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Showing posts with label Richard Cannone. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Richard Cannone. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Correction: Rancor among Hallandale Beach Police rank-and-file on Monday afternoon lasts long after labor negotiation meeting concludes

May 28, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Note: Earlier today when I first posted this online, in a blog post titled "Rancor at Hallandale Beach Police & Fire Pension Board meeting on Monday afternoon lasts long after the meeting ends," I referred incorrectly to the meeting that took place. It was, in fact, a Hallandale Beach Police labor negotiation, not a meeting of the Hallandale Beach Police & Fire Pension BoardReps of and members of the HB Fire/Rescue Dept. were NOT present. The post has been changed to more accurately represent what was what.
At a labor negotiation meeting held on Monday afternoon at HB City Hall, rank-and-file members of the city's Police corps who attended were full of rancor long after the (incoming) City Manager, Renee C. Crichtonand City Attorney V. Lynn Whitfield gave their union reps two pages from the city's consultant's report -not even a complete copy- the upshot of which is that there will be no longer be Defined Benefits programs here, and that all members will have to become enrolled in a 401(k).

The Police employees are still working off the 2007-2010 contract because the city has refused to negotiate for the past year; I believe they last talked in July of 2011.

You can believe, as I do, that the public policy change is not only warranted but long overdue for HB's long-suffering taxpayers, yet still be very troubled, even dumb-founded, that the city's approach still found a way to make that change in such a ham-handed fashion that un-necessarily antagonizes city employees.

(That this small city already has TOO MANY police officers, who do far too little as far as many are concerned, is a subject for another time, even while it is a view that most well-informed people I know here firmly believe, based on their own years of personal experience of seeing what is going on here.)

Meanwhile, according to people who know the numbers, Deputy City Manager Nydia Rafols-Sallabery, someone whose fingerprints I believe are all over many of the longstanding failures and screw-ups in this city that I've chronicled over the years -someone who once actually told me at a city Quadrant meeting "not to worry about it" when I was livid that a city program was completely failing to do what it was supposed to do WEEKS after it was started and the Dept. head was ignoring it- is slated to get about $100,000 a year in her pension.

That's per that 2001 HB City Commission vote I wrote about here recently, which was approved by, among others, Dotty Ross and Bill Julian, the latter of whom is now trying desperately to get back on the dais this Fall after being deservedly booted in 2010 for his many years of bad judgment, incompetency and questionable fidelity to rules, ethics and hard work.
Julian is, in the minds of many of this city's most well-informed citizens, pure poison.

That 2001 pension change was done at the urging of then-City Manager R.J. Intindola, which as I wrote last month, is why Intindola is getting an extra $96k a year above what he actually earned. http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/csaba-kulin-exposes-multi-million.html

There were about a dozen HB Police and Firemen still sitting around the room after the official part of the meeting concluded with the handing of the two pages, and many were not only still upset but openly complaining about not only how the whole thing played-out, but at the demands of the HB public.
Here's some free advice: City police should think twice about bitching aloud about actually being expected to do their job when they are in a public building where taxpayers are present. Just saying...
I really don't care how you did things when you were 'on the job' in California, this is a small city with more than its fair share of cops with bad attitudes and personalities, many of whom specialize in vocalizing their sense of entitlement and irritating people just for the hell of it. right now, it's a very average Police Dept., nothing special, and it's time that some of its members wake-up to the new financial reality that after a new Police Chief is hired -AFTER a clear attempt is made to look nationally for someone who sees the opportunities here- some cuts and prescient, and long-overdue re-organization will be required.
Eventually, though, more than an hour after the meeting broke-up earlier than many had expected, all of the people in the room had to get out because of a meeting between the city's staff and the reps/lobbyists from The Beachwalk project, inc. former HB Development Services Director Richard Cannone.

Cannone's involvement in this poorly thought-out Beachwalk deal, so soon after he left the city's employ, causes many people here to get severe heartburn, due to his less-than-exemplary way of disseminating public information to the taxpayers who paid his salary.

Many, including me, wish the City of Hallandale Beach already had an existing revolving-door ethics policy that prevented former elected officials and Dept./agency heads from lobbying the city for 18 months-to- two years after leaving, unless they are speaking as volunteers for genuine non-profits legally-registered with the IRS.

And so it goes...

Sunday, June 3, 2012

From the blog's cold storage vault, circa 2010: Another Hallandale Beach story the South Florida news media originally ignored for YEARS: faux journalism & crony capitalism with taxpayer dollars for allies of HB City Hall

Above, the never-ending embarrassment for us as Hallandale Beach taxpayers and the world of journalism. October 8, 2010 photo by South Beach Hoosier.

The City of Hallandale Beach subsidizes one-sided propaganda  thru $50k grant to FAUX newspaper

What follows is a Draft of a March 2010 blog entry that while it contains certain elements regular readers may recognize from previous posts here, was never itself posted online this way. And was, of course, 100% true when I wrote it, too.

Looking at it now, I can't help but wonder if Broward Inspector General John W. Scott and his crew of investigators, who are already busy investigating the city, have spoken yet to former Hallandale Beach CRA Manager Bobby Robinson or former HB Director of Development Services Richard Cannone, now of Calvin, Giordano & Associates.


(At HB City Hall Cannone is now considered a registered lobbyist and has visited HB City Hall numerous times on behalf of The Related Group's Beachwalk proposal on the Intercoastal that was unanimously rejected in January by the HB Planning & Zoning Board, but which, this being HB, comes back anyway to the entire City Commission this coming Wednesday night. More on that in a separate blog post on Mo0nday.)
If not, Mr. Scott & Company should definitely be making a VERY STRONG effort to do so -now.

I can personally think of about a hundred or so concerned Hallandale Beach citizens who, given enough of a head's up, would be happy to bring a cup of coffee with them from Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts and then plop down $10 a piece to sit down and observe an interview held in the middle of the auditorium of the HB Cultural Center, so we could finally hear their own accounts of what was REALLY going on that had/has so many HB taxpayers rightly upset.


