PALM AIRE RECREATION TAX DISTRICT VOTEIN AUGUST DECEIVED RESIDENTS

Article Courtesy of The Fort Lauderdale City News

By Jerry Landau

Published November 10, 2008

Why are a number of Palm Aire Condo Owners up in arms?

In 1985 the original FBA stipulation, settlement and Master Plan agreement for Palm Aire established that a maximum of 10,631 residential units could be contained within this land. The City of Pompano Beach Land Use Plan reflected this number as well. In 1992, the City of Pompano Beach entered into a stipulated settlement agreement with the State of Florida Department of Community Affairs. This required the City of Pompano Beach’s Land Use Plan to be amended through a land use amendment (LUPA). The LUPA reduced the number of total residential units allowed in Palm Aire to 9724.

Then on October 14, 2003, the Pompano Beach City Commission approved the relocation of 100 unbuilt units to the Palm Aire Tennis Center. The cap of 9724 residential units was thus reached! The covenants in Palm Aire Condo Owners deeds stated that there could be no more building in Palm Aire or on its Golf Courses (Green Space)!

Why then did the Vice-Mayor of Pompano Beach convince some of the Palm Aire Condo Association Presidents that the cap on building and the covenants on our deeds were subject to inevitable change and hence, worthless?

At a meeting of a group called the Palm Aire Presidents’ Council, he pressed his issue and asked the Presidents to obtain "seed money” for research of $20 a door. This research was to see if a referendum (amendment) to be voted on by Palm Aire Condo Owners for a “Green Space” tax district was feasible.

He did not mention that this money needed to be voted on by the owners, and not just the boards. But he did say a “Green Space” referendum was necessary to protect the cap which has legally been in place now since 1992. Through this partial truth telling, the Presidents went to their boards and also did not mention that this money might need to be voted by the owners. Nor did they mention that our Green Space was already protected by our City and County Governments! By presenting these partial truths in this manner approximately $100,000 was raised by a group of ordinary citizens, checks written, in most cases, by association presidents and although the words Tax District were not used, lawyers were hired by a new “Steering Committee” as Step One of Commissioner Brummer’s plan to create this new Tax District..

Why did Vice-Mayor Brummer change the language of the proposed amendment at the second reading around midnight of June 24, 2008 at the Pompano beach City Commission?

Suddenly with one sentence, instead of Condo Unit Owners only voting on this tax district, now any registered voter living in Palm Aire would be allowed to vote on taxes that would be paid by Unit Owners. Was there ample time to hear opposition between June and August when so many unit owners are Snow Birds? We think not. Would this more properly have been a CONDO vote, association by association? We think so!

Was it even legal to have this brought forth as an amendment last August? We think not!

Changing the Land Use Map and Zoning, which this new drawing of boundaries tries to do, by raising the cap to another 1405 residences must be approved by the City of Pompano Beach and the zoning and land use departments. (And how does building another 1405 units PROTECT the existing green space?) Also such changes MUST be approved by the Florida State Dep of Community Affairs, who were a party to REDUCE the cap! Furthermore, ANY CHANGES in a Land Use Special Tax District MUST follow Chapter 163 Florida Statutes rule 9J-5, requiring PUBLIC HEARINGS & EXTENSIVE REVIEW OF THE COUNTY, CITY & STATE AGENCIES! Commissioner Brummer believes he did not have to follow those procedures.

We think he will find he was wrong. The hearings were held without any advertised dissemination of information to Pam Aire owners, and on June 24th, the hearing lasted past midnight. Most residents of Palm Aire are seniors and were not only unaware of these procedures, but make sure they are home long before midnight. Therefore, even interested Palm Aire unit owners were not informed of this stunning post midnight change of voter eligibility.

Why was Commissioner Brummer in such a hurry to get this on the ballot? Had he left everything as it was, there could have been no new building without extensive meetings and hearings as are necessary to change existing land use master plans. No Golf Courses have been converted to Condos in recent years. And recently two such proposals have been denied!

