unspin. Agenda item #10 involving Hollo was pulled from Wednesday night's Hallandale Beach City Commission consent agenda and is likely to come back for discussion on Wednesday night February the 20th.
10. CONSENT AGENDAA. A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO FULLY MITIGATE ALL CODE COMPLIANCE LIENS ON REAL PROPERTY LOCATED AT 801, 805, 811 AND 821 NORTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY, HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE RELEASE OF SAID CODE ENFORCEMENT LIENS; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. (STAFF: DEVELOPMENT SERVICES) (SEE BACKUP) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)
Look what I found? More photographic proof of Hallandale Beach's "business as usual" attitude. Special rules for special people named Joy Cooper, Bill Julian and Anthony A. Sanders -once again they break the rules everyone else HAS to follow; Ethics @MayorCooper, @SandersHB, @AlexLewy
No, there's nothing the least bit vague, accidental, oblique or circumstantial about these photos, is there?
What you see are three political campaign yard signs for Joy Cooper, Bill Julian and Anthony A. Sanders on City of Hallandale Beach property -taxpayer property- at 501 N.W. First Avenue, yesterday afternoon, Wednesday the 3rd.
This from the very same three folks at Hallandale Beach City Hall who for years have employed cover-up, finger-pointing and obfuscation more than they've employed common sense and honesty. Yes, and the thing is, I've already spoken to multiple sources who've told me that they saw those same three signs standing there last Saturday morning, before the ribbon-cutting ceremony at nearby Foster Park.
Which is to say that the three of them are and have been in clear violation of Hallandale Beach's own rules governing the placement of campaign signs, as well as basic common sense and standards of campaign integrity -you don't put your campaign signs on government property!
It doesn't just look bad, it STINKS!
Between the three of them, Cooper, Julian and Sanders have been in office in Hallandale Beach for roughly 26 years, so they are NOT unfamiliar with the rules on this subject. In fact, they were given the most-updated copy of the rules that exist when they filed for office and paid their qualifying fees - it was in the packet of documents.
For the very same reason that these three people ALSO place the same campaign yard signs at the dilapidated old HB City Hall that I've written about and photographed so many times over the years that is both an eyesore and a firetrap, to say nothing about it being a dumping ground for junk that neighbors on the south side of it, on S.W. 4th Street, have to look at for months or years at a time, because no responsible parties at HB City Hall are consistently doing their job, paying attention or being pro-active in looking-out for them.
And we all know from experience that this is certainly NOT the sort of behavior that would be tolerated across the street from Joy Cooper's house on Holiday Drive, garbage and junk sitting there for months at a time, rotting away.
But that's what the residents on S.W. 4th Street have had to put up with for years!
But then they don't stop there.
The three of them also have their yard signs on city property next to the city's DPW/Water Treatment Center on N.W. 2nd Street, on the N.W. 8th Avenue corner.
Where they've been for a while, as obvious as obvious could be.
As we have all learned to our collective regret over the years from first-hand observation and experience, there's what the State, County and City laws, ordinances and rules say, and then there's what Cooper, Julian and Sanders think they can successfully get away with.
They have repeatedly shown, over-and-over, that they DON'T care about those things.
They really don't.
They have the mindset that their sense of entitlement allows them to do whatever they want.
Rules? Rules are for other people -like you and me and their political opponents.
They don't sweat the small stuff because they actually dare anyone to actually try to stop them when they break the rules, written or otherwise.
After all, in the three of them, we're talking about some pretty shady and pernicious characters who have revealed their own lack of character and integrity, over-and-over.
Mayor Cooper had no qualms in telling another commissioner (Julian) that a HB resident sitting by himself (me) at a HB City Commission meeting -before it started- was "a Nazi," before then quickly following-up by calling another commissioner who wasn't there (Keith London) "a Hitler."
In former Commissioner and 2012 Comm. candidate Bill Julian we have someone who thought to use the fact that there were no cameras around in City Hall Room 257 at a City Commission meeting to record him to make a motion to triple the commissioner's salary, and then had the audacity afterwards to publicly say that he deserved to be paid like a corporate executive for all of his work.
