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POLITICS
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MiamiHerald, August 20,2006
Broward leaders started looking at how to cut $40 million from the county budget, but the spending plan is a work in progress
Posted September 20, 2006 Miami Herald
posted September 20, 2006 South Florida Sun-Sentinel
The plan to close a neighborhood branch would also displace ArtServe
Miami Herald, September 24, 2006
INSURANCE -- Homeowners
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DEVELOPMENT IN FORT LAUDERDALE
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Official wants county complex built on 18 acres he owns outside business district.
Sun Sentinel October 8 2005
15% to be 'affordable'
Sun-Sentinel January 19 2006
South Florida Sun-Sentinel February 7, 2006
REAL ESTATE -- General
Get in early! Get out fast! Sound familiar? Everyone knows how the dotcom party ended.
MONEY Magazine August 19, 2005
Don't be sucked in by these three myths of condo investing.
MONEY Magazine August 19, 2005
A backlash against the 'mansionization' of America.
MONEY Magazine August 19, 2005
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UTILITIES
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Cuckoo for condos!
Get in early! Get out fast! Sound familiar? Everyone knows how the dotcom party ended. Right? Right?
August 19, 2005: 1:30 PM EDT
By Stephen Gandel, MONEY Magazine
NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - Late May, early evening. Chris Cowen cools his heels in a Minneapolis restaurant, waiting for a table. His buddy Keith is 15 minutes late.
Cell phone rings. It's Keith. Got a proposition for you, Chris: a one-bedroom condo under construction in Scottsdale, Ariz. -- 1,800 miles away -- for $135,000. The catch: Only 60 seconds to decide. Sight unseen. Over the cell.
"It was a no-brainer," recalls Cowen, 32, who owns 28 condos (solo or with partners) in various stages of completion. Two months after his impulse buy, Cowen figures the unit's ultrafast appreciation has covered his $3,500 cash down payment 10 times over.
"I've already made $35,000," he crows.
Know this guy? If you don't, you probably will soon, because condos are to the real estate boom what Internet stocks were to the 1990s bull market. And like the Internet day-traders before them, the new condo flippers, with their talk of instant riches and easy money, are about to become the life of every cocktail party.
And why not? Condo prices have soared 80 percent in the past five years, making the same period's 40 percent rise for single-family homes look almost pokey. Developers are constructing new condo units at nearly twice the pace they were in 1999, and investors are literally lining up to buy one, two, three or more. In Miami, as much as 75 percent of some condo towers are investor-owned.
No cash? No problem. Banks, with their loosened lending standards, no-money-down loans and teaser mortgage rates, are making it easier than ever to be a mogul-in-training.
Chris Cowen is betting his retirement that the wonder years won't stop soon. He cashed out his 401(k) to put $246,000 into a highly leveraged condo portfolio that he thinks could sell for $6.2 million. Estimated equity so far: $868,000. Cowen is so bullish, he quit his corporate job at Siemens to develop his empire full time.
"Even if you make six figures, you still work for someone else, paying 40 percent taxes and putting in 60 hours a week. What do you get for that?" he scoffs.
A volatile mix
Mix it all together -- rising prices, record levels of construction, fast-and-loose mortgages and swelling ranks of new investors -- and you get a market more volatile than Tom Cruise.
"To some degree, what's driving condo prices is sheer greed," says economist Gleb Nachayev of Torto Wheaton Research, which forecasts a relatively mild drop of as much as 3 percent for U.S. housing prices overall in the next year. "Condo prices have increased faster than single-family homes -- and they will fall faster."
As they did little more than a decade ago. Overbuilt and over-concentrated in city centers, the condo market collapsed in the early '90s, smashing overstretched owners in the process.
No one knows when history will repeat itself. But c'mon: The easy money has been made. The right time to invest is not after a record five-year run-up in prices. It's not when the supply of new product is set to nearly double.
If you're really drawn to the market, you need a deeper understanding of what's driving prices up -- and what can drive them down. Above all, don't confuse what's worked in the recent past with what will work over the long haul.
The case for boom
Condos still have plenty going for them -- namely, 76 million baby boomers. You know the demographic drill by now: As they become empty-nesters and retirees, they'll sell their rambling homes in the burbs and move into yard work-free condos (or at least purchase them as second homes).
They're expected to continue flooding into aging-friendly locales like Arizona, Florida and Nevada, but they'll also be flocking to traditional city centers as downtowns become safer.
Don't forget the children of boomers, adds veteran condo investor and National Association of Realtors chief economist David Lareah. They'll need affordable places to get started, and many already see entry-level-priced condos and townhouses as a great way to build equity so that they can trade up.
"It's hard to concoct a scenario where condo prices collapse in most markets," Lareah argues.
A good condo pick that's soundly financed can be about as hassle-free as real estate investing gets. Gary Eldred, author of "Make Money with Condominiums," notes that association fees typically cover the standard repairs you'd have to oversee on a traditional house.
"Condos," Eldred says, "are perfect for people who want a passive investment."
The case for doom
Even the best investments can get overvalued, however. Condo fans cheer the 15 percent average annual spike in prices these past four years, but fail to remember that number was about 2 percent in the '90s. Last year, for the first time, the median condo cost more than the median home -- $9,500 more.
Prices in some parts of the country look even more ridiculous when you compare them to the low rents that condos currently generate.
In Minneapolis, for instance, the average downtown condo sells for just over $256,000, up 77 percent from mid-2000. But area apartments rent for a measly $915 average a month, down from $918 four years ago, according to Torto Wheaton Research.
Even with a 20 percent down payment, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage would cost $1,150 a month. This condo investor is $235 a month in the hole -- even before paying association fees and taxes.
Growing fears of overbuilding are also cause for pause. With so many condos being built today, one has to wonder: Who's gonna rent them? Apartment vacancy rates have been rising.
"My guess is construction is growing faster than demand in some markets," says Raphael Bostic of the University of Southern California's Lusk Center for Real Estate.
The three myths of condo investing
Don't be sucked in by these three myths of condo investing.
August 19, 2005: 1:28 PM EDT
NEW YORK (MONEY Magazine) - The growth in condo-investing mythology may be more worrisome than the risk of overbuilding. Here are three whoppers that need reality checks.
MYTH: Get in early and you'll be guaranteed a profit.
Remember the lust for Internet IPOs? Ordinary investors bid up the stocks of hot little companies that hadn't even registered their first sale yet. Today's version is a preconstruction condo, where investors jockey to get into a project not yet built, certain the units will jump in value when completed.
