Thursday, December 8, 2016

'Perpetuity' Is Not Forever in Palm Beach County

        'Perpetuity" is defined as an agreement lasting forever or of unlimited duration, but when it comes to environmental easements or recreational land use deeds in Palm Beach County, forever often has a much shorter life span.
        In the business world, and extending to the political halls of local government, there tends to be a bias against land use contracts written in perpetuity. To developers, their lobbyists, and receptive elected officials and judges, perpetuity hinders commerce and is an impediment to the profitable circulation and development of property.
        In recent years, the public has observed conservation easements "exchanged" or removed by both county and municipal governments. Often this is done by a simple majority vote.
        In at least two cases, homeowner associations also were surprised to learn perpetuity in their deed covenants offered no protection from the development of their golf courses. Both the county and local courts sided with developers in their efforts to build more homes on recreational property.
        The use of conservation easements by government became  widespread during the 1980s and 1990s as an effective and less expensive method of land preservation. The easements are often self-supporting and benefit government through fees or tax revenue.
        In a best case scenario, conservation easements are designed to allow maintenance and the compatible use of  property in exchange for the "permanent" removal of development rights.
        According to a report entitled "The Future of Perpetuity: Conservation Easement Concerns in the 21st Century," published by the Oregon Bar Association, it is estimated that at least 12 million acres of private lands are currently protected by conservation easements held by nonprofit land trusts, and "many more millions" of acres are protected by easements held by government entities.
        However, the report concludes that conservation easements, perpetuity and development rights are issues that inevitably interact "for better or for worse," with land use and zoning processes in local government.
        Many unit owners at the Century Village in West Palm Beach thought they controlled the land use of their unused golf course site "in perpetuity". The developer and the county did not agree.
        In 2011, the Palm Beach County Commission approved the building of 689 homes on the overgrown, weed-infested golf course. The court ruled in favor of developer and the county's action in February 2015.
        In the same year, the Boca Del Mar community lost a court decision to prevent the building of 252 more homes on the 130-acre Mizner Trail Golf Club. Once again, a perpetuity clause in their master plan failed to provide land use protections.
        The uncertainty of perpetuity in conservation easements also is impacting future sale and land use of the 571-acre McMurrain Farm property, part of the county's Agricultural Reserve.
        The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) wants to sell its share of the property to the highest bidder. The county is seeking a formula to protect environmentally sensitive land adjacent to the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.
        At a Dec. 6 public hearing, the County Commission, SFWMD staff and local conservationists discussed using a conservation easement as a solution. That is until the issue of perpetuity in its land use arose. It seems no one has much faith in perpetuity these days.
        Action on the McMurrain Farm property was postponed until a future meeting between the Commission and SFWMD board can be arranged.  In intergovernmental affairs, delays are perpetual, but many conservation easements are not.
(c.) Davidsson. 2016.

Note: See additional articles below and in Older Posts.

Monday, November 21, 2016

Government 'Disparity' in an Age of DNA Testing

        EDITOR'S NOTE: Misrepresentation by contractors in the awarding of M/WBE goods and services contracts remains an ongoing and unresolved problem with local governments. This recently updated article offers a genealogist's 21st century scientific - but socially controversial - solution using DNA testing.
                                                               *        *       *      
        For more than two years, Palm Beach County and the City of West Palm Beach, like many local governments across the U.S., worked to codify their "disparity studies" to increase minority hiring and business contract opportunities.
        The West Palm Beach Commission approved, 5-0, on first reading, the creation of a Minority/Women/Business Enterprise (M/WBE) Program based upon their disparity study at its Dec. 19, 2016 meeting.
        In the City of West Palm Beach, the program will establish M/WBE set-aside goals for city construction contracts, goods and services. The ordinance had an effective date of March 17, 2017.
        In 2015, Palm Beach County launched a special "Disparity Study Website" to evaluate government procurement and contracting preferences, and increase M/WBEs receiving county contracts. The Commission received its final disparity report from a consultant on Dec. 19, 2017 and approved its program in 2018.
        A disparity study is defined as a technique used to determine how well an organization involves minority-owned businesses, and to what extent remedial programs for prior racial exclusion are provided. Disparity studies also seek to provide equal government contract opportunities for women of all races.
        The federal government defines a minority group member as an individual who is of Asian, African-American, Hispanic or native American heritage. A birth certificate listing a racial or ethnic designation, combined with a signed "Affidavit of Ethnic Designation," will qualify an individual for minority business status in the State of Florida.

