An
Opinion By Jan Bergemann
President, Cyber Citizens For Justice, Inc.
July
3, 2006
Governor Bush vetoed the Condo Bill SB
1556/HB 543 and wrote in his VETO
LETTER : ".... it is necessary to provide for involuntary
terminations of condominiums in the aftermath of catastrophic events, the
bill changes the default provision of requiring the consent of all
unit-owners for termination in existing law and permits voluntary
termination in virtually any circumstance, therefore diminishing security
in ownership of private property."
Governor Bush directed the DBPR to hold town hall
meetings all over the state to give condo owners the chance for public
input! Please see date, time and location below! In case you
may not be able
to attend one of the meetings, please send your
input by e-mail to: [email protected]
The Governor worded it nicely in his veto
letter by stating: "This bill, in its current form, may cause
unintended consequences that could deprive condominium unit-owners of
their rights to remain in their units without adequate procedural
safeguards."
In my opinion, that's the polite version of
saying that a hostile take-over would be possible without any protection
for the owners, if he would have signed this bill into law. Please read my
Public Input and reasons why this
bill should have never passed the legislature in the version the Governor
had to veto to protect private property rights. This would have been an
"eminent domain" bill for Florida's condominiums.
As sponsored by Representative
Goodlette, the original bill adding two amendments proposed by CCFJ, Inc.
and approved by the sponsor, was originally written to clarify condo
dissolution after casualty. It was a good bill and would have helped to
sort out many problems that condo owners were facing after their buildings
suffered serious hurricane damage. But then special interests got their
fingers in the bill. It
suddenly turned into a bill that would have allowed developers to secretly
buy unit after unit, grab hold of the board majority and push owners out
of their homes in order to build bigger and more expensive condos on
valuable beach property, making a financial killing at the expense of
helpless condo owners.
If you want to protect your rights as
condo owner to fight a hostile take-over of your home, please go to the
meetings the Governor arranged for all of you! Now is the time to speak up
-- in your neighborhood. Otherwise, we might see a similar bill sneaking
through the legislature -- and nobody minding the store!
In the moment they target older
condominiums on valuable beach property. Just ask condo owners in
Sarasota, Miami Beach and on Singer Island what it means to fight a
hostile take-over and the tricks being used to kick owners, unwilling to
sell, out of their homes. Next time it may be YOUR BUILDING being
targeted.
So if you would
like to enjoy a peaceful retirement in your own home without fighting a
greedy developer, go to the meetings and make your voice heard. It's a lot
easier to voice your opinion now than getting involved later in costly
litigation.
Now is the time to
stop this kind of "hostile take-over" bill to be revived! The
Governor gave you an opening to stop this before it escalates. Make good
use of this opportunity!
NOTICE OF
MEETINGS: Notice is hereby given by the Department of
Business and Professional Regulation, Division of Florida Land Sales,
Condominiums and Mobile Homes, of seven town hall meetings.
DATE
AND TIME: |
LOCATION: |
Monday, July 17, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
Miami City Hall, 3500 Pan American
Drive, Miami, FL |
Tuesday, July 18, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
Dania Beach City Hall, 100 West
Dania Beach Blvd, Dania Beach, FL |
Wednesday, July 19, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
Clayton Hutchinson Agricultural
Center, 559 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach, FL |
Thursday, July 27, 2006: 6:00 pm
until 8:00 pm (or earlier, if public input is complete) |
City of Jacksonville Beach Council
Chambers: 11 North 3rd Street, Jacksonville
Beach, FL |
Wednesday, August 2, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
Pinellas County Commission
Chambers: 315 Court St., St. Petersburg, FL |
Thursday, August 3, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
Lee County Commission Chambers:
2120 North Main Street, Ft. Myers, FL |
Friday, August 4, 2006: 4:00 pm
until 8:00 pm. |
City Council of Cocoa Beach: 300
Brunson Blvd., Cocoa Beach, FL |
PURPOSE:
Town hall meetings to discuss and obtain public input regarding Senate
Bill 1556, relating to the termination of condominiums. AGENCY CONTACT
PERSON: Carol Windham, Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums and
Mobile Homes, Department of Business and Professional Regulation, 1940
North Monroe, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1032. Telephone: 850-488-1631.
Pursuant to the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act, any
person requiring special accommodations to participate in this meeting is
asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours before the meeting by
contacting Carol Windham, Government Analyst, at 850-488-1631. If you are
hearing or speech impaired, please contact the agency by calling
1-800-955-8771 TDD.
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