But getting in early doesn't guarantee riches anymore. That's because developers have caught on to the demand and are now selling preconstruction properties at market prices, says Kimberly Kirschner, a Miami agent who specializes in new condos.
Also, developers are requiring buyers to reserve their units earlier -- as much as three years in advance. That's an awfully long time to assume a hot condo market will continue to boil.
So when it comes to preconstruction, skip that line. Instead, buy an existing unit. While preconstruction purchasers can wait up to three years with very little to show for it at the end, you can collect 36 months of rent to put toward paying off your mortgage and building equity. If prices continue to appreciate, great. But that's a cherry, not the whole sundae.
MYTH: Creative mortgages lower your payments and guarantee positive cash flow.
New twists on adjustable-rate mortgages and interest-only loans can make condo investing seem like a lark. But some of these things could slaughter you if prices fall when you have to sell.
The riskiest is called an option ARM, which features several payment choices each month, including a standard interest-and-principal payment, an interest-only payment and an interest-only minimum payment that's so low it doesn't cover the month's interest charge. The unpaid interest is rolled into the principal, meaning that -- yes -- you're charged interest on your unpaid interest.
Fort Lauderdale resident Bruce Palmer, 50, recently signed up for an option ARM that cuts his monthly payment on a $417,000 investment condo by $500. As a result, his two-bedroom in Fort Lauderdale should generate a profit of $350 a month. Palmer, a commercial pilot, says he sees the risk. Paying the interest-only bare minimum means his mortgage is growing, not shrinking. If local prices were to drop, his loan balance could exceed the condo's value. But Palmer is confident, building a war chest to snap up properties. "If I could leverage more," he says wistfully, "I would."
Gary Eldred, author of "Make Money with Condominiums," worries about such sunny thinking. Most condo investors should avoid option ARMs, he says, and either put down more money to lower the monthly payment or consider buying -- gasp -- a less expensive unit.
Whatever your choice, Eldred says your expected rent should cover at least 70 percent of your total monthly costs. Tax write-offs on condo losses can help close some of that gap, he notes. (Up to $25,000 in losses, excluding mortgage-principal payments, can be charged against total income of less than $150,000.)
And he argues that rising rents should, over time, cover the rest. (With condo prices soaring, Eldred predicts that condo rents will follow as would-be buyers get priced out and rent.) More cautious investors would want their rent to cover 100 percent of carrying costs or more.
MYTH: You should buy in your backyard, where you know the landscape.
Too few condo investors recognize one of the best reasons to buy: It can help diversify your real estate holdings so that your portfolio doesn't rise and fall solely on hometown economics and events. (Even if property is a relative bargain in your area, buying wisely elsewhere can make more sense than buying too much property locally.)
New York City attorney Richard Savitt, 40, never thought about all this 18 months ago, when he abandoned hopes of investing in Big Apple condos and bought in Philadelphia instead. "We just thought New York prices were crazy," he explains. But it sure looks wise now. Savitt and four partners bought four one-bedroom condos, each around $300,000. Similar units now list for as much as $450,000.
To help you determine where to invest, take the average price at which units are selling in a city and divide it by the annual rent the average apartment there generates. That will produce a price-to-rent ratio. The lower the better. Houston, Atlanta and Philadelphia, for instance, still look relatively good, while New York City and San Francisco do not.
In Minneapolis, Chris Cowen and four other condo investors who've become pals gather at a bar for their fortnightly meeting. Jahn Dyvik, a 42-year-old engineer who sold his Porsche Boxster to help fund more condo buys, says lower prices in neighboring St. Paul make that city the better bet.
The rest of the group is sticking with Minneapolis, where they think prices will rise faster. Two others have also sold their cars. All have home-equity loans.
Where are prices headed? Cowen's not sure. The long-term case for condos looks good, but all the building out there makes him nervous. "People have unrealistic profit expectations." Not him, of course. "No one has a crystal ball. But the condos I've bought are going to go up."
Die, die, monster home! Die!
Homes are bigger than ever. Now there's a backlash against the 'mansionization' of America.
August 18, 2005: 4:08 PM EDT
By Les Christie, CNN/Money staff writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The American home is getting bigger. And fatter. And, to some, uglier. Now, towns are fighting back.
Chevy Chase, Md., an upscale suburb of Washington, recently announced a six-month moratorium on home construction to make time to examine how to deal with the proliferation of oversized single-family houses.
Call them what you will -- starter castles, McMansions, monster homes -- these houses have become increasingly visible in metropolitan landscapes. Many residents hate them.
Todd Hoffman, town manager, said that more than 500 Chevy Chasers, a significant number in a community of just over 1,000 homes, signed a petition expressing their "concern about the effects of 'mansionization.'"
Folks in Chevy Chase aren't alone.
New York city councilman Tony Avella from Bayside in Queens, led a rezoning effort last April that combats the trend. He said, "Overdevelopment is the No. 1 issue in my district. It comes up more than education or police protection."
The Los Angeles city council recently passed an ordinance that limits home size in the Sunlund-Tujunga area.
New Canaan, Conn., enacted regulations this year that limit the height of new houses. Nearby Greenwich and Westport have similar rules under consideration.
Other opposition has surfaced in Boston, the Chicago suburbs and the Bay Area in California.
What's the big deal?
Are these new homes really so gargantuan that they should attract such fear and loathing?
Back in 1950, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the average new house clocked in at 963 square feet. By 1970, that figure had swollen to 1,500 square feet. Today's average: 2,400 square feet. One in five are more than 3,000 square feet. Oddly, as houses expanded, the number of household members shrank, from 3.1 people in 1971 to 2.6 people today. The average building-lot size contracted also, to about 8,000 square feet from 9,000 in the 1980s. So you're getting bigger houses on smaller lots with fewer people living in them.
Fueling the size craze is a long wish list of home features Americans desire. Some 87 percent prefer three or more bedrooms with 44 percent wanting at least four, according to the NAHB.
About 85 percent of Americans want walk-in pantries. Seventy-seven percent desire separate shower stalls, 95 percent want laundry rooms and 64 percent home offices. More than a third crave media rooms. Then there are exercise rooms, sun rooms, and dens.
No wonder new homes have grown.
Where are they a problem?
