Time to Establish School Board Term Limits in PBC

        Term limits for the Palm Beach County Commission were established in 2002, following a successful ballot referendum and majority vote by county residents, to two four-year terms or a maximum of eight years in public office.
        The County Commission's transition to term-limited government has worked well with little or no disruption of services to the people. It is now time for the Palm Beach County School Board to follow the Commission's path and institute term limits.
        Two identical bills have been introduced to the Florida Legislature in 2019 (HJR 229 and SJR 274) to achieve this goal. If the joint resolution is approved by the Legislature this year, the measure would appear on the 2020 ballot as a proposed constitutional amendment limiting local school board members across the state to eight years in office.
        The proposed amendment to Article IX of the Florida Constitution reads, "A person may not appear on the ballot for reelection to the office of school board member if, by the end of his or her current term of office, the person will have served, or but for resignation would have served, in that office for eight consecutive years."
        If approved by the voters of Florida, the revised constitutional amendment would have a commencement date of Nov. 3, 2020.
        The Florida Constitutional Reform Committee advocated for proposed school board term limits in 2018. However, the Florida Supreme Court blocked it from the state ballot due to a dispute in the wording of a secondary issue included in the initiative.
        Palm Beach County is one of seven charter counties in Florida that have adopted term limits for its commissioners. Supporters believe democracy is best served when more citizens have an opportunity to participate in elective government. Long-term incumbency by powerful career politicians discourages public participation by new office seekers.
        There are currently five members of the Palm Beach County School Board serving more than eight years. Dr. Debra Robinson has been a member of the board since the year 2000 and was reelected four times. Board members Marcia Andrews and Karen Brill were first elected in November 2010. Their current terms expire in November 2022.
        The current School Board chairman, Frank Barbieri, has served three terms as its chair. He was first elected in 2008 and been a board member for 11 years. Chuck Shaw also has served since 2008.
        Term limits are like a cup of fresh water, used to prime the pumps of our democracy with new leaders and ideas.
(c.) Davidsson. 2019.
       

WPB Downtown Development: Inconvenient Truth

        Build a high-rise Manhattan-style skyline of 25-story residential and office towers, then place it over a low-rise Copenhagen-modeled transportation network of narrow roads, reduced street parking, enhanced sidewalks and bike lanes with more trolleys, and the end result is the downtown vision of the future for the City of West Palm Beach.
       Many residents of West Palm Beach don't share the city's vision. They fear the city's pending downtown development and mobility plans ignore many realities and inconvenient truths concerning commuting patterns, demographics, climatic issues and lifestyle choices. Their two main concerns are overdevelopment and traffic gridlock.
        After a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark, Mayor Jeri Muoio hired the Danish Gehl Studio in 2016 to design a series of pilot projects for the city. The services of Alta Planning and Design was then contracted to draft a "Mobility Study" for the downtown.
        The city also completed a downtown parking study and citywide bicycle routing grid. In combination these studies formed the blueprint for the city's future development strategy. The Mobility Plan was approved May 21 by the City Commission.
         The cornerstone of the city's downtown redevelopment is the planned creation of a "Okeechobee Business District" surrounding the most congested corridor in West Palm Beach - Okeechobee Boulevard. It includes a 25-story office tower, wedged in behind the historic First Church of Christ Scientist, proposed by the Related Companies.
       After negative public reaction, the City Commission rejected the project by a 3-2 vote in 2017. However, in the City of West Palm Beach, development projects seldom die a permanent death, they are just revised. With new elections come new opportunities for developers and city planners.
        In her May 12 "Insider" newsletter, Mayor Muoio advocated for the approval of the Mobility Study recommendations, and "asked city staff to explore reviving the creation of the Okeechobee Business Disrict to better regulate development patterns and transportation demand."
        Just three days later, the West Palm Beach Planning Board narrowly passed the city's staff recommendation, 3-2, to create the new downtown business district. The OBD proposal once again advanced to the City Commission for final approval.
        At its June 18 meeting, the City Commission reversed its 2017 decision and approved the OBD, 5-0, on first reading.*
        The mayor's stated goal is "by creating a downtown where people live and work we would take cars off the road in our city and, thus, reduce vehicular congestion."
        It is a noble quest, but when it comes to downtown development, the devil is always in the lobbyist's details. Here are the inconvenient truths city planners have yet to address and resolve:

Inconvenient Truth No. 1: Better Mass Transit Needed
        Urban centers like New York and Copenhagen have efficient underground subway systems to transport workers and customers throughout their cities from outlying communities. West Palm Beach lacks this service, and with sea level rise in South Florida, it is not an option.
        West Palm Beach depends on the county's Palm Tran bus service as an alternative to a subway system or the automobile. City trolleys serve the immediate downtown area. Neither is an attractive or popular option for commuters since only 3.2 percent use public transit, according to U.S. Census 2016 "Commuting Characteristics" for the city.
        Tri-Rail as a north-south commuter rail service has so far failed to impact these dismal mass transit usage statistics. Brightline will only assist commuters from Fort Lauderdale or Miami in the future.
        Another inconvenient truth is 60.2 percent of resident workers have a place of employment outside of West Palm Beach. This outflow is not addressed in the Mobility Study. The city "hopes" downtown developers will provide future jobs where people live.
        Hope is eternal. So are unresolved traffic congestion issues during rush hours.

Inconvenient Truth No. 2: The Bristol Parking Case Study
        When the City Commission approved the 24-story Bristol condominium on the Lake Worth Lagoon, the developer's lobbyists assured city planners that adequate parking would be provided for residents and there would be no traffic problems. Wrong.
        Even though the building is still under construction, the developers determined the original parking plan for the condo is inadequate. The Bristol will lease a second parking garage on property owned by Palm Beach Atlantic University (PBAU), west of Flagler Drive.
       The garage will be built on a site that was used for affordable student housing on campus. In order to pass city zoning regulations, the project will include an "office" to quality the garage as a business.
        Ironically, city staff recently recommended reducing internal parking space requirements for several downtown residential projects. The assumption is fewer spaces will be needed for cars since residents will live, work and walk downtown.
        The inconvenient truth is new high-rise condominiums and apartment complexes do not reduce demands for downtown parking. In fact, they may increase parking needs for the building's service providers, staff, caterers, caregivers, visiting family members and guests.
        The City of West Palm Beach "hopes" this is not true. Hope is eternal.

Inconvenient Truth No. 3: The Old and Infirm Live Here Too
        The ongoing mantra, repeated at the mayor's office and by city planners, proclaims West Palm Beach is a youthful city with a median age of 39.6 years. As a result, walkability and bicycling could soon replace dependence on automobiles downtown.
         However, this also means half of the population is over the age of 40, and 10.3 percent of residents of all ages are disabled, according to the U.S. Census. A total of 22,789 citizens are over the age of 62.
        The elderly population in West Palm Beach, with its ADA equal access and transportation concerns, is avoided like bubonic plague or Ebola in the city's Mobility Plan. For most citizens in West Palm Beach, dependence on the automobile is a necessity of life.
       Once again, Census statistics reveal 86.4 percent of county residents use a car, van or truck daily to get to work or for other uses. Only 3.4 percent of residents walk to work in West Palm Beach. Bicycles are used by 0.7 percent of the city's workforce.
       Bike lanes are a nice supplement to city streets, but adequate roads and parking for automobile users downtown is a necessity. Walkability downtown should be available to all, including those groups that require the use of automobiles to reach the heart of the city.
        The elderly and disabled "hope" the city is listening to their needs too.