Yes, paid like a corporate executive for his job as a part-time commissioner.
And all the while, for years Julian has routinely parked his vehicle in "Handicapped Parking" and "No Parking" spaces at locations all over town, including what used to be the ONLY street-level "Handicapped" and "Handicapped Access" parking spaces at the city's public beach at North Beach.
In Anthony A. Sanders we have someone who for years has refused to return phone calls and emails from residents who wanted to communicate with him.
Refused to come to their neighborhood to hear their side in a policy issue, and who has refused for over three-and-a-half years to meet with the public he works for to tell the truth -and his side- about the city's controversial purchase of his property for $85,000 more than it was worth by any reasonable standard.
And in Sanders, we have a person who has been not the least bit shy -or even clever- in his use of race-baiting in this small city in order to try to hang onto power, the most recent proof of which is that he consciously uses two entirely different-looking "2' X 8" campaign signs in NW and SW, but something entirely different east of U.S.-1.
Can you see what the difference is?
He does something that no other candidate does on their 2" x 8" campaign signs.
He's two-faced with just one face.
Did you figure it out yet?
Correct, in NW and SW Hallandale Beach, Sanders has a photo of himself along with the symbol of his Eagles Wings Development Center to remind residents there who he is and what he looks like.
But on the other side of town, there's no photo of him and no physical reminder of a group that the city under Mayor Cooper and Bill Julian has been giving dollars to for years, with little oversight or accountability. An organization which, after all these years and all those dollars, STILL doesn't have a website that would in some way explain what they really do -and really do with the city dollars they are given.
No, on the signs you see as you get closer to the center of this city's population, and get closer to the beach, Anthony A. Sanders not only doesn't show his face, which is ironic, but doesn't even so much as have a slogan on his signs.
The position of the four commissioner and one mayor in this city is At-Large, which means that Sanders is supposed to represent ALL residents from this city, but he doesn't. No, it's been made rather clear to everyone for years that in his mind, Sanders only needs to represent NW Hallandale Beach, even though it only represents 13% of the city's overall population, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
Barely one-eighth of the city!
Why do you think Comm. Alexander Lewy is pushing that absurd charter amendment that changes the city's current horse-race system that, simply put, ensures that if eight candidates are running for two seats, the two candidates who get the most votes get elected. Lewy wants to change that. He wants a lesser standard to ensure that Sanders gets to stay on the City Commission as long as incompetent Sanders likes, not as long as the concerned citizens of this community like.
It's hardly surprising that all three of them voted FOR Mayor Cooper's unpopular red-light cameras. The ones that aren't doing what Cooper said they'd do -decrease traffic accidents
See my August 25, 2012 blog post titled, City of Hallandale Beach prints analysis that refutes Mayor Joy Cooper's mendacious efforts on red-light cameras - "In summary, there is no safety benefit to the citizens, and there is no financial benefit to the taxpayer due to automated for-profit; @MayorCooper
Perhaps City Manager Renee Crichton and City Attorney Lynn Whitfield should stage a surprise visit over at 501 N.W. First Avenue this afternoon and ask the person in charge (LOL!) if there are ANY political campaign signs of any kind located in the building.
Ask if the location is being used for any political purpose.
And then, regardless of what they are told, look around themselves.
Perhaps with some Code Compliance enforcement officers and some Hallandale Beach Police.
I mention that last part since I saw campaign signs coming and going from that city-owned building into a vehicle on the east side of it, just steps from the front door, as I watched Wednesday afternoon after 5 p.m., on my way back from an errand in western Hollywood
It was very obvious, and I actually noticed the signs in the vehicle before I noticed the three signs in the ground just a few feet away, because I was going east on Foster Road towards Dixie Highway.
But when I came to the stop signs and saw what was going on, I made a left, pulled over and stopped my car, got out and started taking photos.
Within a few minutes, a series of vehicles came by and stopped, lingered for a few minutes as they saw me taking more and more photos of the outside of the building, and then took off.