It's not necessarily the size that matters -- location is a big part of it. Few people oppose McMansions in new suburbs with uniformly large homes, or to single monsters set apart on ample acreage. What raises hackles is Gulliver-sized homes on lilliputian lots.
Many older, closed-in suburbs that are in demand for their easy commutes are already built out. Builders put in large homes on whatever shoebox-sized lots remain or knock down smaller houses and replace them with palaces. They fill in nearly to the lot line and build as high as regulations allow, dwarfing neighboring homes.
Many of Avella's constituents tell him if the issue is not addressed, they'll move. It's not just the traffic and overcrowding that bother them, it's the inappropriate and out-of-character nature of the monster homes as well. In at least one case, according to Avella, someone supersized half of a semi-attached house, changing the once mirror-image building to an asymmetrical nightmare.
Is it always inappropriate?
According to Wendy Gruel, the L.A. City Councilwoman who introduced the ordinance in Sunland-Tujunga, most of the time the issue is not about aesthetics. "People feel they impact on the quality of life. They change the character of the town."
People don't like neighbors peering directly into their backyard and even their bedroom. They hate losing light. All of a sudden you have this huge shadow on your house and yard.
In many older communities, such as Chevy Chase, residents want to "maintain the look and feel of the town," said Hoffman.
There are also practical considerations. Chevy Chase has mature trees and lots of greenery. "Some of that is lost as a result of very large homes being built," said Hoffman. "With the tree loss and with more impermeable surfaces, there's greater storm runoff," which can contribute to flooding. Tree loss also makes streetscapes hotter in the summer.
Few think monster home bans should apply everywhere.
Gruel said a Council colleague told her that every community in her district wants an ordinance to combat mansionization, but in some cases, it's just not right. Most lots in Gruel's district are under 8,000 square feet. Neighborhoods with bigger lots don't need to regulate the home size as much because the monster homes have less effect on neighbors.
Michael Davidson of the American Planning Association said, "Every community is different. Higher density can sometimes serve a neighborhood." Packing more homes on smaller amounts of land can free other acreage for recreation. And mass transit, a darling of urbanists, works most efficiently when there's a large population living along its corridor.
Communities have to address the issue case by case.
"Nobody is against development," said Avella, "but let it be appropriate, let it fit in with the character of the area, and let it be an asset, not a detriment."
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Fla. homeowners will pay to bail out state-backed insurer's $516 million deficit
By Kathy Bushouse
Sun Sentinel Business Writer
Posted August 18 2005
It was more bad news Wednesday for Floridians already grappling with higher insurance premiums: Now they'll have to pay to help bail Citizens Property Insurance Corp. out of a $516 million deficit.
The state-backed, nonprofit company's board of governors voted Wednesday at a meeting in Jacksonville to tack a one-time charge onto all homeowner insurance bills. Anyone with a homeowner insurance policy will have to pay a 6.8-percent assessment to satisfy the Citizens shortfall, regardless of whether Citizens insures their houses, condos, townhomes and apartments.
For someone with a $2,000 annual premium, that means an additional $136. This is a special assessment that will be applied to whatever rate increases have been or will be approved by state regulators.
The hit will come when customers renew their policies. Once the change winds its way through a regulatory review, some customers could see the assessment as soon as two months from now. Others won't see it until next year.
State law allows Citizens, the state's second-largest home insurer and the largest in South Florida, to assess all Floridians with homeowner or renter insurance policies to make up for its losses. The Citizens board imposes the surcharge. The state Office of Insurance Regulation does not approve it, but has 30 days to review the financial calculations, which have already been vetted by an independent auditor, said Citizens spokesman Justin Glover.
Citizens will then issue notices to all of Florida's private insurance companies to alert them of the assessment, Glover said. Companies will have 30 days after receiving that letter to pay their share of Citizens' shortfall.
Customers should know how much their share of Citizens' shortfall will be. State Farm Florida customers, for instance, will see a separate line on their insurance bills showing them how much they will pay toward Citizens' deficit, said State Farm Florida spokesman Tom Hagerty.
Citizens is Florida's insurer of last resort, covering homeowners who can't find private-market policies as well as the wind portion of insurance for coastal homes. The 2004 hurricanes caused an estimated $2.4 billion loss for Citizens. Of that, $1.8 billion came from the company's high-risk, or windstorm, account.
The company can't take money from other accounts to cover the loss.
State legislators had the option of using additional sales-tax money generated by post-hurricane spending to offset Citizens' shortfall, but opted to spend the money elsewhere. Estimates show the state will realize $752 million more in sales tax money because of hurricane-related sales through June 2006.
"There was an alternative here," said State Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, who has requested an audit of Citizens because of what he considers questionable claims paid by Citizens. "The alternative was for the Legislature to buck up and take some of the bonus money that came to the state ... that could have been applied to directly reducing the Citizens' deficit."
For those already hit with double-digit increases in their insurance premiums, the news that they would have to pay to cover Citizens' deficit proved immensely unpopular.
"I just can't see why we have to pay for part of a loss from an insurance company that we're not even involved with," said Mike Boyd, a retiree west of Boynton Beach who is facing an insurance premium increase from his insurer, Nationwide Insurance Co. of Florida.
The assessments also meant another financial hit for Mark Walsh, 41, of Winter Park. His Central Florida neighborhood was hit by three of the four hurricanes last year, forcing him to replace his home's badly damaged roof. His insurance premium has increased by at least $400 since last year, Walsh said. "Now I'm having another increase ... to bail this company out," Walsh said. "When is it going to stop?"
Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4667.
WHAT HAPPENED
The board for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. approved a 6.8 percent one-time surcharge that will be added onto insurance premiums for all Florida home, townhome, condo and rental policies.
WHAT'S NEXT
State insurance regulators have 30 days to review Citizens' financial calculations. Then Citizens will notify private companies of the assessment. The companies pass that charge onto their policyholders when they renew their policies.
HOW THIS
AFFECTS YOU
The surcharge is 6.8 percent of your annual premium. If you have a $2,000 annual premium, you'll pay an additional one-time charge of $136. You pay this regardless of whether you have a policy with Citizens.
Political group forms in Lauderdale
Organizers unclear about what its message will be to voters
By Brittany Wallman
Sun Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 21 2005
Fort Lauderdale · A political action committee has formed to influence voters on major issues as the city election nears. The PAC will be able to skirt strict city restrictions on campaign contributions, bringing in unlimited dollars to spread its message.
But the PAC's organizers so far have been vague about what that message will be.