Inconvenient Truth No. 4: The Weather Matters in WPB
        New York and Copenhagen are seasonal cities with temperate climates and transportation systems designed to meet their specific needs. West Palm Beach is a subtropical city which many experts believe may soon have a year-round tropical climate.
        West Palm Beach averages 62 inches (five feet) of rain annually. The average afternoon humidity level is 61 percent. Tropical downpours limit walkability. So does heat and humidity, especially in summer.
        Convincing the public to trade in their automobiles for bicycles downtown in the sweltering heat or rain is a hard sell, but it seems to be the current city policy. When voluntary compliance fails, there is always zoning coercion.
      In her "Insider" report, the mayor calls for a requirement "to restrict the amount of parking within the (Okeechobee) corridor to reduce vehicular congestion, and promote walkability and a requirement of developments to seek alternative modes of transportation to lessen the reliance on automobiles."
      A more effective solution to "reduce vehicular congestion" is to reject additional 25-story monoliths downtown in the future.

Inconvenient Truth No. 5: The 'Optimum' Isn't Always Best
        At the June 13 Downtown Action Committee (DAC) meeting, and repeated verbatim before the Commission, city planners pitched the need for the OBD Ordinance, and by their advocacy served the business interests of downtown developers, the local Chamber of Commerce and elected officials who favor high-density growth.
        And once again, during their two-hour DAC presentation, city planning staff pointed out that while new downtown residential units have reached 109 percent of goals set by the city's master plan, business growth as measured by office space lags behind at just over 60 percent of their stated "optimum" level of new development.
        Is the 100 percent optimum for business necessarily in the best interests of West Palm Beach  residents? Are future 25-story office towers downtown a measure of quality or quantity? The city has yet to prove its case to surrounding neighborhoods.      
        Despite the promises of economic prosperity promoted by city staff, inappropriately acting as lobbyists, not all downtown development projects live up to the expectations of their planners. When they fail, it is the surrounding neighborhoods that are left with the empty storefronts, crumbling concrete edifices and future urban blight.
        West Palm Beach has a poor track record when it comes to long-term business planning. City approval of the Palm Beach Mall turned Palm Coast Plaza, Prospect Place (Sears Town) and Clematis Street into economic deserts during the late 1970's and 1980's.
        City support of City Place, while benefiting downtown business renewal, was the final nail in the coffin for the Palm Beach Mall. Likewise, city approval of the "Outlets" on the old Palm Beach Mall site has hurt retail business at both City Place and Clematis Street, as well as the long-suffering Palm Coast Plaza and the Dixie Corridor.
         Now the City Commission views the new OBD as the latest economic cure-all. History has proved long-term thinking is in short supply at City Hall. All development projects have good and bad "consequences" with the negative aspects usually expunged during the planning process - but not always.
        Profit is the economic force driving the Okeechobee Business District and other downtown development projects. Any developer or politician who says 25-story office towers are built primarily for the well being of the community is selling snake oil cures for future urban problems.
        The quality of life in the city's urban neighborhoods matters, and that remains an inconvenient truth for many special interests. Their concerns often outweigh a developer's promises.
(c.) Davidsson. 2018. 
*NOTE: Article updated on June 18. See additional articles archived in Older Posts.   

Staff Replace Volunteers at Hurricane Irma Shelters

         During the Hurricane Irma emergency in Palm Beach County, for the first time 15 shelters were staffed by both paid County Government and School Board employees after community volunteerism failed to provide the human resources needed to provide this service.
        In the past, hurricane shelters were staffed by the Red Cross which relies heavily on volunteers in the community. There was a shortage of volunteers to adequately staff shelters when Hurricane Matthew passed offshore in 2016. As a result, Palm Beach County Government and the School District jointly acquired this staffing responsibility in June 2017.
        Palm Beach County created a new employee policy, now appearing on its job classification postings. It states, "All employees of Palm Beach County may be requested to work before, during and/or after a natural or man-made disaster or hurricane."
        Local governments had less than three months to prepare and train its staff for emergency shelter work when Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 tropical cyclone, made a direct hit on South Florida. The end result was detailed in the Sept. 17 Palm Beach Post article entitled "Shelter Work Angers Palm Beach County Employees."
        In truth, situations faced by county employees, many saying they were "forced to volunteer," were as dire at a few shelters as reported in the newspaper article.
        The unresolved social problems in our community followed the 17,000 evacuees into the confinement of emergency shelters. They included but were not limited to unsanitary conditions, medical and mental health issues, drug abuse, sexual misconduct, petty theft, vandalism and antisocial behavior.
        Palm Beach County Commissioners praised the work of county staff who served the public during the emergency at their Sept.26 meeting.*