Some of them actually came back around a second time while I was on the phone calling some of you, but when they saw that I was still there, and still had the camera in my hand, rather than linger, they stopped at the stop sign, then sped off, seemingly disappointed that they couldn't go inside and get what they'd come by for in the first place as long as I stood outside snapping photos.
Hmm-m... I wonder what that was?
I highly doubt that it was musical instruments.
By the way, some of you may recall that I recently mentioned in an email that some of the largest land owners in Hallandale Beach were more than willing to put their name behind these same three unethical individuals, these "Special Rules for Special People."
RK Centers, The Mardi Gras and The Related Group have all helped these three people who have helped them so many times in the past with YES votes, even when it was contrary to the best long-term interests of the residents and business owners of this community.
Just something to keep in mind as Election Day gets closer...
Above and below, where we set our tale today: Hallandale Beach, FL, looking south-bound on U.S.-1 & Hallandale Beach Blvd., home of one of the city's two red-light cameras that made it infamous in South Florida.
Go ahead and ignore all the gang graffiti you see on all these signs and posts on the main roads in town - HB City Hall already does.
September 23, 2011 photos by South Beach Hoosier.
Somewhat out-of-the-blue Tuesday night, I found myself discovering that one of the other things that will be going down at Wednesday afternoon's HB Planning & Zoning Board meeting at 1:30 p.m., besides the previously-mentioned attempt by Mayor Cooper & Co. to thwart the will of the majority of the homeowners in Golden Isles, is, of all things, regulating signage and advertising.
Yes, signage, one of my longstanding bête noires in the poorly-managed Broward city on the ocean that is as dysfunctional as any city in South Florida.
The same city that on its own electronic message board, across the street from Gulfstream Park Race Track & Casino, off U.S.-1 & SE 3rd Street, was running the wrong meeting time for its second City Commission get-together of the month for many monthsAFTER I'd already told the head of the city's IT Dept. about the problem, AFTER first mentioning it publicly minutes before during Public Comments of a City Commission meeting in which I focused on the city's inability to see extant problems right in front of their own face, but which everyone else can see.
The sign is less than a block from City Hall, but somehow, we're supposed to believe that over many months, nobody but me noticed?
Even I don't believe that.
It's hard not to get the impression right now that this effort on Wednesday is a solution in search of a problem, when there already are longstanding problems -including lack of appropriate and sufficient signage- the city is NOT handling competently, efficiently or with any degree of smarts.
Problems that have existed for many years...
The very city that, as mentioned here more than a few times in the past, DOESN'T have a single directional sign anywhere within its borders indicating exactly where City Hall is, or the Police Dept. HQ, or the Fire/Rescue HQ or... even a sign on busy U.S.-1 for the municipal swimming pool just three blocks away.
The city swimming pool that even many usually well-informed residents don't even know exists.
Yes, that city.
Across the street from the main U.S.-1 entrance to Gulfstream Park, one block north of HB City Hall and the HB Police Dept., gangs use Gulfstream Park signs as Post-Its to let everyone know who did it. There's no mystery folks. September 23, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
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Meanwhile, HTC shows who's really boss across the street from The Village at Gulfstream Park, one block south of HB City Hall and the HB Police Dept. HQ., and in front of the U.S. Post Office.
September 23, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Per Analysis item #12 below, will that include Gulfstream Race Track & Casino, the Village at Gulfstream Park retail complex and the Mardi Gras Casino, all of whom are currently using LED signs that appear to my eyes to currently be illegal based on what the city is now proposing, per "animated, flashing or moving lights are prohibited."
That's exactly what they do all right.
You know, the large monument signs on U.S.-1/Federal Highway and on Hallandale Beach Blvd. that not only weren't up in time before the racing season actually started two years ago -despite plenty of time to put them up- but which weren't even constructed in time for them to be used for Thanksgiving/Christmas promotional purposes by the few retail shops that were then up.
Above and below, the eastern monument sign for the Mardi Gras Casino on U.S.-1 & Atlantic Shores Blvd., and the not-so-grand eastern entrance to it. That's why they call it blight!
If you weren't paying attention before, you can see that this area is AQ!
September 23, 2011 photos by South Beach Hoosier.