DNA Testing and Ancestry
        There is a growing concern that in an age of DNA genetic ancestry testing, and rapid population changes due to mass immigration, the guidelines used for minority preferences are in need of updating to prevent misrepresentation by business owners seeking government contracts.
        Currently, when it comes to awarding minority contracts, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, like most federal agencies, relies on racial data based on the "self-identification" model.
        The 2010 Census of the Population, Data File P94-171, defines self-identification as "the racial categories included in the Census questionnaire generally reflecting a 'social definition' of race recognized in this country, and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically or genetically..."
        One group historically excluded by this racial "self-identification" model are persons of mixed race (multiracial) ancestry. Prior to the 2000 U.S. Census, multiracial Americans were denied the right of self-identification in Census Bureau surveys.
        Between the years 1790 and 2000, multiracial Americans could select just one racial category, and thus were forced to exclude their second ancestry. Their only alternative was to choose the generic "Other" racial category.
        "Other" is not a category generally accepted by the federal government for minority contract or hiring considerations. This disparity legacy is not addressed by many government agencies today.
        A total of 9.1 million citizens selected more than one racial group on their 2010 Census forms. "Project Race," an advocacy organization for multiracial Americans, believes the Census Bureau is undercounting persons of mixed-race ancestry.
        The viewpoint of Project Race is supported by DNA genetic testing studies used to determine the ancestry and geographic origins of individuals.
        In a December 2014 article entitled "White? Black? A Murky Distinction Grows Still Murkier," the New York Times reported the results of a DNA ancestral study by Harvard University and other academics using data from the "23andMe" genetic testing service.
        The study revealed about 24 percent of African-Americans who self-identify as black carry European DNA genomes. The genetic markers for Hispanics find 65.1 percent carry European genomes as well as 18 percent native American.
        Using the DNA-tested sample group of 160,000 provided by "23andMe," researchers also estimated that more than 6 million European-Americans have African ancestry markers.
        The issue facing government officials is whether the established Census-based racial model of "self-identification" should be supplemented or even replaced by scientific analysis based upon DNA profiles. It is an unresolved political and a social issue looming on the horizon.
        The federal government allows "self-reporting" to determine native American minority status. However, most native American tribes require a specific percentage of "native blood or blood quantum" in addition to ancestral documentation as proof.
        Some self-governing tribes require as much as 25 percent native heritage, but most allow membership if a person has at least one native American great-grandparent.
        One classic example of the conflict between government minority identification and scientific DNA testing is persons of Hungarian ancestry. The government identifies modern Hungarians (Magyars) as Europeans based on geography.
        However, prior to the year 900 A.D. Magyars were an Asian people that today still speak a non-European Uralic dialect. Many Hungarians carry Asian genetic markers. Should a person's minority status be determined by a government classification or his/her own ancestral DNA?
       
Future Demographic Trends
        According to U.S. Census Population Reports, by the year 2020, "more than half of the nation's children (under the age of 18) are expected to be part of a minority race or ethnic group."
        For example, the Palm Beach County School District has a minority enrollment of 65 percent. Public schools in the district have a diversity score of 0.72, compared to the State of Florida average of 0.64 percent, according to the Public School Review.
        The U.S Census 2014 Population Projections also predict by the year 2044, the United States will become a "minority-majority" nation.
        These demographic trends will create new challenges for both government legal and human resources staff. In a diverse multiracial minority-majority society, who will qualify for government contract preferences?
        Expect DNA testing to be presented as evidence in future minority procurement appeal hearings as government contracts become more competitive.
        Perhaps by the year 2044, diversity will be achieved at all levels of government, and disparity studies will be consigned to dusty archives in the future. Today, that ideal state of governance remains a work in progress.
(c.) Davidsson. 2016.