When Servitude Replaces Volunteerism
        Hurricane Irma was not the first example of county staff used as surrogate workers when community volunteerism failed during a crisis. It was during the infamous 2000 "Hanging Chad" Presidential Election that the Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections reported a shortage of trained volunteer poll workers.
        Palm Beach County Government employees continued to fill precinct vacancies in the 2002 and 2004 elections. Today, many county workers voluntarily provide this public service.
        County employees received a minimum of four hours of training by the Supervisor of Elections before serving as poll workers. However, several staff reported receiving less than one hour of emergency shelter instruction prior to the arrival of Hurricane Irma.
       Requiring county employees to leave their homes, families and children during a natural disaster to staff emergency shelters for several days is more than a routine job description. It is a sacrifice and a hardship. It is public servitude, not volunteerism.
        If disaster staffing becomes mandatory in the future, then Palm Beach County needs to provide its employees with the same level of specialized training, labor and safety protections at assigned emergency shelters that they receive in their workplaces. County staff are a valuable resource that deserve nothing less.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.
*NOTE: Article updated on Sept. 27. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.     

Vandals, Mayor Decide Fate of 'Rebel' Monument

        As the unrestrained partisans of intolerance continue their war on America's past by defacing historic memorials across the United States, the twice vandalized and desecrated Confederate monument in Woodlawn Cemetery was removed from its pedestal Aug. 22, 1917 and placed in storage.      
        West Palm Beach Mayor Jeri Muoio ordered the monument removed from the cemetery on Aug. 21 after vandals desecrated the memorial for a second time over the weekend. The mayor said she has "lost her patience" with the ongoing issue. The monument was hauled away from the Woodlawn Cemetery the following day.
        Once located within the cemetery's crossroads was a 10-foot high vertical block of marble with a Confederate battle flag - the "Stars and Bars" - etched into the memorial to the Old South.
      In 1941, the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated the monument in Woodlawn Cemetery. For more than 70 years, the memorial kept vigil over the 20 former Confederate soldiers buried in the city's graveyard. It was the only monument placed to honor Civil War veterans in Palm Beach County.
       An inscription on the monument reads, "Forever now, among the immortal dead where dust belongs to glory's dreamland, sleeps the fair Confederacy..."
      The City of West Palm Beach was facing the same dilemma as Charlottesville and other cities across the South. What do you do with aging memorials to the old 19th century Confederacy in a diverse 21st century America?
       While Woodlawn is a public cemetery operated by West Palm Beach, the monument is privately owned and maintained. It was dedicated on public land with the permission and approval of the city.
        Supporters say the monument is sacred to the memory of the buried Confederate war dead. Opponents say it is reminder of the bad old days of slavery and succession from the Union.
        In a statement released to the news media on Aug. 21, Mayor Muoio said, "We have asked them to remove their monument, they have not done that, so we are going to remove it for them. We will put it in storage for them and they can take it, do whatever they wish, but not on public property."
        City staff removed the red paint from the defaced monument as part of its policy of swift response to criminal gang tagging. The main gate to the cemetery was locked late in the afternoon.
        The mayor has publicly stated her belief that edifices such as the Confederate monument are symbols of hate, and wanted the sponsoring organization to voluntarily relocate the memorial. She has not denounced the illegal defacing of a Civil War veterans monument with graffiti as an act of intolerance.
        One name tagged on the monument with red paint was "Antifa". Antifa is a far left-wing anarchist movement of self-described anti-fascist, anti-capitalist activists using "direct action" to achieve their goals.
        One example of Antifa "direct action" was the defacing of Atlanta's Piedmont Park "Peace Memorial" last month by mistake. In their zeal to cleanse the nation of historic monuments, Antifa failed to read the inscription on the plaque.
        Anarchists and rage mobs recently have defaced monuments honoring St. Junipero Serra, the Apostle of California; Christopher Columbus, George Washington, General Robert E. Lee and the official World War II memorial. Not even Abraham Lincoln's monument in Washington, D.C.,  has  escaped the defilers of U.S. historic sites.
        The West Palm Beach Police responded to the first report of Confederate monument vandalism at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 10. It was investigated as a "Criminal Damage to Property" incident. They received the second vandalism call at 4 p.m. Aug. 19, according to the police blotter.
        Under state law, "Injury or Removal of a Tomb or Monument (F.S. 872.02)," vandals can be charged with a third degree felony for "willingly destroying, mutilating, defacing, injuring or removing any tomb, monument, gravesite or burial mound..."
        It was never investigated if the mayor herself committed a felony by removing a private cemetery monument without the approval of the owner. State law requires the City Commission to hold a public hearing before a monument can adversely be removed from a cemetery.
        To many political extremists, even a maximum $5,000 fine for a third degree felony is not an adequate deterrent to prevent their acts of vandalism. Historic monuments located outside of a cemetery have even less legal protection in Florida
        The police are currently investigating the two monument vandalism incidents, but no suspects have been charged with the criminal act. Meanwhile, an historic Civil War memorial was permanently removed from its pedestal at Woodlawn Cemetery. Both the mayor and vandals achieved their objective.