Above and below, the signs on U.S.-1 and HBB. September 23, photos by South Beach Hoosier.
Yes, the same Gulfstream Park/Forest City geniuses who used their Aventura sign on U.S.-1 recently for weeks in a way that caused even me to think they had reached a new nadir.
The only words that appeared there? "It's all here."
Really.
Above and below, heading north-bound on U.S.-1/Biscayne Blvd. at NE 213th Street thru the last two blocks of Aventura and Miami-Dade County before hitting Hallandale Beach. Gulfstream Park sign on your right. September 23, photos by South Beach Hoosier.
THAT message in black letters on a purple background that's hard to read for drivers passing by on the road. Real genius!
Seriously, given the City's of Hallandale Beach self-evident terrible job of public safety as well as properly maintaining its own signage and lighting, and keeping them either un-obstructed or working or both, or even contacting FDOT, FP&L, or Broward County Traffic & Engineering to alert them to street lighting that is out for months or YEARS at a time, even including in front, near and adjacent to HB City Hall, the Police Dept. HQ, the Fire/Rescue HQ, and other city properties, the idea of the city deciding during a bad economy to create new rules for signage and advertising is rich.
But that's how it goes here.
Can you tell what color that traffic signal on the right is? No, not the one on the left that is red. Yes, the one obstructed by the tree branches on west-bound Atlantic Shores Blvd. & Diplomat Parkway.
You can tell what color it is once you almost pass the tree and are almost IN the middle of the intersection. There are dozens and dozens of similar situations like this all throughout HB and Hollywood, but nobody from either city ever notices. Nope. September 23, 2011 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
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PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD AGENDA
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2011 1:30 PM
1.CALL TO ORDER
2.ROLL CALL
3.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
A.Approval of Draft Minutes from August 24, 2011 (Supporting Docs)
4.OLD BUSINESS
A.An Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, amending Chapter 32, Article III of the City of Hallandale Beach Code of Ordinances, the "Zoning and Land Development Code", by amending Section 32-151, RS-5 Single-Family District and by creating Section 32-181, entitled Golden Isles Neighborhood Overlay District, providing supplemental standards relative to permitted uses, site development standards, signage and notice requirements. Providing for conflicts; providing for severability; providing for an effective date. (City of Hallandale Beach Application # 02-11-TC) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)
5.NEW BUSINESS
A.Application # 04-10-P by Alan Waserstein Requesting Approval of the "Waserstein Gulfstream Plat" in Accordance with Article II, Division 2 of the Zoning and Land Development Code at the Property Located at 900 South Federal Highway. (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)
B.An Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida Amending Chapter 32, the Zoning and Land Development Code, Article IV Division 17, Signs, Relative to Prohibited Signs, Permitted Signs, and Nonconforming Signs, Providing for Conflict, Providing an Effective Date. (City of Hallandale Beach Application # 67-10-TC) (Staff Report, Supporting Docs)
6.SCHEDULING NEXT MEETING
A.November 23, 2011
7.OTHER
8.DIRECTOR'S REPORT
9.ADJOURNMENT
Interested parties may appear at the aforesaid time and place and be heard with respect to the above. The agenda and related cases may be inspected as of Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at the Development Services Department, 400 South Federal Highway, Hallandale Beach, Florida during normal business hours, and Monday through Friday.
To amend Chapter 32, Article IV Division 17 of the Zoning and Land Development Code regarding the City’s sign requirements.
BACKGROUND:
The City Commission requested staff review studies related to digital sign technology (LED) to determine its safety and whether the City should consider amending the sign code to permit such signage. Staff has also received many inquiries from business owners regarding the use of LED signs. Based on the increased demand for LED signs and research conducted on the topic, staff concluded the City should consider amending its sign code to permit the use of LED signs and provide regulations for size, light intensity and display duration for those signs.
In addition, the City has recently experienced an influx of human signs, particularly along Hallandale Beach Blvd. The term “human sign” is typically used to describe any type of signage that is held or worn by a person advertising a business or activity and usually involves someone standing in the right-of-way holding a large sign. Not only can this type of attention-seeking signage be unsightly, it can also be extremely dangerous as the intent is to distract a driver’s attention.