How public information about development proposals was kept from the public, or so we can all find out which squeaky wheels in town were asking to be greased via CRA funds, with an almost guaranteed lack of appropriate accountability or follow-up.


Reminding you again, the following is from March 2010...


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The City of Hallandale Beach subsidizes one-sided propaganda thru $50k grant to FAUX newspaper.

Above, the document that memorializes the fact that the City of Hallandale Beach subsidizes one-sided propaganda thru a grant and loan to FAUX newspaper.
And yes, that is the same FREE fake newspaper that gives Mayor Joy Cooper a "column" to extol her particular brand of ill-informed nonsense and half-truths without fear that a Letter to the Editor will EVER appear that directly refutes and corrects her serial mis-statements.

The Sun-Times not only DOESN'T run them, they DON'T print ANYTHING the slightest bit critical of Hallandale Beach City Hall, Mayor Cooper or City Manager Mike Good and his high-paid staff.
Just so you know, as of just a few months ago, HB's city manager and staff made more in salaries than the Hollywood City Manager's Office, despite the City of Hollywood being well over THREE TIMES larger in both size and population.
Guess who'd never ever mention that salient fact? 



Yes, Craig Farquhar's faux newspaper that serves as propaganda arm to Hallandale Beach City Hall.


November 8, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier



The faux newspaper that serves as the propaganda arm to Hallandale Beach City Hall and the Joy Cooper & Mike Good Regime, the South Florida Sun-Times.
This particular vending machine is located but two feet away from one of the emergency fire exits of The Flashback Diner on U.S.-1/South Federal Highway, across from Gulfstream Park.
In a normal, well-run city, they'd be removed to another place on the property.

But in Hallandale Beach, a trio of vending machines can be placed right next to an emergency exit in a building one block from HB City Hall, and nobody there EVER notices the self-evident violation!
They are deaf, dumb and blind to everything around them. .

Twenty years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Hallandale Beach, Florida still needs glasnost!

November 5th, 2009 Update re South Florida Sun-Times, above.At yesterday morning's Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting, I heard the new official Hallandale Beach City Hall stalling tactic regarding the actual citizens and taxpayers of this city being able to see the documents regarding City Manager Mike Good's decision to give $50,000 in city CRA money as a grant to the faux newspaper called the South Florida Sun-Times, above.

Mayor Joy Cooper was practically gloating Wednesday when she foolishly said that she thinks that the particular documents are "proprietary" and can't be shared with public!
Can she really be that arrogant and anti-democratic in public, he said rhetorically.

Can she really think that she can trump the State of Florida Constitution and the protected rights that Florida citizens enjoy under our Sunshine Laws, forever, and that there won't be legal and political consequences for her personally and the city?

To answer my own question, yes, Joy Cooper is indeed that arrogant, that anti-democratic and that egotistical.
Proprietary?

Sure, because in the current economy of the year 2009, actual for-profit companies want to model their own behavior on an inferior product like the faux newspaper, the Sun-Times, that doesn't actually generate a profit, has a very poor reputation and that rather than accurately reflect the news of the community in its pages, good and bad, exists as a propaganda arm of Hallandale Beach City Hall and the mayor and city manager who give it money, just like the Hallandale Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Twenty years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Hallandale Beach, Florida still needs glasnost!

Below, the phony "story" the city placed in the faux newspaper the week before the 2008 election:

The phony story the city placed in the faux  newspaper before  2008 election


This is the phony, one-sided story Hallandale Beach City Hall had placed in the faux newspaper the week before the November 2008 election, in order to try to ensure that Anthony A. Sanders got elected.


It was dis-honestly titled Setting the Record Straight: On the Purchase of Eagles Development Center, and carried no byline or identifying author information.
Most well-informed people in the city have long-believed that it was actually written by someone in the HB City Manager's Office, likely one of the Asst. City Managers.



Which is to say that some highly-paid city employee, whose salary and pension are paid for with taxpayer funds, was instructed to concoct a lie masquerading as a news story, in order to placate at least one elected city official, in order to ensure that facts about an interim City Commissioner were covered-up and that said interim City Commissioner was elected.

That's how absurd life in Hallandale Beach is, and where was the South Florida news media when this originally happened, even after they were repeatedly told what was going on?
Completely Missing in Action, as usual!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Addition by subtraction: Richard Cannone leaving City of Hallandale Beach for PA; let's hope his replacement is more forthcoming, honest than he was

Addition by Subtraction: Richard Cannone is leaving the City of Hallandale Beach for Pennsylvania; let's hope his replacement is more forthcoming and honest than he was.
Not that doing so would be difficult, since that's such a very low threshold.


I'll be posting more on the blog in the next few days about this great news about one of the poster children for the longtime dysfunctional and citizen-unfriendly Hallandale Beach City Hall, actually leaving town.

Yes, the theory of addition by subtraction at its very best!

I'll also highlight some prime examples of Cannone's handiwork that make me very glad he's leaving as Director of Development Services, where he and his staff consistently did as little as possible to be transparent with concerned Hallandale Beach citizen taxpayers and business owners.
The very people who paid his salary and his staff's.

His last day is Friday and after that, he is no longer our collective headache and can no longer treat concerned citizens of this very poorly-run city with disdain.

So, speaking of Richard Cannone and his management skills, please explain to me again why in this city, where HB taxpayers are stuck paying thousands of dollars a month for
a third-rate city website, the city staff's official documents for the city's Planning & Zoning Advisory Board meetings -and applicant's official applications and submitted documents- don't actually appear on the city website until a a measly 48 hours before the meeting, instead of many days ahead, like in neighboring Hollywood?