'With Malice Toward None...'
        As the future fate of historical monuments, made unpopular by revisions of history, is debated in cities across the nation, perhaps it would be wise for people of good will on both sides of the issue to consider the words of Abraham Lincoln during his Second Inaugural Address.
        About one month before the end of the Civil War and his future martyrdom, the Great Emancipator said, "With malice toward none, with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and for his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and all nations."
        There was no such public discussion or compromise in West Palm Beach. In West Palm Beach, historic monuments are removed from public view by executive order of the mayor, in violation of state law, and with the unsolicited support of the vandals who deface them.
         The fate of the Civil War monument continues to be known only to the mayor and a select few in city government three years later in the year 2020.
        Hopefully, elsewhere in 21st century America, citizens will work together without malice and in the spirit of charity to resolve the issues that divide us, with peaceful compromise instead of violent confrontation and cowardly acts of lawlessness.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017
*NOTE: The article was updated in 2020. See additional articles below and in Older Posts.

School Board Muzzles Student Dissent at Meeting

        At a sad time in our history when most local government agencies and commissions have placed restrictions on citizen comments and dissent during public hearings, the Palm Beach County School Board has gone above and beyond in its efforts to curtail free speech at its meetings.
        The First Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights protects a citizen's entitlements of freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right to petition government for the redress of grievances -  that is unless you are a 15-year-old Lake Worth High School (LWHS) student seeking to address the School Board during a televised public meeting.
        Apparently, current School Board members have an aversion to confrontation at their meetings, and will go out of their way to prevent policy embarrassments in public, even if it limits the Constitutional rights of the citizens to whom they have a mission to serve.
        Several LWHS students, unhappy with the dismissal and transfer of a beloved assistant principal at their school, decided to exercise their First Amendment rights by "pre-registering" as speakers before a Jan. 18 meeting of the School Board.*
        School Board Policy 1.03 requires prior registration by public speakers by 12 p.m. on the day of a meeting. Speakers also are required by the policy to state the topics or agenda items they will address to administrative staff in advance.
        One would think the School Board and its administration would have praised the civic-minded initiative demonstrated by the students in exercising our democratic principles. That was not the case. The 16th century Spanish Inquisition would have applauded of the School Board's reaction.
       In a Feb. 19 front-page story, Palm Beach Post staff profiled the ordeal of a LWHS student named Miguel. (Since he is a minor, this article withholds his full name in the hope the School District will let him continue his education in peace and privacy.)
      On the day of the School Board meeting, Miguel was called out of his class and told to report to the principal's office. In this intimidating setting, he was interrogated by the School District Regional Superintendent and an Assistant Regional Superintendent.
        Miguel's interrogators questioned him about what he planned to say to the School Board. Then they tried to convince him not to speak, according to the LWHS student. To their credit, Miguel and three other students appeared before the board and tried to present their views.
       However, intimidation by high-ranking School District administrative officials wasn't the only hurdle faced by the young scholars. Next they had to endure the wrath of the School Board chairman while making their presentation.