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Organizers of Friends of Fort Lauderdale PAC, a collection of business owners, residents, developers and other interested citizens, say it sprang from frustration with city problems and voter apathy.
The PAC's "agenda is about what is good for our city, what is good for our neighborhoods, what is good for our businesses," says the Friends of Fort Lauderdale Web site, www.friendsoffortlauderdale.org.
All five members of the City Commission are up for election in 2006, with a primary in February and runoffs in March. Qualifying begins in January.
Elections Department records show those behind Friends of Fort Lauderdale Inc. are: Garry Johnson, a lawyer with Tripp Scott; beach businessman Tim Schiavone of the Parrot Lounge; Michael Kelleher, a beach development manager of Q Club Resort and Residences condo-hotel; and a former H. Wayne Huizenga and state Republican Party spokesman, Stanton B. Smith, who also had a business called JebWear, marketing clothing with the "JEB!" slogan popularized in Gov. Bush's campaigns.
Smith, a Wilton Manors resident, now has a public relations firm called SmithPenn. He said the PAC's inception also involved Ina Lee, a beach resident and publisher of Travel Host magazine.
His business partner, Hollywood resident Tom Pennavaria, a lobbyist and former staffer for the state House of Representatives, said the PAC is "not about what Fort Lauderdale used to be."
"If I was to give you Friends of Fort Lauderdale in a nutshell, several folks in our age group and the age group above us feel the city has a great deal of momentum going and a great deal of potential," said Pennavaria, 41, "and they feel there may not be a whole lot of people paying attention to that. They want to create a group that keeps the city growing."
Smith said the group will do voter registration, candidate forums, and try to increase voter turnout, including discussing whether the city elections should be moved to a November cycle.
Smith said the PAC won't be "campaign-oriented," and won't endorse candidates. But the group's general consensus is that the status quo of Fort Lauderdale leadership is lacking, he said. Crime is of concern, he said, as are parking problems and traffic.
The PAC members' feeling about development -- a key issue in the 2003 city election -- is that "growth vs. no growth" is not a realistic debate, Smith said.
"It used to be that candidates ran on no growth at all and painted the developers as people that harmed the quality of life," he said. "So it's how you can grow responsibility, not how you can stop growth."
The PAC will be able to operate outside of the city's tight campaign contribution restrictions, which apply only to candidates, city attorney Harry Stewart said. The only part of the city's law that will pertain to the PAC is the prohibition on PACs giving money to candidates, he said.
The PAC will operate under state law, which dictates that a political committee supporting or opposing issues can take unlimited contributions. A committee that supports or opposes candidates, however, would be subject to a $500 contribution maximum.
City officials in May 2002 voted 4-1, with Commissioner Carlton Moore dissenting, to pass a law setting a maximum $250 contribution and banning contributions from corporations or PACs, in order to dampen the influence of money in city elections.
Under the city's law, candidates can't receive contributions higher than $250, and they cannot take any money from corporations or PACs.
As of June 30, the Friends of Fort Lauderdale had collected $1,627, plus $4,100 in "in-kind" donations such as goods or services, according to its required filing with the city.
No money had been spent by the PAC.
Many of the listed contributions were $25 checks or $10 checks, but one $1,000 check came from Schiavone's Lauderdale Lounges Inc.
Some of the smaller contributors: District II candidate Jon Albee, mayoral candidate Dan Lewis, public relations consultant and Lewis campaign helper Kevin Boyd, Water Taxi operator Bob Bekoff, former city commissioner Jack Latona and developer Jack Loos.
The in-kind contributors included Johnson's law firm, which gave $2,250 worth of office space and expenses; and Travel Host magazine, which contributed $1,000 in design and printing services, according to the itemized report.
Brittany Wallman can be reached at bwallman@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4541.
Hyde Park condo tower hearing reset for Sept. 21
Sun-Sentinel August 17, 2005
A city Planning and Zoning Board hearing scheduled tonight for the controversial Hyde Park Market tower has been postponed a month.
The tower is proposed to go next to the historic Stranahan House, at 500 E. Las Olas Blvd. The hearing has been delayed to 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at City Hall, 100 N. Andrews Ave.
The developer requested the postponement, after learning that a Stranahan House attorney had questioned the timing of the legal notices, arguing they were posted one day late.
In a letter to the city, attorney Don Hall wrote that the developer, his client, followed the city's timing on posting the signs. Hall wrote, though, that in order to avoid another "contentious issue" with the Stranahan House, the developer would like the meeting postponed.
Condo plan stuck in park
Six years later, Related's project is still in court
South Florida Business Journal Ed Duggan
August 5, 2005
What could have been Fort Lauderdale's first downtown residential high-rise is still only a rolled-up drawing, while others have sprouted mushroom-like during the past five years. The project, on the site of a former Hyde Park Market next to Stranahan House, has survived a public referendum to turn it into a park, an eminent domain suit and a series of ongoing lawsuits.
Now, though, there's the mysterious $2 million donated to Friends of the Park at Stranahan House, a group opposing the 42-story mixed-use tower by The Related Group of Florida on land owned by the Rabina Group of Scarsdale, N.Y. Officials connected with the group's board of directors, a nonprofit formed in 2004, won't say who contributed the money. That means the public doesn't know whether the giver has motivations other than wanting a park, such as owning a rival project.
The controversy pits well-known Fort Lauderdale attorneys, preservationists and business people in the Stranahan House camp against the New York land owner and the region's largest condo developer, Jorge Perez's $2 billion Related Group. Both sides use strong terms to describe their opponents.
The attorney for the landowners, Donald R. Hall of the Fort Lauderdale office of Gunster Yoakley & Stewart, said the Stranahan House supporters "have adopted a scorched earth litigation policy."
"Not so," said Neil Schiller, a non-practicing lawyer and outreach representative for Friends of the Park at Stranahan House, whose board includes former board members of Stranahan House. "We just want the public to have input into the process that has been frozen out by backroom deals." When asked to explain the backroom deals allegation, Schiller provided a quote via an outside public relations firm: "The public has never had the chance to be involved with the project and, unfortunately, we've had to resort to legal action on several occasions to open this up. Why isn't the public involved? Why is the city shutting out the public? This is all about the public's right to know and become involved."