If this amendment and the one coming on November 4th are not overturned overturned, what do Palm Aire Owners face instead? A newly created Government (that is what the vote was really all about!) and its Recreation Tax District must hire an attorney, an auditor, hold meetings in a public place, advertise all meetings, and create and levy a TAX millage on all property owners in Palm Aire. Many of these owners could not vote, due to the post midnight ruling. In some cases a residence contains multiple voters, while condo association rules allow one vote per unit. Furthermore, Palm Aire renters who were registered voters were each eligible to cast a vote. There are examples where 4 or more renters in one unit were each eligible to cast a vote. All these are reasons why this needed to be voted on according to condo association rules! Is it any surprise that many of the candidates for Supervisor of this Tax District are the same people who were on the original Steering Committee?

The thought of how much money this will cost the owners of Palm Aire Units (of which less than 15% voted!) is mind boggling. Many of these are people on fixed incomes in a disastrous economy. At least 94 units in Palm Aire are already facing foreclosure! In truth, many of the people who agreed to vote for this Tax District were given bad information and were totally misled. It is time to stop this from becoming a major calamity. Since Florida statutes were not followed when putting the original amendment on the ballot, it is time to rescind that vote!

AN UPDATE FROM THE SPECIAL MEETING ON OCTOBER 29

On October 29th,2008 the OWNERS OPPOSED TO THE PALM AIRE RECREATION TAX DISTRICT met at the “big” room of the Skolnick Community Center. There was standing room only even though we were up against the World Series and President Elect Barack Obama’s infommercial.

We had a full house despite the fact that all of our fliers were pulled down from most bulletin boards and buildings.

Out of 350-400 people there were only 5 people that knew the August referendum was a vote for a Tax District and a new Government. All of the owners were absolutely shocked and dismayed that renters could vote on their taxes, especially the snow-birds, who cannot vote on their own taxes.

Unlike condo association votes where each unit has one vote, because of the midnight change in the persons able to vote, any registered voter including renters could vote, sometimes 5 people in a unit, on my taxes. Like I said most Snow-birds were not allowed to vote on their taxes.

Out of all the people at the meeting there were only 11 people that knew about the twenty dollar per unit surcharge to be used to promote the TAX

DISTRICT. Remember there were some people there from the other side, thus 11 was actually a very high number. No one knew except the Board members and obviously they decided what was in our best interest as far as any new Government and Tax District goes. I also am very curious to know why the word TAX was never used even on the Ballot.

This knowledge that they had taken $20.00 per door for this Committee was a bombshell at the meeting. Priscilla Richards presented a clear and concise power point presentation about how this TAX DISTRICT and NEW GOVERNMENT came into being without the knowledge of 95% of the residents of Palm-Aire.

This Green Space committee, pledging themselves to protect the unit cap and golf courses, were no where to be seen when they tried to rezone the parcel across Atlantic Blvd. which would have violated our 9724 unit cap in our agreement with the city of Pompano Beach. This committee was created, supposedly to preserve our green space and unit cap. Not one person from this Green Space committee or Steering Committee lifted a finger to prevent the rezoning or even spoke out against it.

The only people that turned out to oppose this rezoning and breaking of our unit cap by 1405 more units were the Owners opposed to the recreation tax district. Where were our leaders from Green Space?

A DVD was played of the commissioners hearing in June when Brummer changed, near midnight, after using the word Unit Owners in every meeting and speech, regarding who could vote, from unit owners to registered voters. This is taxation without representation.

The crowd was also stunned that the word TAX was not used on the ballot. Only 15% of Palm-Aire people voted and many of those could have been renters, we have no way of knowing. In that number there were many that were misled by the words Recreation District.

Jerry Landau, President

Owners Opposed to the

Palm-Aire Tax District

PALM AIRE CONDO OWNERS VOTED YES ON CREATING A TAX DISTRICT

FALSE PROPAGANDA CAUSED "WIN BY A LANDSLIDE"

ANOTHER ELECTED OFFICIAL WITH A PRIVATE AGENDA: GEORGE BRUMMER, VICE MAYOR OF POMPANO BEACH

WHY BURDEN CITIZENS FOR OTHER FOLKS' ENJOYMENT?

Pompano sets vote on Palm Aire special recreation tax district