       The School Board usually remains silent and taciturn during the "Comments by the Public" segment of the agenda. Miguel and his classmates faced interruptions by the chairman while making their prepared comments, and were warned not to mention the names of the LWHS principal and assistant principal under investigation by the School District.
        Confronted by hostility by the School Board and staff, Miguel displayed nothing less than a profile in courage. The same can't be said for the School Board members who failed to come to his defense.
       The School Board defends their policy by saying the district is trying to be proactive and resolve conflicts before they come to public hearings. However, several parents and students contacted by administrative staff in the past contend such "persuasion" is not always "friendly".
        There is not a happy ending to Miguel's saga. Faced with a less than friendly campus atmosphere at LWHS, the student transferred to another school.

Censorship with a Smile
        Ever since the beautiful Par-3 Forest Hill Golf Course was paved over by the School Board to build a confusing concrete labyrinth named Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center, this so-called "Taj Mahal" of education has housed a bureaucracy that is legendary to both teachers and parents for its glacial administrative power of inertia.
         In such an environment, it is tempting for board members to pass along real educational concerns of students, teachers and parents for their administrative staff to handle, (then file and archive), instead of resolving issues head-on at public hearings.
         There are few opportunities for the public to interact with their elected boards. Any roadblocks built by government officials to restrict this vital face-to-face feedback by citizens does the community a disservice.
        Below are the politically correct "Top Five Local Rules to Limit Free Speech at Public Hearings." As with all policies limiting personal freedom, they are drafted with a wink by legal staff, and are always "for the public good":

• Civility Codes: Speech restrictions at public meetings drafted to prohibit offensive words and bad behavior. The City of West Palm Beach held two brainstorming sessions with citizens to define "civility". They failed. Civility remains in the eye of beholder. So is censorship.
• Time Limits: Most local government boards limit public comments to three minutes. Board chairmen have the power to reduce it to two minutes or less. By contrast, land developers, their attorneys and paid lobbyists have unlimited time to promote their projects at public hearings.
• 'No-Name' Rules: Policies established by some local governments to prohibit criticism of board members, staff or special interest lobbyists "by name" during public meetings. 
• Cross-Examination Policy: At public hearings, citizens are not allowed to directly cross-examine special interest groups, their lobbyists or government staff. They must submit questions in writing. County legal staff and board chairmen then have the option of editing or disregarding the written public queries.
• Pre-registration: Some local councils do not allow the public to comment on issues before the board unless requests to speak are submitted in writing before the start of the meeting. Citizens are banned from speaking at "workshop" sessions by many local boards.

       There is a long-standing joke, shared between paid lobbyists behind closed doors, which unfortunately has a ring of truth in Palm Beach County: "While the public squawks, money talks."
        Let us hope a majority of elected government officials still value the words spoken by private citizens at public hearings. Even the words of a 15-year-old student contain acquired knowledge.

*NOTE: The author is a graduate of the LWHS Class of 1972. See also "County Limits Right to Question Developers" archived in Older Posts.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017.