If you REALLY want an informed citizenry and have residents and interested parties
NOT confused or mis-informed by misinformation or rumors, why do you intentionally wait to make the information public until Monday, when the information is actually complete and available on Friday afternoon
?
http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?nid=648

That's a simple question that Richard Cannone could never answer publicly.

Could it just be that HB City Hall wants citizens here to be in the dark and have no information? Yes!

Another simple question is why Cannone's own name doesn't even appear on the Development Services homepage?
Check for yourself at
http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?nid=49


Another part of Cannone's legacy here!

Invisible and yet also leaving a bad taste.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Unpopular RAC and LAC plans to be discussed Tuesday at P&Z meeting and Comm. Keith London's meeting

Commission Keith S. London
Resident Forum
meeting
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
City of Hallandale Beach Cultural Center,
Room 107

Main topics of discussion:
-City of Hallandale Beach RAC
-Diplomat Properties LP LAC
* There will open discussion on any other
topics of interest as well.

If you can't make it to the important P&Z
meeting Tuesday afternoon, sure to be lively,
be sure to attend Comm. London's meeting
at 6 p.m. to get the post-game analysis and
color commentary from concerned HB
residents who will be there in force.
--------------
These items of concern to residents of both
Hallandale Beach and Hollywood were also
discussed in this space on November 1st:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/unpopular-rac-proposal-and-diplomat.html


Agenda for Tuesday's afternoon's Hallandale
Beach P&Z meeting at 1:30 p.m. at:
http://www.cohb.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1302

Related docs at:
http://www.cohb.org/DocumentCenterii.aspx?FID=140

Diplomat Properties L.P.'s
Local Activity Center (LAC)
i.e. m
ultiple 25-30 story properties located on
Atlantic Shores, N.E. 14th Ave., Diplomat
Parkway, and near The Duo:

http://www.cohb.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1299

Did the Diplomat's transportation consultant
ever actually say what months of the year
his trip count research was conducted?

I'd hate to think they made the same mistake
the city's Transportation Master Plan
consultants apparently made, doing it in the
summer instead of in January, but then why
wouldn't they if they thought nobody was
paying attention at
HB City Hall?

It's not like the commissioners other than
London would think to ask.

City of Hallandale Beach
Regional Activity Center (RAC) plan:
http://www.cohb.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1300

This item failed to be passed by the P&Z Board
on October 28, 2009.

On Sunday night, I discovered this color-coded
map of the RAC proposal
prepared by Calvin,
Giordano & Associates, Inc.
, which you
may find of interest.
http://www.cohb.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=1294


The first reading and vote of the City of Hallandale
Beach's
RAC plan will be at Wednesday's City
Commission, November 18th, at 1:30 p.m. &
7:00 p.m. in the HB Commission Chambers.


Has City Manager Mike Good ever given
a reasonable, written justification for
fast-tracking these proposals?

Per the LAC, I noticed that at p. 30 of 51,
the city persists in thinking that there's
any public or transit community support
for having an FEC train stop at S.E 3rd
Street, and South 1st Avenue.

Why, because it's close to HB City Hall,
the upcoming Village at Gulfstream
and Gulfstream Park itself, including
the track and the casino?

A separate train station three blocks south
of one at Hallandale Beachj Blvd. is a joke,
and none of the serious people at the many
SFECC meetings I've gone to have EVER
seriously believed that was going to happen.

One near The Mardi Gras is more likely
than a second one on 3rd Street, and that
one may be located on the Hollywood side
of Pembroke Road, not HB's side.

I'm pro-transit and even I'd be against
having one at S.E. 3rd Street.
For the city to think they'd have TWO
stations within three blocks is beyond
absurd.

But that's what passes for logic here.

Below, information regarding the Diplomat
proposal that went buh-bye last year after
getting about zero support in the community.
--------------------

CITY OF HALLANDALE BEACH

MEMORANDUM

DATE: January 24, 2008

TO: D. Mike Good, City Manager

FROM: Richard D. Cannone, Director, Development Services

      SUBJECT: Diplomat Properties: Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Approving a Large Scale Change of Land Use from Commercial Recreation, General Commercial and Low Residential to Commercial Recreation and Irregular (11.24 units per net acre) Residential (#34-07-PA) and Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, amending the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan, more specifically, to create new provisions for an Irregular Residential (Dashed Line Areas) land use category and amending the provisions for the Commercial Recreation land use category to permit hotel, motel and similar lodging as an ancillary use (#33-07-TC).


PURPOSE:

To consider on First Reading three separate ordinances pertaining to three land use related applications, requested by the Diplomat Country Club. Those requests include the following applications:

  1. Application #34-07-PA for a Future Land Use Plan Map amendment to change the land use designation from General Commercial, Low (7) Residential and Commercial Recreation to Commercial Recreation and Irregular (11.24 units per net acre) (“Dashed-Line Area”).
  2. Application #33-07-TC(A) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow for dashed-line areas.
  3. Application #33-07-TC(B) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow hotels, motels and similar lodging as an ancillary use in the Commercial Recreation Future Land Use Plan designation.

BACKGROUND:

The applicant, Diplomat Properties, Limited Partnership has filed the aforementioned applications for the 96.26 gross acres of the Diplomat County Club north of Hallandale Beach Boulevard, south of Atlantic Shores Boulevard, east of NE 14th Avenue and west of the De Soto Waterway in order to allow 1,050 residential units to be developed within the golf course. In addition, the applicant seeks to clarify language within the Commercial Recreation Land Use category to permit hotel, motel and similar lodging uses as an ancillary use.

The applicant held a community meeting on November 5, 2007 in accordance with City Policy.

DISCUSSION

Attached is the staff report prepared for the Planning and Zoning Board that includes both the policy and technical analysis.