*END NOTE: Article updated February 2019. The (retired) author of this article provided more than 20 years of family history research services for the PBC Library System, and was awarded the 2006 "Outstanding Achievement Award" by the Florida State Genealogical Society. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Welcomed Victory for WPB Historic Preservation

        The West Palm Beach City Commission voted 3-2 on second reading to include a section of the Northwood Village business district as part of the WPB  Local Register of Historic Places at its Oct. 24 public hearing.*
        The new Northwood Road Historic District will consist of 35 business properties, of which 27 (or 77 percent) are contributing historical structures. The commercial district is along Northwood Road, between Broadway Avenue to the west and Dixie Highway to the east.
        The commercial area was platted in the 1920s, at the same time as the Northwood residential community. The district contains several Mediterranean and Mission Revival style storefronts built between the 1920s and 1940s.
        For several decades, the street served as West Palm Beach's "second main street" for the city's north end, just as Clematis Street was the business center for downtown. The old Rexall Drug Store building is one of the historic structures in the new district.
        The West Palm Beach Historic Preservation Board voted 6-1 in favor of the designation at its Feb. 23 meeting. Supporters cited the need for protection of historic business structures from future development projects.
        Several business owners and two commissioners spoke in opposition to the historic designation at the two public hearings. They stated it would create another layer of  "bureaucracy" and limit business expansion. Currently, without the historic protection (Ordinance 4623-16), developers could level existing buildings.
        Earlier this year, Northwood Village received a "Florida Main Street" designation from the Florida Division of Historical Resources. The program focuses on economic development within the context of historic preservation.
(c.) Davidsson.  *Updated Oct. 2016.

NOTE: See additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Developers Create County's 39th City: 'Westlake'

        In recent years, the development-oriented majority on the Palm Beach County Commission has routinely granted private land developers building variances, waivers, bait-and-switch land use swaps known as transfer development rights (TDR's), and even revised zoning rules to benefit their future projects.
        However, to one development company, Minto, the Commission's generosity apparently did not provide enough compensation for their desired profit margin. So to bypass county permitting and zoning regulations, Minto created and helped incorporate its own city - "Westlake".
        Two years ago, the County Commission approved their "Minto West" development of 4,500 homes built on a 3,800-acre tract of land located west of the Acreage. The project would include a commercial district of 2.1 million square feet.
        Minto wanted more - higher density, more housing units, and especially more control over its future land use. What better way to achieve this than to incorporate a "company town" with a friendly city council to approve zoning standards less restrictive than those imposed by county government.
        It so happens that Minto also is the primary land owner in the Seminole Improvement District which includes Westlake (formerly Minto West). Florida law allows special districts such as Seminole the option of incorporating into a town by a simple majority vote.
        So with the backing of Minto, and using a state-mandated fast track to urbanization, a vote was taken within the geographical boundaries of Westlake to create the 39th city in Palm Beach County. The vote was unanimous, 5-0, in favor of incorporation of Minto West (i.e. Westlake). Yes, only five residents voted and they all live on Minto property.
       The Supervisor of Elections canvassing board certified the vote June 20 and the municipality of Westlake was born. Westlake will have a council-manager form of government, and will be run by a "transitional" council of five until future elections are held.
        Two of the council members voted in favor of incorporation and are residents. The other three members of the transitional government don't live in Westlake. One council member has already resigned. Such is the nature of politics in Palm Beach County.
        One can only hope that the County Commission learned an important lesson about the avarice of land speculators and developers - but don't count on it. Green spaces and farms disappear, while new development projects multiply faster than concrete tombstones in a cemetery.*
        Westlake joins four other subdivisions planned near the Acreage area - Iota, Avenir, Arden and Indian Trails Grove. When (not if) approved, they will add more than 14,720 housing units. Currently, there are inadequate roads, schools, infrastructure and government services to meet this future growth.
        At its Sept.21 meeting, Palm Beach County School Board staff announced future Westlake and Arden students would have be bused to Binks Forest Elementary School in Wellington which is currently at 80 percent capacity. There is no funding budgeted to build a school in Westlake.
         The County Commission majority approved a land use change amendment Sept. 22 at its monthly Zoning Commission hearing for the Indian Trails Grove subdivision, and for the Iota project at the Oct. 26 transmittal hearing.*
        Commissioner Melissa McKinlay, an opponent of Westlake incorporation, warned that if the four additional subdivisions are approved, the Acreage area could face population growth equal to Boca Raton or Delray Beach.
         "Browardization" was at one time the keyword for uncontrolled growth. In Palm Beach County, it is now called "Westlake".
(c.) Davidsson.  *Updated Oct. 2016.