Urgent Care Needed to Cure Plague of Sober Homes

        The Palm Beaches are known worldwide as a popular destination for presidential candidates by the dozen, invasive species by the score, winter tourists by the million, and recently for the uncontrolled influx of "Sober Homes".
       From Boca Raton to West Palm Beach and extending westward to Wellington, desperate homeowners in local neighborhoods are seeking relief from the concentration of alcohol and drug abuse recovery residential living facilities in their communities.
        Sober Living Houses (SLH), commonly called Sober Homes, are defined as alcohol and drug-free group living environments for individuals attempting to maintain abstinence from addictive  substances and medications.
       Sober Homes are not licensed as medical treatment centers, but do provide, in a best case scenario, supervised residential and counseling services for patients in recovery.
        There are profits to be made in the operation of Sober Homes. Insurance policies, including coverage under the Affordable Care Act, provide payments to the private sector and not-for-profit organizations that operate Sober Homes while recovering addicts receive treatment.
        Palm Beach County is the destination of choice for Sober Home sponsors for the same reasons the county is a magnet for tourists, retirees and new residents. The Palm Beaches offer a desirable climate and environment, low tax rates, high-quality hospitals and medical services, and compliant zoning that allows Sober Homes.
        Sober Homes are unregulated in Florida, so no one knows for sure how many of the group residential facilities are located in Palm Beach County. Of the 236 rehab residences that "voluntarily" registered with the Florida Association of Recovery Residences, 118 were in the Palm Beaches as of 2016.
        Delray Beach Mayor Cary Glickstein recently estimated hundreds of Sober Homes are located in his city alone. As of December 2016, the City of West Palm Beach staff were aware of 75 Sober Homes operating within its city limits. The total continues to increase.
        Palm Beach County, like most of the nation, is facing a serious opioid (heroin, morphine) epidemic. In October 2016, a total of 88 heroin overdose cases were reported - 11 were fatal.
        Misuse of heroin, morphine and fentanyl caused 2,337 deaths in Florida in 2015, according to medical examiner reports. Palm Beach County health officials reported 215 heroin deaths the same year.
        The growing death toll supports the need for Sober Homes. The main complaint of neighbors and local officials is lack of accountability and supervision of residents in the recovery programs. Recovering addicts removed from Sober Homes for rule violations, or lack of insurance payments, are not automatically returned to their home cities or country.
        Medical records are not public, so no one knows how many addicts drop out of local treatment programs, nor do we know how many remain in Palm Beach County. Lack of information makes it difficult to address and resolve Sober Home issues.
        What we do know is the heroin epidemic is becoming a burden for local taxpayers, for law enforcement officers responding to complaints, and for both hospital emergency rooms and medical first responders on the front line of the crisis.
        In 2007, the City of Boca Raton attempted to prohibit Sober Homes from operating within single-family neighborhoods. The city went to court and lost its case, costing the Boca Raton taxpayers $1.3 million in legal fees.
        The costly defeat served as a chilling warning for other cities considering similar regulations to limit concentrations of Sober Homes. Local officials petitioned their Congressional delegation for relief from the federal government.

Time to Enact New DOJ-HUD Guidelines
        On Nov. 10, 2016, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel's office released the new "Department of Justice and Housing and Urban Development Joint Statement" providing guidance "to help our neighborhoods health and integrity."
        Persons receiving treatment for drug addiction, considered a disability, are protected by the Fair Housing Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. The DOJ-HUD guidelines offer three means of relieving the burden of Sober Homes on local government and communities. In summary, the relief measures state:
        * Cities may deny group homes that impose "undue" financial and administrative burdens or fundamentally alter existing city zoning.
        * Cities may establish licensing programs for group homes for health or safety reasons.
        * The Fair Housing Act does not prevent state or local governments from taking action in response to criminal activity, insurance and medical fraud, negligence or abuse of residents or other illegal conduct.
        With these new instructions, it is now up to local and state governments to enact regulations designed to assist hard-pressed residential neighborhoods. The problem is real. The need is great, and action is long overdue.
(c.) Davidsson. 2017

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

'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.

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