Based upon Staff’s recommendation, the Planning and Zoning Board at the January 23, 2008 meeting recommended the following:

  1. Denial (Vote: 6-1) of Application #34-07-PA for a Future Land Use Plan Map amendment to change the land use designation from General Commercial, Low (7) Residential and Commercial Recreation to Commercial Recreation and Irregular (11.24 units per net acre) (“Dashed-Line Area”).
  2. Denial (Vote: 6-1) of Application #33-07-TC(A) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow for dashed-line areas.
  3. Approval (Vote: 6-1) of Application #33-07-TC(B) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow hotels, motels and similar lodging as an ancillary use in the Commercial Recreation Future Land Use Plan designation.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends the following:

DENIAL of Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, Approving a Large Scale Change of Land Use from Commercial Recreation, General Commercial and Low Residential to Commercial Recreation and Irregular (11.24 units per net acre) Residential, in order to permit 1,050 residential dwelling units within the existing Diplomat Country Club Property, generally described as a portion of Tract B, Block 1 and a portion of Block 11 and Block 13 of the Diplomat Golf Estates Plat, according to the Plat Thereof, as Recorded In Plat Book 46 at Page 24, of the Public Records of Broward County, Florida (legal description attached).

DENIAL of Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, amending the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan, more specifically, to create new provisions for an Irregular Residential (Dashed Line Areas) land use category.

DENIAL of Ordinance of the City of Hallandale Beach, Florida, amending the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan, more specifically, amending the provisions for the Commercial Recreation land use category to permit hotel, motel and similar lodging as an ancillary use. Staff is not in disagreement with this request but would like to further consider as part of our EAR-based amendments. Accordingly, this request is not necessary and should be denied at this time.

------------
HALLANDALE BEACH, FLORIDA

MEMORANDUM

DATE: January 14, 2008

TO: Planning and Zoning Board

FROM: The Mellgren Planning Group, in capacity of consultant for the City

THRU: Richard D. Cannone, Director of Development Services

      SUBJECT: Application #34-07-PA by Diplomat Properties, LLC for a Future Land Use Plan Map Amendment of property within the Diplomat Country Club, and Application #33-07-TC for a Comprehensive Plan Text Amendment

I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

APPLICANT:

Diplomat Properties, LLC, Applicant

Debbie Orshefsky Esquire, Agent

OWNERSHIP:

Diplomat Properties, LLC

LOCATION:

For purposes of this report, the subject properties will be referred to as Parcels A, B and C as described below, and as depicted on the location sketch below:

Parcel A: generally described as a portion of Tract B, Block 1 and a portion of Block 11 of the Diplomat Golf Estates Plat (46-24, BCR) consisting of 5.2393 net acres and 5.5648 gross acres.

Parcel B: Block 13 of the Diplomat Golf Estates Plat (46-24, BCR), consisting of 1.448 net acres and 2.1344 gross acres

Parcel C: generally described as a portion of Block 11 of the Diplomat Golf Estates Plat (46-24, BCR) consisting of 86.7777 net acres and 88.5610 gross acres.


LOCATION MAP





REQUEST:

The Applicant is requesting both a City and County Future Land Use Plan Map Amendment for 96.26 gross acres of the Diplomat County Club north of Hallandale Beach Boulevard, south of Atlantic Shores Boulevard, east of NE 14th Avenue and west of the De Soto Waterway.

The Applicant is also requesting an amendment to the text of the City Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan.

The applications are as follows:

1. Application #34-07-PA for a Future Land Use Plan Map amendment to change the land use designation of Parcels A, B and C as follows:

a ) Parcel A (5.565 acres): from General Commercial to Dashed Line Area (Irregular 11.24 du/ac).

b) Parcel B (2.134 acres): from Low (7) Residential to Dashed Line Area (Irregular 11.24 du/ac).

c) Parcel C (88.56 acres) from Commercial Recreation to Dashed Line Area (Irregular 11.24 du/ac).

2. Application #33-07-TC(A) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow for dashed-line areas.

3. Application #33-07-TC(B) to amend the text of the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan to allow hotels, motels and similar lodging as an ancillary use in the Commercial Recreation Future Land Use Plan designation.

PLANNING DISTRICT:

Diplomat/Three Islands

PARCEL SIZE (NET):

Parcel A: 5.239 Acres

Parcel B: 1.448 Acres

Parcel C: 86.777 Acres

Total: 93.464 Acres

EXISTING ZONING:

Parcel A: CR-P, Commercial Recreation (Passive) District

Parcel B: RS-5, Residential Single-Family District

Parcel C: CR-P, Commercial Recreation (Passive) District

EXISTING USE:

Parcel A: southerly extension of Diplomat Golf Course

Parcel B: marina

Parcel C: main portion of Diplomat Golf Course, including the existing country club and a 60-room hotel

PROPOSED USE:

Residential: 1,050 dwelling units

Commercial Recreation: country club and the 349 hotel units.

EXISTING COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATIONS:

Parcel A Parcel B Parcel C

City: General Commercial Low (7)Residential Commercial Recreation

County: Commercial Low (5) Residential Commercial Recreation


SURROUNDING ZONING AND LAND USE PLAN DESIGNATION OF APPLICATION SITE:

LAND USE PLAN ZONING

        North: Low-Medium (14) Residential RM-18 District

        Commercial Recreation CR-P District

        South: General Commercial CCB, City Central Business

        Planned Redevelopment Overlay

        East: Low (7) Residential RS-5 District

        Low-Medium (14) Residential RM-18 District

        West: Low-Medium (14) Residential RM-18 District

        SURROUNDING LAND USE OF APPLICATION PARCEL

    North: Low-rise multiple-family residential, single-family detached residential and northern extension of golf course

    South: The Duo high-rise condominium and Diplomat Shopping Center

    East: Low-rise multiple-family residential, De Soto Waterway and single-family detached residential

    West: Low-rise multiple-family residential along NE 14th Avenue





        II. LAND USE HISTORY

        ________________________________________________________________

On August 18, 1998, the City Commission approved Application #50-98-DB by Diplomat Properties for Major Development approval of the redevelopment of the Diplomat Country Club including 60 hotel rooms.