What about the public's right to know the identity of who gave the $2 million? "I can tell you that it was an anonymous donation and the requirement of the gift was that we not reveal the giver's identity. This is not an uncommon practice in the nonprofit world," he said in a quote given by the public relations firm. A likely source is a $2 million restricted asset listed by Stranahan House in its 2003 tax return, the latest available on the Guidestar Web site.
Birthplace of a city
The focal point is a 1.4-acre site near the Henry E. Kinney Tunnel, which takes U.S. 1 under the New River. It's a linchpin site that serves as the transition between the shops along Las Olas Boulevard and the office and residential high-rises to the west.
For decades, the Stranahan House has been largely hidden from passersby on Las Olas Boulevard behind a fence and the supermarket site, which has a loading dock area that interrupts Riverwalk from continuing on to the Stranahan House.
When it appeared that the developer would get the green light on the original proposed 38-story building in 1999, Stranahan House backers paid for and circulated a petition for the city to acquire the property for a park. It garnered 8,800 signatures out of 80,000 registered voters and the Fort Lauderdale City Commission voted in 2000 to start an eminent domain condemnation suit to take the property from Rabina for a city park.
The city approved an $8 million bond issue as part of the parcel's estimated $20 million value at the time. Lynne Lawrence, senior VP of Rabina Realty, currently estimates the property to be worth $50 million Judge Robert Lance Andrews, in Broward's 17th Judicial Circuit Court, heard the condemnation case after Judge Leonard Fleet recused himself in August 2001.
Ruling against the city
On March 21, 2002, Andrews ruled for the property owner and against the city, citing the city's own comprehensive plan that didn't list the Hyde Park site as historically significant and which has consistently confirmed the site's high-density use designation. In his order and opinion, Andrews said: "Nevertheless, unlike other surrounding equally intense developments, defendants apparently suffer the misfortune of being targeted by a determined group, as a campaign against the permit was engineered by the board of the Stranahan House."
He also noted in the order that the site was only recently listed with the Florida Historic Board as a "potential archeological site."
Andrews ruled "there is no implicit finding of reasonable necessity" for the city to take the property.
The City Commission, awash in budget deficits and fearing potential damages and costs for delaying the project, entered into a consent agreement with the developer. Stranahan House in May 2001 ceded authority to the city to act on its behalf in the acquisition attempt.
The consent agreement gave Rabina the right to build a 42-story mixed-use residential tower on a slightly slimmer footprint, moving a separate eight-story parking garage into the building, devoting additional park, garden and walkway space between the tower and the Stranahan House, and completing the existing Riverwalk through to Las Olas Boulevard.
Apparently, Stranahan House leaders weren't interested in being part of Riverwalk.
"There were indications that the Stranahan House board resists granting an easement on their property to connect the Riverwalk to Las Olas Boulevard," Andrews said in his order and opinion.
If less than 312 units are incorporated into the revised project, the balance can be used in any other residential development in the city that the owner/developer designated, according to the consent agreement. There will still be two public meetings before final approval - one before planning and zoning, and the other before the City Commission. Fort Lauderdale City Manager George Gretsas said the approval process is under way - as the city previously agreed to in a consent order - and that he expected the site plan application would get to the City Commission in the early fall.
Related Group Senior VP Barbara Salk said the Stranahan House doesn't know when it has won. "We have slimmed the building's footprint, put in beautiful gardens, incorporated the garage into the building and will complete Riverwalk, connecting it to Las Olas Boulevard. It will be beautiful and set the Stranahan House off like a jewel."
Still, the fight continues, although Schiller said he is not at liberty to divulge the budget, supporters or financial benefactors of Friends of the Park at Stranahan House. He points out that his group has never sued the landowner/developer directly.
"This is an elite group of people who want to acquire this land for whatever their reasons," Hall said. "Why didn't Stranahan House object to the zoning when it was first proposed in the 1990s?"
Schiller, who didn't represent the group at that time, couldn't give a reason why it didn't oppose the original zoning.
"Perhaps someone dropped the ball at that time and we are regarded as a Johnny-come-lately, but this is the birthplace of Fort Lauderdale we are talking about," Schiller said.
In a last-ditch effort, the nonprofits tried to have the Hyde Park site given historic landmark status based on the contention that it was once a "campground for the Indians" who traded with Frank Stranahan.
Controversial meeting notice
Attorney and Stranahan house board member Steve Tillbrook, of the law firm Shutts & Bowen, along with Kendall Coffey and Mark Journey of Coffey & Wright, and sole practitioner W. Tucker Gibbs - who represent both the nonprofits only in their litigation - even went so far as to send out a notice of a Historic Preservation Board meeting, according to news reports at the time. The notice looked as though it came from the city and was an attempt to have the application for landmark designation heard at a May Preservation Board meeting before site plans for the tower could be approved. Schiller said it was necessary to get it out in time for the May meeting because the city hadn't responded to them within the five-day period required in the code.
The city said it refused to consider the application because, after testimony from experts, Andrews in his order and opinion had already declared the property was not of historical significance.
Friends of the Park at Stranahan House has appealed that decision, saying Andrews decided something he wasn't asked to rule on.
According to the consent order, the city must "diligently expedite and cooperate" with the developer "in obtaining all necessary approvals and permits to accomplish approval of the site plan and construction of the development ...."
Only upon the approval of the alternate site plan, all permits and final certificates of occupancy will the city and Stranahan House be released from claims for monetary compensation or damages, interest, costs and attorney's fees, according to the consent final judgment.
"In my 34 years of practicing law, I have never had a client like Rabina who tried so hard to balance building a project with being a good neighbor," Hall said. "But our patience is wearing thin."
Appeal of judge's ruling
Attorneys Gibbs and Journey said they think Judge Andrews was in error when he upheld Fort Lauderdale's refusal to let the request be heard by the Historic Preservation Board. They have a pending appeal to that effect. "Our beef is with the city of Fort Lauderdale because they didn't hold public hearings for the original site approval and subsequent request for historic landmark designation," Gibbs said.
"If we win our legal challenges, the Hyde Park developers will just have to go through the regular hearing process like anyone else," Journey added.
The motto of the historic Stranahan House is "where the old meets the new." In this case, they still haven't met.
E-mail residential real estate writer Ed Duggan at eduggan@bizjournals.com.
New Candidate Files for District II Seat
Sun Sentinel August 17, 2005
Another candidate has opened a campaign account to run for the City Commission, in the district represented by Dean Trantalis.
Trantalis has announced he won't seek re-election in District II, which covers the central beach, parts of downtown including Victoria Park, and stretches north to the neighborhoods of Middle River Terrace and beyond.