*NOTE: Additional articles below and archived in Older Posts.   

Friday, March 18, 2016

City of WPB Transforming into a 'Little Manhattan'

        Everyone has a vision of the future for West Palm Beach. During the current and previous mayoral administrations, the vision of city hall's power brokers has become self-evident by the scale, mass and  height of buildings downtown along its skyline.
         Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to "Little Manhattan" under the palms.
        The City of West Palm Beach is in the final stages of transformation from a "low-rise" southern city with office buildings of less than 14 floors, to a "high-rise" metropolis with business towers, condominiums and hotels reaching upward to 30 stories.
        This vision of the future is no mirage. Politicians, business leaders and developers all play their part, and all profit from their shared vision.
        Some visions have unwanted side effects for the public. During the March 14 City Commission meeting, the mayor addressed citizen concerns about traffic gridlock in the heart of the city.
        Little Manhattan has its urban woes - traffic, crime, drugs, parking, concrete canyons - just like its big sister city and namesake in New York. The past two mayors of West Palm Beach found these problems downtown unacceptable, for they chose to live in gated and guarded single-story housing communities in the western suburbs.
        There are no 25-story office towers in the "western communities," only in the city's overbuilt urban core.

Up, Up and Away in West Palm Beach
        For the first 78 years of its history (1894 - 1972), the tallest building in West Palm Beach was just 14 stories. When the 14-floor Harvey Building was built on Datura Street in 1926-27, it loomed a full seven stories above the next tallest building downtown.
        It was not until 1972-74 that this standard for building heights was exceeded with the construction of the 21-story Washington, Lincoln and Jefferson towers along Presidential Way west of Clear Lake. After their construction, a race for the sky began downtown which continues to this day.
        An objective statistical source for tracking the history of development and building construction for cities in the U.S. and around the world is provided by the Emporis Company. The Emporis Standards allow independent analysis of a city's growth .
        A "high-rise" building is commonly defined as having a minimum of 14 floors to a maximum of 39 stories. Office towers higher than 39 floors enter the generic category of "skyscraper". This definition corresponds with those set by several fire safety organizations.
        After the completion of the three Presidential towers, an additional 11 high-rise buildings of more than 20 stories were approved by the city and built between 1980 and 2010. Today, there are 218 low-rise and 89 high-rise buildings of all uses in greater West Palm Beach.
        The Emporis Standards list eight "planned or unbuilt" high-rise buildings of 30 stories or more. A total of 22 additional high-rise buildings of 20 to 30 floors also are cited by name and address as "planned or unbuilt" in West Palm Beach.
       These are future projections and not all are approved by the city. West Palm Beach is currently reviewing a zoning amendment to its Master Plan to set building height, mass and scale guidelines for 127 high-density parcels located east of I-95. Hopefully, this will lead to the downsizing of future developments.
        Two future projects looming high above the horizon are the massive Transit Village, located downtown east of  Australian Avenue, and five 15-story mixed-use towers rising 170 feet above South Dixie Highway at the current two-story Prospect Place site.

A 'Crystal Tower' for Southland Park
        Residents living in historic neighborhoods along South Flagler Drive have long lived under the illusion that their single-family homes would never be overshadowed by a condominium  next door. Reality is coming soon to Southland Park in the form of a "Crystal" tower.*
        Crystal Palm Beach Development, LLC, is proposing the construction of a six-story, nine-unit multi-family condominium on property purchased by the developer at 3611 South Flagler Drive. This property is one of the 127 parcels in the city currently zoned for high-density development (MF-32).
       Twelve residents and representatives of two impacted homes to the north, and the adjacent four-story Flagler Yacht Club to the south, attended the May 5 West Palm Beach Zoning Board of Appeals hearing to state their opposition to four variances requested by the developer.
        Lobbyists for the owner said the Crystal will serve as a "catalyst for redevelopment" of properties along Washington Road and South Flagler Drive. Neighbors questioned the need for such a catalyst.
        The Zoning Board of Appeals opposed two setback variance requests, 5-0, which would have allowed a 64-foot-high building on the site. However, they did approve two landscaping buffers to the north and south sides of the property, opening the door to a revised condominium plan.
        As many as 140 property owners living within 400 feet of the Crystal development site on Washington Road were not informed of the public hearing, as is required by WPB zoning regulations. Belatedly, the City Commission amended the Zoning Code May 9 to increase future notification areas to 500 feet.
        Unless the city eliminates existing MF-32 zoning of parcels along Flagler Drive, expect additional condominium towers near historic single-family neighborhoods in the future.