        III. INTERDEPARTMENTAL REVIEW SUMMARY

        ________________________________________________________________

Staff conducted an evaluation of the proposed amendment relative to its impact on City and public facilities. The following is a summary of amendment impact. For a detailed analysis, please refer to Exhibit “A” to this report.

Potable water. No available raw water capacity at this time. Staff, in conjunction with the Public Works Department, is preparing a plan for the City’s future water supply. New wells and treatment facilities will be needed, subject to South Florida Water Management District approval, at an estimated cost of $42 million dollars.

Sanitary sewer. There is sufficient capacity to serve the proposed amendment, with a remaining capacity of .240 mgd (enough to accommodate approximately 686 du) under the City’s Large User Agreement with Hollywood.

Public schools. Student impact to the junior high school and high school will be acceptable. The student impact to Hallandale Elementary, which is already overcrowded at 121 percent of its capacity (111 percent when year-round session is factored in), will be 44 additional students.

Transportation. The amendment will not degrade the for area roads with the exception of NE 14th Avenue, which would be degraded from the current LOS “D” to LOS “F” by 2012, and will be at LOS “F” by 2030 with or without the amendment. Hallandale Beach Boulevard west of Diplomat Parkway is already operating at LOS “F” and will continue to do so.

Parks and recreation. The amendment will generate a need for almost 6 acres of parks and open space, according the City’s adopted LOS Standard of 3 acres per thousand residents. The City has sufficient recreation and open space acreage to accommodate the amendment and the projected population through the short (5 years) and intermediate range (10 years) planning horizons. The City will need to evaluate whether it will be able to meet its adopted Level of Service Standard of 3 acres per 1,000 residents beyond the 10 year horizon, as it is anticipated that the proposed amendment and recently approved developments may increase the projected population in the City beyond what is currently anticipated. Future residents of the proposed amendment site will likely have access to the Diplomat Golf Course, which is a private recreational facility, as well as other on-site facilities possibly shared by the country club, if it is to remain. However, the golf course is not a deed-restricted open space.

Hurricane evacuation LOS and shelter capacity. Broward County Emergency Management Agency has indicated that evacuation Level of Service and shelter capacity will not be diminished below acceptable levels by the amendment.

Affordable housing

The applicant “is prepared to work with the City to provide a financial contribution to the City to be used by the City to construct or have constructed up to 158 (i.e. 15 percent of the proposed 1,050 new residential units) at locations within the City of Hallandale Beach.”

________________________________________________________________

IV. STAFF ANALYSIS OF APPLICATION

________________________________________________________________

    A. Application #33-07-TC(A) would amend the text of the Future Land Use Element to allow “dashed-line areas” on the City’s Future Land Use Plan Map. Dashed line areas are planned unit developments or similar large-scale development sites, such as the proposed Diplomat Golf Course redevelopment, that are circumscribed by a dashed line on the Future Land Use Plan Map. Within the property circumscribed by the dashed line on the map, a maximum residential density is indicated. In the case of the subject amendment, that density is 11.24 du/ac (net). The maximum number of dwelling units allowed within the dashed-line area is obtained by multiplying the total acreage by the maximum density, even though most of it is not intended for residential use.

    The difference between an amendment site circumscribed by a dashed line and one that is not, is that the dashed-line area allows a developer to shift the residential density within the overall amendment site. For example, the 1,050 dwelling units that would be allowed within the Diplomat Golf Course could be allocated in any combination among the four sites designated for residential use and shown on the map in Exhibit “B”, such that maximum number of units within any of the four residential pods proposed for the amendment site is unlimited, as long as the maximum overall density of 11.24 du/ac (1,050 units) is not exceeded.

    Application #33-07-TC(B) would allow hotels, motels and similar lodging in the Commercial Recreation land use plan designation as an ancillary use. This proposed text amendment is consistent with the language in the Commercial Recreation permitted uses section of the Broward County Land Use Plan.

    B. Application #34-07-PA to amend the Future Land Use Plan Map would allow 1,050 dwelling units in a location where residential use is not currently permitted, and which is now part of the Diplomat Golf Course and related facilities. The amendment will not eliminate the golf course, and will have minimal impact on the land area currently devoted to golf course use and also designated Commercial Recreation on the Future Land Use Plan Map.

    The application proposes four distinct and separate areas within the golf course and marina properties where residential use would be permitted. The four areas total approximately 16 acres out of the entire 93.46-acre amendment site. The dashed-line area allows all of the four sites to be proposed as one unified land use plan amendment, and allows the 1,050 dwelling units and hotel use to be distributed among the four sites in any combination that will comply with the development standards of the City’s Zoning and Land Development Code.

______________________________________________________________

        V. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN CONSIDERATIONS

        ________________________________________________________________

Application # 33-07-TC for amendment of the text of the Future Land Use Element is discussed under “Staff Analysis,”

Analysis of Application # 34-07-PA for amendment to the Future Land Use Plan Map requires consideration of several comprehensive planning issues, discussed below.

Amount, location and character of growth

Consideration of the proposed map amendment includes a central policy issue: what is the desired amount, location and character of future growth?

By the year 2015, the official Broward County population projections indicate that the Hallandale Beach population will grow by almost 9,400 people and 2,850 dwelling units. By the year 2030, the projections indicate a total growth of almost 19,700 people and 5,400 dwelling units. The City has already approved several residential development projects that will help the City realize approximately 50 percent of the projected growth, assuming all are constructed. Application # 34-07-PA would add 1,050 units to the City, or approximately 37 percent of the projected number of new dwelling units. The subject amendment would, by itself, account for almost 20 percent of the number of residential units projected to be built by the year 2030, and as a result, would likely increase the City’s population in excess of projections, particularly when combined with other major developments recently approved.