Les Hollingsworth, a mortgage banker at HomeBanc Mortgage Corp. in Deerfield Beach, who is the outgoing president of the Middle River Terrace Neighborhood Association, opened his account recently and has announced his intention to run.
Already in that race are attorney Bradford Cohen, redevelopment company president Jon Albee and accountant Michael Moskowitz.
Keep yourself covered: Where to turn for homeowners insurance
By Kathy Bushouse
SunSentinel Business Writer
Posted August 21 2005
The bad news arrived in June in Al Safron's mailbox: Allstate Floridian Insurance Co., which for two years insured his condo west of Boynton Beach and his car, would drop his condo policy when it came up for renewal in October.
The notice surprised him. He and his wife had never made a claim, and Allstate Floridian had wooed them with lower rates than their previous insurer, Safron said.
His is a tale becoming more familiar to Floridians, with some insurers cutting their hurricane exposure in the state. In May, Allstate Floridian said it won't renew 95,000 policies and won't cover commercial buildings or condos. Nationwide Insurance Co. of Florida earlier this month said it won't write new homeowners' policies starting Sept. 1, and state regulators say the company may not renew some existing policies as well.
Other insurers, such as Seattle-based Safeco Insurance Co., are pulling completely out of Florida's insurance market.
Companies can decide not to renew policies for a number of reasons -- the company may no longer issue policies for a certain kind of business, or may not want to cover as many homes in a particular area.
So what do you do if you're one of the unlucky, and your insurer isn't renewing your policy or will no longer do business in Florida?
First, don't panic. Your insurance company has to give you 45 days' notice that your policy won't be renewed, so you shouldn't suddenly find yourself without coverage, said Tami Torres, a spokeswoman with the state Department of Financial Services.
In some cases, your insurer will find another company to cover your home. That's what happened with Allstate Floridian, which arranged for all of its customers to be offered a policy from Universal Insurance Co. of North America.
"The bottom line is, we don't want anybody to be displaced in the market, particularly during hurricane season," Torres said.
If you're not sure whether your former insurer has lined up another carrier, check with the agent who sold you your old policy, Torres said.
You should also see if an agent can help you find coverage with another company. While bigger companies like State Farm Florida Insurance Co., Allstate Floridian and Nationwide don't issue new homeowners' policies in South Florida or, in some cases, anywhere in the state, there are smaller companies that do.
Typically, an independent insurance agent -- someone not affiliated with a company like State Farm or Allstate -- should be able to help you find this coverage, said Jeff Grady, president of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents.
Your success in getting coverage will depend on your house and where it's located. For instance, some insurers may shun older or pricier homes, or beachfront properties.
If you have no other options, you'll have to go into state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida's insurance company of last resort. State-backed Citizens insures people who can't find private-market coverage.
The drawbacks: By design, Citizens charges the most expensive rates in each market where it operates. Also, last year, the company was criticized for being slow in processing claims, problems that Citizens says it is addressing.
But Ron Kornbluh, president and principal agent at Brokers Insurance Group in Margate, said people have more choices for their insurance than they might think.
"If the house qualifies, there are private carriers out there willing to write policies," Kornbluh said.
Like bigger insurers, the smaller companies doing business in Florida have to meet state financial guidelines, such as having sufficient money to cover losses. Many smaller companies also have an additional safety net of sorts from reinsurance -- coverage that insurers buy to help them pay for catastrophic claims, Kornbluh said.
If you want more information about a company before you insure your house with it, go to the state Department of Financial Services Web site at www.fldfs.com, where you can look up the company's license and general information about insurance coverage.
If you don't have an agent, you can find one through the Florida Market Assistance Program. This referral service helps Floridians find coverage by bringing them together with participating insurance agents. More information is available at www.fmap.org.
After exploring their insurance options, some homeowners find that not getting renewed by their insurance carrier proved to be a good thing, Torres said.
"Sometimes, we do get consumers who say, `You know what, I'm glad it worked out this way, because when I shopped around I got equal or better coverage, and I'm paying less money,'" Torres said.
People like Safron hope their nonrenewal will have a happy ending. Safron said he's getting more information about what Universal Insurance will offer him compared to the deal he got from Allstate Floridian, but isn't sure what his other options are.
"If I can find a better deal," Safron said, "I'll take it."
Kathy Bushouse can be reached at kbushouse@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4667.
Keeping it beautiful
Victoria Park maintains a quiet charm with residents' help
BY MARLA OXENHANDLER
The Herald Jan 22, 2005
Almost 80 years ago, developer Alfred G. Kuhn envisioned an exclusive subdivision in Fort Lauderdale -- one that would take advantage of the lush tropical foliage, Lake Stranahan and the Florida land boom already underway.
At that time, Kuhn offered a typical lot in Victoria Park for $2,000, while lakefront property or a lot on Broward Boulevard was selling for much more.
Today, lots in Victoria Park, the neighborhood that he named for his daughter, are selling for $400,000.
In fact, Victoria Park's eclectic mix of homes has experienced such a strong resurgence that real estate agent Larry Wallenstein, who lives in the neighborhood, said the average price of a single-family home is $500,000 and a new, two-story house sold this year for a record $1.6 million.
The least expensive rental goes for $800 a month.
Proximity to Fort Lauderdale beach, the downtown business district and easy access to Interstate 95 have helped maintain the neighborhood's popularity.
However, Wallenstein, chairman of the 2004 Victoria Park Holiday Home Tour, believes it is much more than that.
''It's the high level of civic activism that sets us apart,'' he said.
While there is no homeowners association or monthly fee, the volunteer Victoria Park Civic Association is made up of more than 150 residents who are determined to maintain the neighborhood's beauty.
For example, the Aesthetics Committee focuses on developing the swales, the streetscape of the trees and recognition of residents' efforts through beautification awards.
'We recognize residents for the best use of color and the best use of landscaping as well as for the `swale of the month' and the 'take a second look at renovation' project,'' said Jeanne Lalli, aesthetics committee chairwoman. ``This is very important because it sets certain standards in the neighborhood.''
Other committees include: Planning, Zoning/Recycling, Public Safety, Home Tour, Children's Activities, Traffic, Membership and Welcome Baskets.
''One of the biggest challenges that Victoria Park faces is development,'' Association President Jan Idelman said.