Builders Tout Thinner, Taller Condo Tower*
        For 10 years, fortunate residents and neighbors of the old "1515 Flagler Tower" condominium, located on South Flagler Drive, were given a reprieve from new high-rise development. The old 1515 Flagler was demolished in 2006 after extensive damages suffered from the "Three Sisters" hurricanes - Frances, Jeanne and Wilma.
        Open space along Flagler Drive is rare novelty and it seemed too good to last. (It was.) The plan to build the 26-story "Modern" condominium on the 1515 Flagler green space fell victim to the Great Recession.
        However, it was announced in August 2016 that the Canadian firm of "Great Gulf" will partner with the property owner, Terrence Mountain Investors, LLC, to build a 27-story condo tower, rising 299 feet above Flagler Drive and the Lake Worth Lagoon. Plans for the 256,753-square-foot building were submitted to the city for review.
        The Canadian builders say the 84-unit condominium will be "thinner" in mass than the old plans approved by the City Commission for the "Modern". The plan for a slimmer tower will still dwarf neighboring buildings and residences on South Flagler Drive.     

The 'Tower of Babel-by-the-Lake'
        A controversy of biblical proportions was fought along the waterfront in 2014-15. Chicago developers successfully lobbied the City Commission for a zoning change, allowing the destruction of the beloved historical open-air "Chapel-by-the-Lake," and approved the construction of the 25-story "Bristol" luxury condominium on infill land jutting into the Lake Worth Lagoon.
        For the first time, residents from the across the city questioned the "Little Manhattan" downtown vision of the future, and organized to fight the building of a massive high-rise along Flagler Drive at both public hearings and in court.
        The site was previously owned by the First Baptist Church. Its directors should have heeded the warning issued 4,000 years ago in Genesis 11:(3). It reads, "And they said come let us build a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves..."
       Alas, God punished mankind for our vanity and architectural foolishness by creating linguistic confusion and chaos that halted the project - not unlike the disharmony and discord in West Palm Beach caused by the Bristol project.
        King Nimrod did not learn the moral lesson of the Tower of Babel parable, and neither did the First Baptist Church nor the City Commission. The church received its $21 million pieces of silver for the site in 2014, but the Chapel-by-the-Lake, a cultural center of the city for more than 50 years, is lost forever.
        Soon, the First Baptist congregation will no longer see the sun rising over the Lake Worth Lagoon from the front steps of their temple. As a result of the city's action, the east side of Flagler Drive is now open to future high-rise projects, such as the six Rybovich Village towers.
        Traffic studies and sea-level rise projections along Flagler Drive are routinely ignored by city leaders.

Office Towers Become the New 'Cathedrals'
        Using the Bristol project as a test case, developers are now preying on distressed properties, both downtown and along the waterfront. The targeted sites are prime parcels that include churches faced with declining congregations and future debt.
        The next likely development site is church property owned by the First Church of Christ, Scientist, fronting the Royal Palm Bridge, just west of Flagler Drive on Lakeview Avenue. The Related Company is currently negotiating the purchase of a building and parking area directly behind the iconic Christian Science Church, built in 1928 in an architectural Classical Revival Greek temple style.
      The New York-based Related Company proposal is to design and build a 30-story, 300,000-square-foot office tower immediately behind the church. The building would offer tenants an unobstructed view of the lagoon. Properties west of the tower would face the back side of the monolith.
        The architect for the proposed Class A office building has a lofty vision. He compares the office tower to a "lighthouse" linking the ocean to the city. He even envisions the 30-story building as a modern spire similar to France's "Chartres Cathedral" rising above the city to the heavens above.
        Returning to reality, the church property is currently zoned for five stories or less. Special exemptions and approval would be required from the City Commission. Based upon past actions by the council, there are always convenient wavers and incentives available to developers.
        In "Little Manhattan," anything is possible, and the sky is never the limit. Just ask King Nimrod. Development matters in the City of West Palm Beach. The preservation of neighborhoods - not so much.
(c.) Davidsson.  Revised August 2016.*

NOTE: Additional articles are below and archived in Older Posts.