The City is currently undertaking development of a Citywide Master Plan. The purpose of the plan is to determine where future growth should occur, how intense it should be, and what kind of form it should take (ex: low-rise, high-rise, mixed-use, transit-oriented, etc.). It is anticipated that a substantial portion of future growth will be directed to areas in need of redevelopment due to slum and blighting conditions in the form of revitalized neighborhoods with neighborhood commercial centers, and to properties fronting principal arterials such as Hallandale Beach Boulevard and US-1 in the form of mixed commercial/ residential development that would likely be more intense than neighborhood redevelopment.

Neighborhood compatibility

The surrounding area is predominantly characterized by low and mid-rise multiple-family residential buildings as well as several single-family detached residences. The rear yards of seven of the single-family residences border the golf course. On the southern periphery of the golf course is a two-tower high-rise development (The Duo) and a commercial shopping center. The immediate neighborhood consists of properties fronting Atlantic Shores Boulevard between NE 14th Avenue and Diplomat Parkway, and properties fronting Diplomat Parkway north of E. Hallandale Beach Boulevard to just north of Atlantic Shores Boulevard. The immediate neighborhood is characterized by low and mid-rise multiple-family residential development and single-family detached residences.

The 1,050 proposed residential units and additional hotel rooms would be concentrated on approximately 16 acres of the 93.46 acre site. The applicant has not identified how many units would be constructed within each of the four proposed residential areas in the amendment site. The applicant also has not provided any details as to height and massing, and such details are not required for plan amendment applications.

Given the intensity of development and site configuration, it can be expected that one or more tall high-rise buildings will be constructed. There is potential, therefore, for the scale of potential buildings to be out of proportion with the immediate neighborhood. Additionally, the country club site as a whole has the potential to grow out of scale with the immediate neighborhood if the country club remains, or if the hotel use expands. Approximately 2,500 parking spaces will be required for the residential and hotel uses, which may comprise approximately one million square feet of structured parking area.

Impact on public facilities and services. Impacts on public facilities and services are analyzed under “Interdepartmental Review Summary.”

________________________________________________________________

VI. APPLICABLE CODES AND ORDINANCES

________________________________________________________________

The golf course is presently designated Commercial Recreation and is zoned CR-P, Commercial Recreation Passive District. The City’s Comprehensive Plan and the City’s Zoning and Land Development Code presently permits golf courses as a principal use and other uses such as hotels as accessory uses. Section 32-163 of the Zoning and Land Development Code further specifies that accessory uses in CR-P District are limited to the following provided they occupy not more than 15 percent of the total site area. The applicant also has requested a text amendment to allow hotels as an accessory use for the purpose of clarifying the permitted uses in the Commercial Recreation category. Sec. 32-163 is excerpted below.

    Sec. 32-163. CR-P commercial recreational (passive) district.

    (a) Purpose and intent. The purpose and intent of the CR-P commercial recreational (passive) district is to provide suitable sites for commercial recreational attractions and facilities of a passive nature which require extensive land area and are recognized as being supportive of a tourist-oriented economy in areas consistent with the city's comprehensive land use plan.

    (b) Uses permitted. Uses permitted are as follows:

    (1) Commercial recreation uses, limited to golf courses.

    (2) Accessory uses limited to the following, provided they occupy not more than a cumulative total of 15 percent of total site area:

    a. Golf driving ranges.

    b. Hotels, motels, restaurants, private clubs and cocktail lounges.

    c. Parks, playgrounds and beaches.

    d. Swimming pools.

    e. Tennis, racquetball and handball courts.

    For the purpose of this subsection, a hotel, motel, restaurant, private club, cocktail lounge, golf driving range, swimming pool, tennis, racquetball or handball court, park, playground and beach may be considered an accessory use to the main permitted golf course use, provided that those uses are incidental to and dependent upon the continued existence and operation of the main golf course use, even though uses may be more heavily utilized or realize substantially more income or profit than the main golf course use.

The proposed amendment is consistent with the intent and purpose of the Comprehensive Plan, and would not necessitate a change to Sec. 32-163 of the Zoning and Land Development Code.

COMMUNITY MEETING

The applicant held a community meeting on November 5, 2007 as required by City policy.


VII. REVIEW OF APPLICATION CRITERIA

Article VIII, Section 32-963 specifies the following criteria to be addressed in considering applications for rezoning and land use amendments:

(1) The relationship of the proposed amendment to the purposes and objectives of the City's Comprehensive Land Use Plan, when adopted, with appropriate consideration as to whether or not the proposed changes will further the purpose of this and other codes, regulations, and actions designed to implement said plan.

Not consistent. Staff finds that the proposed land use change is inconsistent with the following Comprehensive Plan policies:

    Future Land Use Element

    Policy 1.3.4. B: High density residential developments should continue to be located with direct access onto major arteries.

    Policy 1.5.3: Maintain a Commercial Recreation Category including Hallandale Beach major commercial recreation facilities, i.e., Gulfstream Race Track, Hollywood Dog Track and Diplomat Golf Course.. …Conversion of these facilities to other uses having increased impacts on public facilities will be contingent upon the new development’s ability to maintain adopted LOS Standards for affected public facilities.

    Policy 1.12.2: The Growth Management Department shall evaluate impacts resulting from new developments to ensure that adequate facilities are either in place or planned so that Level of Service standards are not reduced.

    Transportation Element

    Policy 1.10.1: The City shall maintain its highest intensities of land use along major transportation routes and encourage the clustering of parking area near major routes and transit stops.

(2) The proposed change would or would not be contrary to the established land use pattern.

Not consistent. The average proposed density of the amendment site is 11.24 du/ac. This number is calculated by dividing the number of proposed dwelling units by the acreage of the entire amendment site (93.5 acres). The net density, excluding the golf course parcel to remain, will be approximately 65 du/ac. This number is calculated by dividing the number of proposed dwelling units by the acreage of the four proposed residential pods within the amendment site (approximately 16 acres), as shown on Exhibit “B.” The proposed 65 du/ac net density is substantially higher than both the predominant 18 du/ac land use plan density of adjacent multiple-family properties and 5 du/ac density of adjacent single-family detached residences. The potential height of one or more high-rise buildings would pose a compatibility issue, as the majority of adjacent structures are low-rise in nature.