On May 12, 2011, staff reviewed the current sign code with the Code and Permitting Advisory Board and discussed possible amendments to the Code related to digital signage and human signs. The Board was in agreement with staff’s proposal and supported moving forward with the draft Ordinance.
On June 7, 2011, staff attended a webinar with the City Attorney on drafting regulations for signage which discussed regulations for both digital signage and human signs. Staff was able to incorporate similar regulations from other municipalities into the attached draft Ordinance.
DISCUSSION:
Staff conducted research on the use of digital sign technology (LED), particularly regarding the safety of such signs. In 2009, a report was issued for the National Cooperative Highway research program which evaluated the safety impacts of digital technology in outdoor signs. The report summarized multiple studies which analyzed various factors that distract a driver’s attention. Although the report concluded that there may be a correlation between digital sign technology and the occurrence of automobile accidents, there was no conclusive evidence that a digital sign is any more distracting to a driver than any other type of sign. As such, staff proposes to incorporate several new regulations for LED signs into the attached ordinance with the goal of achieving a balance between the safety and aesthetics of the community while maintaining a business-friendly attitude.
In addition, the increased number of attention-seeking or human signs has become a major concern for Hallandale Beach residents. Further, regulating human signs has become a challenge for staff to enforce. Although the current Code prohibits off-premise signs and movable or portable signs, it does not specifically address human signs. Staff has reviewed other municipalities’ codes and while some cities do permit human signs subject to strict regulations, most cities such as Dania Beach, Aventura, Coral Gables, and Boca Raton outright prohibit them. Staff also proposes to prohibit the use of human signs for both safety and aesthetic reasons.
Other revisions to the sign code are also proposed such as allowing accessory restaurants with more than 100 seats in multifamily zoned districts to have a wall sign, which was a recommendation of the Citywide Master Plan for the Oceanfront Neighborhood (S. Ocean Drive).
ANALYSIS:
Based upon the research conducted by staff, the following is a summary of the proposed amendments in the attached draft Ordinance:
Adds definitions for Changeable Message Signs, Human Signs and LED signs.
Expands the wall sign definition to include LED signs.
Adds human signs to the list of prohibited signs.
Expands language permitting signs at churches or synagogues to also include other houses of worship.
Adds the RM-HD-2 zoning district to the list of multi-family districts.
Allows restaurant uses in multi-family residential districts with more than 100 seats to have 1 wall sign, not exceeding 20 square feet. In addition, properties with an existing freestanding sign identifying a permitted residential use may be permitted an additional 8 square to identify the restaurant.
Clarifies that commercial properties are permitted 1 temporary real estate and 1 construction sign per street frontage, instead of per establishment
Reduces the permitted height of freestanding signs at service stations from 18 feet to 8 feet, which is consistent with maximum permitted height for other commercial freestanding signs.
Eliminates awning and window sign size restrictions for properties with nonconforming pole signs, as the majority of pole signs within the City have been removed.
Single-use properties with at least 200 linear feet of frontage may utilize LED technology for two LED wall signs, provided only one LED wall sign shall be permitted per wall face and be no greater than 25 square feet. This restriction provides a limited use of LED signs with the intent of preserving the character of Hallandale Beach.
Shopping centers on Hallandale Beach Blvd. or U.S. 1 having more than 3 acres and a main street frontage of 500 linear feet may utilize LED technology for one of the permitted monument signs on the property.
Staff has included several regulations regarding the use of LED signs in the City. In addition to strict distance requirements from residentially zoned property, there are maximum brightness levels, minimum display length requirements, a default mechanism to freeze the screen in the event of a malfunction, and animated, flashing or moving lights are prohibited. These safety measures are consistent with provisions in other municipalities’ sign codes.
Permits temporary banner signs no greater than 10 square feet for businesses adversely impacted by construction due to exterior renovations or improvements.
RECOMMENDATION:
The Planning and Zoning Board recommend approval of the attached ordinance. The Ordinance will subsequently be presented to the City Commission for First and Second Readings.
