Above, October 19, 2010 photograph by South Beach Hoosier of Part C-1, TERM of the "Protective Covenants relating to the residential section of Golden Isles" in Hallandale Beach, FL effective May 26, 1959.
The key area for you to consider is "unless an instrument signed by a majority of the then owners of the lots has been recorded, agreeing to change said covenants in whole or in part."
What could possibly be simpler?
In order to change any aspect of the covenants, you need 51%.
Every homeowner in the Golden Isles section of Hallandale Beach has a copy of these rules.
But certain people living in Golden Isles don't want to follow these rules, and that includes the mayor of this city, Joy Cooper, the current President of the Florida League of Cities, and many of her friends and neighbors.
They want to go around the written rules they had already agreed to. Not surprisingly, a LOT of people don't like that idea one bit, and for good reason.
Below is an email that I wrote and distributed on Wednesday afternoon throughout Hallandale Beach, Broward County, South Florida and beyond to some concerned Floridians, elected officials and news media regarding the very curious and queer SRO public meeting that I attended (and videotaped) on Tuesday night at Hallandale Beach City Hall.
It was one of the oddest public meetings I have attended of the dozens I've gone to throughout South Florida over the past seven years since returning to South Florida after 15 years living and working in the Washington, D.C. area.
In fact, it may be THE oddest, since it was the most obvious failure, though the Miami-Dade County hearing I attended in early 2009 on proposed public financing of a Marlins Stadium had been the leader up 'til now.
That was the public hearing where Chairman Dennis Moss refused to allow the hundreds of citizens in attendance at the M-D Commission Chambers in downtown Miami to watch the City of Miami's public hearing with the Marlins' David Samson -the reason for the long delay where we were, and its eventual postponement -after a few hours of nothing happening- on the large TV screens in the Commission Chambers, even though the staff, commissioners and news media could watch it in their offices or the next door media room.
But for the assembled citizens, Moss delivered an emphatic "No!"
Then Dennis Moss compounded the basic problem by lying to the public (and the hordes of news media) by saying that it wasn't technically possible, even though county employees I spoke to there said it would only take a few seconds to do it.
Plain and simple, Dennis Moss didn't want the South Florida public to know what was going on at that other hearing.
This was the smug, elitist and entitled attitude I saw displayed by Comm. Moss in a taxpayer-funded room in a taxpayer-funded building, where everything you see is something that taxpayers paid for, including the very equipment the M-D commissioners, staff and news media watched the City of Miami meeting on!
A fact that the dutiful South Florida news media conveniently ignored, as usual.
You bet I want to see Dennis Moss recalled by Miami-Dade County voters, with Norman Braman's help and leadership.
I only wish I could legally sign the petition!
As for voter recall in Hallandale Beach, it'll be here sooner than you think...
Tuesday night's meeting in Hallandale Beach was held to discuss some news regarding proposed changes to the status quo in the Golden Isles section of southeast Hallandale Beach, which is a separate taxing district for certain purposes, and which has a security gatehouse at its entrance on Layne Blvd., though anyone can still enter since it's on a public road.
But what Tuesday night's meeting most resembled was a failed pep rally, run by supporters of HB mayor Joy Cooper and her cronies. That's because that's exactly what it was.
My email below appears exactly as sent, minus a few cleaned-up typos and a few things I've completely spelled out in order to make it clearer for blog readers.
-----
Wednesday October 10th, 2010
I commend to you the common sense email, below, from attorney David C. Barnett, a resident of Hallandale Beach who seems able to see what most of the city residents attending last night's meeting at HB City Hall could see with their own eyes: an attempted hijacking of democracy by a small clique under the guise of maintaining high-property values.
http://www.hallandalebeachfl.gov/index.aspx?NID=680
Mayor Joy Cooper and Comm. Keith London, both of whom live in Golden Isles, were precluded from speaking publicly on this issue at last night's meeting -which I videotaped- because it could/will come before the Hallandale Beach City Commission in Dec. or Jan. if approved by the Hallandale Beach Planning & Zoning Board.
Not that this stopped Harry Cooper, the mayor's husband, from speaking and blaming Comm. London, who was responsible for the large turnout of residents last night by informing and educating people about the possible long-term ramifications of what is being proposed, which from Harry Cooper's personal p.o.v., necessarily, makes his wife look bad.
But if that is the reality, and it is, it's true whether he likes it or not.
Having carefully read the documents provided, including the covenants involved, it's pretty clear that there needs to be an election of the homeowners in the Golden Isles taxing district, which will be approved if 51% say yes.
In fact, it says EXACTLY that.
The powers-that-be among the two self-selecting Golden Isles groups that met last night at City Hall are chock-a-block full of Joy Cooper supporters, and don't think they can reach that low threshold -and even said so.
But rather than follow the proscribed rules, and take their chances with an election, they are trying to go thru the backdoor and have the city take care of things, even though that will be an expense that the entire city will be asked to pay for.
Naturally, thanks to the mayor's efforts at mis-direction, the rest of the city doesn't know anything about this, or that they are going to have to pay for the enforcement of these Golden Isles-specific rules that they no longer do, as Mr. Barnett correctly states below, despite how many times Cooper family friend Gerry Natelson calls them the same rules.
As it happens, his daughter, Sheryl Natelson, is on the city's P&Z Board.
(Guess who appointed her?)
She's one of the two geniuses on the city's P&Z board who threatened to have me removed by the Hallandale Beach Police from a public P&Z meeting last year for... taking photos of the Board at a public meeting!
From about 50 feet away.
At a public meeting where I was one of only three citizens present in the entire HB Cultural Center.
Natelson's yet another attorney in HB who doesn't understand or doesn't like the state's Sunshine Laws, just like City Attorney David Jove, who for years has looked the other way at what was going on right in front of him, regardless of how badly it illegally disadvantages the citizen taxpayers of this community, because that's what Mayor Cooper and former
City Manager Mike Good wanted.
I'm hardly sharing Breaking News when I tell you that it's the opinion of the majority of concerned and well-informed people in HB that Jove's number-one priority is keeping his job. Period.
Just saying...
If this situation is going to be handled fairly and legally, the residents of that special taxing district need to have their referendum, plain and simple, and the two Golden Isles groups and Mayor Cooper need to STOP trying to bypass THEIR OWN RULES.
And any pretense at fairness and transparency.
Why won't Mayor Joy Cooper follow the rules and let the people in Golden Isles vote on the matter?
There's your story.
Dave
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Keith London
Date: Wed, Oct 20, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Subject: FW: 10/19 Meeting
To: "Commissioner, Hallandale Beach - Keith London" <klondon@hallandalebeachfl.gov>
Everyone,
Subject: 10/19 Meeting
David C. Barnett, Esquire
2860 Marina Mile Blvd; Suite 105
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312
954-920-7400
954-920-9492 fax
888-732-7425 US Toll Free
www.injuredoverseas.com