(3) The proposed change would or would not create an isolated district unrelated to adjacent and nearby districts.

Not consistent. High-rise residential towers are located approximately one-quarter mile to the east across the De Soto Waterway and one-quarter mile to the south. Mid-rise (approximately 6-8 stories) towers are located west of NE 14th Avenue. There is no precedent, however, for high-rise towers and a density of 65 du/ac (excluding golf course) within the core of the Diplomat Planning District east of NE 14th Avenue and west of Three Islands Boulevard. Staff finds that building height, location and massing may be equally relevant considerations as density, but cannot be adequately evaluated without the type of information provided during Major Development Review.

(4) The proposed change would or would not alter the population density pattern and thereby have an adverse impact upon public facilities such as school, utilities, and streets.

Not consistent. Impacts to public facilities and services are evaluated under “Interdepartmental Review Summary” and are of concern due to limitations on elementary school capacity, sanitary sewage treatment capacity, local roadway capacity, allowable Biscayne Aquifer withdrawal, lack of Floridian Aquifer wells, and present inability to treat the necessary quantities of brackish Floridian Aquifer water.

(5) Existing district boundaries are illogically drawn in relation to existing conditions on the property proposed for change.

Not consistent. Existing district boundaries are not illogically drawn in relation to existing conditions on the amendment site.

(6) Changed or changing conditions make the passage of the proposed amendment necessary.

Not consistent. The application states that the proposed amendment is necessary to accommodate the City’s future projected population. South Florida has experienced steady construction of residential units over the last two decades, which is projected to continue. However, the location of residential development has shifted from strictly suburban growth in western areas to renewed interest in infill development and residential and mixed-use redevelopment throughout Broward County. For this reason, the City’s population is expected to grow to more than 53,000 residents by the year 2030, and the City has seen a surge in residential projects.

Due to the county-wide change in the spatial pattern of residential growth, the application is correct in stating that conditions have changed. However, the amendment is not necessary to accommodate the City’s projected population. The City’s 2030 population growth is projected to occur gradually over the next 22 years. The amendment, combined with other recently approved and planned residential projects, would achieve nearly 50 percent of that projected growth in just a few years.

Strategic, coordinated and well-planned redevelopment distributed throughout the City—but not necessarily concentrated in very large projects such as the proposed amendment—will ensure the City can accommodate its projected population. Such redevelopment will occur throughout the City, consistent with sustainable development practices, in areas designated for same upon adoption of the Citywide Master Plan and implementing amendments to the Comprehensive Plan and Future Land Use Plan Map. Therefore, at this time, the passing of the proposed amendment is not necessary.

(7) Substantial reasons exist why the property cannot be used in accordance with the adopted land use plan and/or the existing zoning.

Not consistent. The amendment site is a golf course and country club with a hotel and accessory marina. The golf course, spa and country club serve the guests of the Diplomat Hotel on Hollywood Beach, among others. The applicant has not indicated that the land use plan designation impedes the present use of the amendment site, or other permitted passive recreation uses. In fact, the proposed expansion of the hotel on the property from 60 rooms to 349 rooms will be in furtherance of the uses permitted under the current land use plan and zoning classifications.

(8) Whether or not the change is out of scale with the needs of the neighborhood.

Not consistent. The proposed change is substantially out of scale with the needs of the neighborhood.

_______________________________________________________________

VIII. STAFF FINDINGS

_______________________________________________________________

Application #34-07-PA for amendment to the Future Land Use Plan Map and Application #33-07-TC was analyzed with due consideration to several germane planning issues, as follows:

    1. Amount, location and character of growth.

      a. The proposed amendment alone would account for nearly 20 percent of the City’s projected 2030 population increase, yet is not consistent with the principles for redevelopment upon which the evolving Citywide Master Plan is premised.

      b. The proposed amendment is inconsistent with Future Land Use Policy 1.3.4, which recommends that high-density residential development be located with direct access to major arterials.

    2. Neighborhood compatibility (see also review criterion 8).

      a. The physical compatibility of the proposed amendment with the immediate neighborhood has not been demonstrated.

      b. The amendment will have a noticeable traffic impact on neighborhood roads, some of which are projected to be overcapacity even without the amendment.

    3. Affordable housing supply.

      a. The applicant has indicated a willingness to enhance the City’s affordable housing supply through construction of, or contribution for, off-site housing.

    4. Impact on public facilities and services (see also review criterion 4). The amendment will have a substantial impact on potable water, sanitary sewer, transportation and public school facilities.

      a. SFWMD has prohibited additional withdrawals from the Biscayne Aquifer, which is the main water supply for all of South Florida. The City must develop new wells to access the Floridian Aquifer in order to supply the potable water needs of new development, and must build capacity for treating the more brackish water of this source. None of the infrastructure is yet in place, and has not been funded, and final water allocation from SFWMD has not been determined as of yet.

      b. The amendment will utilize approximately 34 percent of the remaining sewage treatment capacity allocated to the City via the Large User Agreement with Hollywood, leaving only enough capacity to accommodate approximately 686 additional residential units or an equivalent amount of commercial development. Therefore, future diverse residential and/or commercial development may potentially be precluded due to lack of sanitary sewage treatment capacity.

      c. The amendment is anticipated to cause a failing level of service on NE 14th Avenue by 2012. Hallandale Beach Boulevard (west of Diplomat Parkway) and NE 14th Avenue are projected to operate at LOS F by 2030 with or without the amendment.

      d. The amendment will add 44 students to Hallandale Elementary School, which is already overcrowded.

      e. City has adequate park acreage to accommodate the proposed amendment at this time, but will need to reevaluate in the coming years whether the acreage will be sufficient beyond the 10-year planning horizon. However, the amendment will create a demand for almost 6 acres of additional parks from the City’s inventory.

      f. Adequate solid waste collection and disposal capacity will exist to serve the proposed amendment, and the amendment will have to satisfy the adopted drainage LOS.

      g. Adequate hurricane shelter capacity exists, and the amendment is not anticipated to lower the adopted LOS for evacuation.