While she and the committee chairmen know it is inevitable, they feel it is critical to preserve the neighborhood's history.
Eight of the homes built by Kuhn still stand, as well as many built by other developers in the 1930s.
They exist among more recently built homes that were designed to have a ''vintage'' look.
''We like to think of ourselves as an historic neighborhood with a very forward approach,'' Idelman said. ``Our Planning and Zoning Committees are very proactive. We work with the architect and developers to ensure that we have neighborhood compatibility -- anything new has to be consistent in appearance with the rest of the area.''
The result is an eclectic mix of old and new single-family homes, townhouses and apartments that have attracted singles, couples and families.
Kathleen and John Schobel, who proudly displayed their circa-1936 home in the Victoria Park Holiday Home Tour, said they had searched all over Florida to find the perfect home to relocate to from the Northeast.
''We loved Key West and thought that was where we wanted to be until we found our home in Victoria Park,'' Kathleen Schobel said.
The periwinkle exterior is complemented by yellow- and white-striped awnings and a white picket fence.
The Schobels also love the neighborhood atmosphere -- a friendly, warm family feeling they sensed from the beginning.
That's why they didn't hesitate to agree when, as new owners, they were asked to be part of the Home Tour.
Mark Schweizer and Bob Voelker felt the same way.
They readily agreed to display their trilevel residence, which Voelker, an architect, designed, inspired by the international style of the '20s and '30s.
''We love Victoria Park,'' Voelker said. ``Everyone knows each other and we've met even more neighbors by participating in the tour. Even when I walk the dog at 5:30 a.m., there's always someone to talk to.''
Shortage of parking puts families in jam
Tempers are flaring across South Florida as residents feel squeezed from a lack of parking spaces near their homes and condos.
BY DONNA GEHRKE-WHITE AND DIANA MOSKOVITZ dgehrke@herald.com
The Herald Aug. 07, 2005
Victor and Marlene Caceres know the math doesn't work: Their family has five cars -- and a two-car driveway. Luckily, their Pembroke Pines home is next to six guest parking spaces and their extra cars go there -- as long as other neighbors haven't taken the spots. ''It can be a hassle,'' Victor said.
The hassle extends throughout South Florida, in new neighborhoods and old, in condo developments and single-family neighborhoods: We have more cars than we have parking spaces.
The number of cars owned by the average American household has nearly doubled since 1969. The number of households with at least three cars jumped nearly ninefold, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Household Travel Survey. That has brought a parking crunch to congested urban areas such as South Florida. Adding to the crunch are demographic factors -- families with multiple cars replacing one-car snowbird retiree couples in older neighborhoods and condo units, more adult children living with their parents, several generations of families sharing one house.
CROWDED HOUSES
South Florida's skyrocketing home prices are adding to the squeeze, as larger families crowd into smaller homes and condos, homes are built on smaller lots and ever more garages are converted from parking spaces to bedrooms and apartments. ''Everybody has a two- or three-car garage and what do they do? They make them into utility rooms, a place to put tools and other stuff,'' Victor Caceres says.
The result: Fights are breaking out over parking spaces, neighborhood associations are towing ''space thieves,'' and some condo communities have waiting lists for parking spots.
VIOLENT TEMPERS
Last month, an extreme argument occurred when Tulio Jesus Arias, 56, shot to death Eduardo Otero, 47, in Miami after Otero parked improperly at a crowded apartment complex, blocking Arias' car. When Arias tried to have Otero's Lincoln towed, Otero suddenly emerged -- hostile and aggressive, Miami police said. Arias pulled out a gun and shot Otero ''multiple times,'' Miami police spokeswoman Herminia Salas-Jacobson said. Arias was charged with second-degree murder.
Much more common, Salas-Jacobson said, are arguments over parking spaces. Bob Laguardia has seen such disputes at his Meadowbrook condominium in Hallandale Beach, which has 56 units with only one space each and just 16 guest parking spaces.
''It's all petty stuff, but it's important to the people who have a right to a parking space,'' he said. Adds resident Sandra Hammond: ``How can I holler at them when I can't even think of an answer?''
Indeed, Robert Dunphy, a senior fellow and parking expert at the Washington-based Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit real estate research center, said parking is a nationwide problem. He praises South Florida leaders for limiting parking on some streets to residents only and requiring developers to provide more spaces. But South Florida cities can do more, Dunphy said, such as promoting more valet parking at condos, encouraging more circular drives at single-family homes and even creating public parking lots in congested areas, as San Diego did. ''You want the Goldilocks effect,'' he added. ``Not too little or too much parking but just right.''
While illegal rental units are responsible for some parking woes, other problems are caused by the trend of more multigeneration -- and multicar -- families living together, including grown kids moving home.
IN THE YARD
In Miami's Morningside neighborhood, Glover Clarke, her husband and three grown daughters have six cars. When the driveway is full, some end up parked in the yard. There's no other place, Clarke said.
In Pembroke Pines, the Caceres have five cars, including a new SUV as a family car, unmarked police vehicles for Victor and Marlene, both police officers. When Victor's mother and sister moved in, they each brought a car. Their homeowners association does not allow homeowners to park on the street or swales. That leaves the six guest parking spaces. ''Otherwise, I don't know what we would do,'' Victor said.Forget their two-car garage. Like many Floridians, the family uses the garage for storage, leaving even less parking space for cars than city planners had envisioned.
Ditto for Henry Garcia's Miramar neighborhood. On the worst nights, streets are filled with parked cars, even though Miramar bans on-street parking. On weekends, he said, visitors knock on strangers' doors to beg for an empty space in a driveway. Garcia said his neighborhood was supposed to have guest parking -- but those spaces were turned into home lots. ''We're all jammed up,'' Garcia said. Things got better after offenders were cited for parking violations, Garcia said. But the crowding got to him. He just sold his home to build a new one in Homestead.
`A LITTLE SPACE'
''Let them turn this place into Metropolis,'' Garcia said. ``I'm going someplace with a little space.'' Last month, Dania Beach began requiring homeowners who convert their garages into living space to create another parking space elsewhere on the property.
THE 'T' WORD
Older residential neighborhoods in Miami Beach and Coral Gables near popular restaurants or shops have successfully petitioned their cities to restrict parking to residents. Now to park a car in 14 neighborhoods in Miami Beach, for example, drivers must have residential decals -- or risk being towed.