    5. Criteria for review of proposed plan amendments. The amendment application does not satisfy the criteria for consideration of plan amendments.

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IX. STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS

________________________________________________________________

Based upon the aforementioned findings of facts, staff recommends the following:

Staff recommends that Application #34-07-PA for amendment of the Future Land Use Plan Map be denied.

Accordingly, staff also recommends denial of Application #33-07-TC(A) for amendment of the text of the Future Land Use Element to create dashed-line areas.

Application #33-07-TC(B) for amendment of the Future Land Use Plan text, to allow hotels, motels and similar lodging as an ancillary use in the Commercial Recreation category, is consistent with the intent and purpose of the Commercial Recreation category, and staff recommends approval.


IX. PLANNING AND ZONING BOARD RECOMMENDATION______________

Suggested Motions:

1. I move to deny application #34-07-PA based upon staff recommendation.

    2. I move to deny application #33-07-TC for amendment to the text of the Future Land Use Element to create dashed-line areas based upon staff recommendation.

    3. I move to approve application #33-07-TC for amendment to the text of the Future Land Use Element to allow hotels, motels and similar lodging ancillary to the primary commercial recreation use based upon staff recommendation.



EXHIBIT “A”

PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES IMPACT ANALYSIS

Parks and Recreation

  • Inventory: 165 acres (58 acres of parkland, 107 acres are waterways)
  • LOS Standard: 3 acres/1,000
  • 2006 LOS (34,622 population): 103.9 acres needed
  • Additional parks demand generated by the proposed amendment: almost 6 acres
  • Projected 2030 LOS (54,321 population): 162.93 acres needed (without the amendment)


Potable Water

  • Average daily demand is 6.54 mgd.
  • SFWMD intends to limit withdrawal to 6.2 from the Biscayne Aquifer.
  • Committed demand for approved but unoccupied projects is approximately .50 mgd.
  • The amendment will create .385 mgd of additional demand, for a total of demand of 1.22 mgd in excess of the amount of water that the City anticipates it will be allowed to withdraw from the Biscayne Aquifer.
  • Treatment capacity: 8.0 mgd, with a 15 mgd expansion planned.

The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) determines how much untreated ground water the City can withdraw from its Biscayne Aquifer wells each year. SFWMD does so through issuance of consumptive use permits, which specify maximum withdrawal on an average and peak daily basis. The permit has expired and is currently under review by SFWMD. As such, the City is operating without a valid permit. The situation is similar across South Florida as the SFWMD and local governments grapple with water supply limitations.

SFWMD has prohibited most cities, including Hallandale Beach, from using the Biscayne Aquifer to meet the water needs of future growth. In fact, SFWMD is requiring a reduction in Biscayne Aquifer withdrawal and requiring potable water suppliers to find and fund alternative water supply sources and treatment.

Hallandale Beach is pursuing the development of wells to tap the deeper and more brackish Floridian Aquifer. The Floridian Aquifer is a more expensive source of water because deeper wells have to be drilled to reach it, and because treating brackish water requires different, and more expensive technology than treating fresh waster from the Biscayne Aquifer. Additionally, the technology used to treat brackish water is less efficient, meaning that for each gallon of post-treatment potable water produced from the Floridian Aquifer, more than one gallon of pretreated raw water is required.

The City Engineer has estimated the cost of pursuing Floridian Aquifer wells to be approximately $42 million dollars. Also, it is not known at this time to what extent the Floridian Aquifer can support the region’s future growth.

Sanitary Sewer

  • City of Hollywood treats sanitary sewage from Hallandale Beach.
  • City of Hollywood has a total 48.75 mgd plant capacity and 43.54 mgd flow. No planned expansions at this time.
  • Hallandale Beach is allocated 7.85 mgd average annual daily flow
  • Actual average daily demand from Hallandale Beach: 6.798 mgd
  • Committed flow for approved but unbuilt Hallandale Beach projects: 0.453 mgd
  • Diplomat amendment project demand: 0.359 mgd
  • Remaining Capacity : 0.240 mgd (enough for 686 SFR)


Schools

The amendment would impact the following schools as indicated:

  • Hallandale Elementary School: 44 students (overcrowded at 111% of capacity based upon multi-track year-round calendar)
  • Gulfstream Middle School: 8 students (under capacity)
  • Hallandale High School: 12 students (under capacity)


Transportation

Hallandale Beach, like all of eastern Broward County, is located within a Transit-Oriented Concurrency Area. Within this area, developers make one-time payments to Broward County based upon the traffic they would generate, but the money is used to improve and operate mass transit service.

Nonetheless, transportation impact, particularly on collector and local streets is a valid and important consideration when evaluating proposed plan amendments. Accordingly, the applicant submitted a traffic impact yielding the results on the following page.








2005

LOS

Without Amendment With Amendment
2012

LOS

2030

LOS

2012

LOS

2030

LOS

Diplomat Parkway N. of Amendment C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

C

S. of Amendment
Atlantic Shores Blvd. E. of Amendment D

D

D

D

C

C

C

C

C

C

W. of Amendment
NE 14th Avenue N. of Atlantic Shores Blvd. C

D

D

D

F

F

F

F

F

F

S. of Atlantic Shores Blvd.
E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. E. of Diplomat Parkway D

F

D

F

D

F

D

F

D

F

West of Diplomat Parkway
W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. (I-95 to US-1) E F F F F

CommercialRecreation

Irregular (11.24du/ac) Residential

Dashed linearea

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