Herb Frank is grateful for such restrictions. His Belle Isle neighborhood was the latest Miami Beach community to get decals that allow only residents and their guests to park there after 6 p.m. during the week and 24 hours on Saturday, Sunday and holidays. ''When you would come home in the evenings every spot would be taken,'' he says, by patrons of nearby restaurants and shops ``We couldn't find a place to park.''
CRACKING DOWN
Meanwhile, others are demanding their cities get tough, especially against illegal apartments carved out of single-family homes that force tenants to park on already clogged streets. ''It's a huge problem, our No. 1 problem in the neighborhood,'' said Hugh Ryan, president of the Miami-Shenandoah Neighborhood Association.
Some South Floridians are careful to scout out parking before they buy. Tired of the parking hassle she had encountered while living in Miami Beach, Chris Morales bought a condo in Miami's Edgewater neighborhood with an assigned parking spot.
In some areas, neighborhood leaders are pushing developers to add more parking. Victoria Park activists, for example, routinely ask developers to build more parking than Fort Lauderdale requires, in exchange for not protesting higher-density town homes. ''When people spend $600,000, $700,000, $800,000 for a town house, let's face it, they're going to have more than one car,'' said Thornie Jarrett, president of the Victoria Park Civic Association.
Torrent of conversions continues in Broward
Ed Duggan
South Florida Business Journal August 26, 2005
The rush to convert rental apartments to condominiums in South Florida is hitting a crescendo with 25,860 units expected to sell or hit the market this year, according to conversion guru Jack McCabe.
"That's about a three-year supply in the pipeline," he said.
The 25,860 units rivals the size of some cities, such as the 25,022 total housing units in Hallandale Beach, according to the 2000 Census. It's also about 25 percent more than the units found in Jupiter and Aventura.
About half of those new units are in Broward, where McCabe Research & Consulting has just found nine more communities with a total of 2,646 units, which will be offered to buyers by the end of the year.
They include four in Coral Springs: Eagle's Nest, Coral Club, Summit Chase and Windsor at Coral Springs. Three communities are in Pompano Beach - Banyan Gardens, The Pointe at Crystal Lake and Sabal Palm - and two in Coconut Creek - Coco Parc and San Michele Evergreen Lakes.
In Coral Springs, 37 rental communities with more than 3,500 units have been converted or have started that process since last October, said Jackie Foster, planning analyst in the Coral Springs planning and zoning office. That's up from just two communities in the previous fiscal year.
In Broward County, 12,685 units have been sold or will be on the market this year, McCabe said. "That's triple the number that were sold in Broward last year. Something has to give."
Speed to market and below-market pricing have been the sales secrets so far. That's what one local group is counting on.
King of Prussia, Pa.-based Morgan Properties sold Eagle's Nest to Beach Hill Development Coral Springs LLC for $46 million, or an average unit cost of $174,242. The Miami office of CB Richard Ellis handled the sale.
The community name is being changed from Eagle's Nest to Atlantic Springs and a $3.5 million budget has been allocated for infrastructure improvements and unit upgrades. Prices are expected to start in the low $200,000s.
Two of the buyer's principals, Daniel Rotenberg and Gavriel Naim, converted the 399-unit Waverly at South Beach and turned Victor Posner's former offices on Collins Avenue into 239 residential condos.
The converters are looking for an estimated $71 million sellout over the next 12 months, Rotenberg said. "The conversion market is still viable in select areas. Condos are a good alternative to high-priced housing."
Fort Lauderdale's condo cap forces officials to choose 1 of 2 downtown projects
By Brittany Wallman
Sun Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 7 2005
Fort Lauderdale -- After a five-year frenzy of condo development downtown, the city has hit its max. Two major high-rise projects are up for approval tonight, but under the rules, there's only room for one.
The city's land restrictions put a cap on the number of homes -- apartments, houses or condos -- that can be built downtown, and if one of the projects is approved tonight, there will not be enough units left for the other, city staffers have told city commissioners.
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One of the projects, by Ellis Diversified, would be the tallest in Broward County, at 48 stories, towering over Broward Boulevard west of the federal courthouse. The other, by Broward Groupe Pacific, would rise 31 stories in the same general area, a few blocks north of Broward Boulevard and west of Federal Highway. Neither project has an official name.
Jim Ellis of Ellis Diversified said he was told both projects would be considered at the same time, even though his is listed second on the agenda. But he wasn't sure how the evaluation would be done. "If both projects are being reviewed at the same time, which we have been told is what the case will be, then it really comes down to what project do you like better," Ellis said.
Commissioners have never faced a dilemma like this, and it's unclear how they will evaluate the projects. Planning Director Marc LaFerrier could not be reached for comment.
If the housing allotment is used up, downtown residential development would pause until the state approves more. The county agreed recently that another 3,000 homes could be added, but state approval is pending. City officials had requested 13,000 and have embraced a denser downtown.
The two projects total 436 condo or apartment units. The available number, though, is only 256, according to a memo from city planners. Their memo said that approval of one of the projects would reduce the housing pool "to the extent that there will not be a sufficient number of [dwelling units] available for the approval of the remaining project."
Though more could be available in March, city commissioners could put additional requirements and restrictions on them, such as mandates to make some more affordable. Commissioners can give units to either of the following:
Broward Groupe Pacific's 48-story tower, which includes 255 residences, about 43,000 square feet of office space and 8,000 square feet of ground-level retail, plus parking for 597 cars. The proposed tower would have two-story glass windows from floors 10 to 33 and single-story glass windows to the top. The existing buildings at 111 E. Broward Blvd. would be demolished, including three one-story buildings, three two-story buildings and three parking lots.
Ellis Diversified Inc.'s 31-story condo with retail at 405 NE Second St., which calls for 181 residences and 4,386 square feet of retail space, plus 312 parking spaces. The Lauderdale Lumber Co. at the site would be demolished. Mike Parker of Lauderdale Lumber said his company has been there since 1937. If the project goes through, Parker hopes to find a more visible, larger site for the small business. "It's a lumber yard in the heart of downtown," said Parker. "It's getting difficult."
Both projects have been evaluated by school officials, who note that the middle school serving them, Sunrise Middle, is "critically overcrowded." Other schools serving the area, Walker Elementary and Fort Lauderdale High, are both under capacity, according to the district's April projections.
Some call FPL too slow to trim trees near lines
South Florida residents and state regulators said Florida Power & Light isn't doing enough to trim trees to prevent outages.
Miami Herald
posted Sept 20, 2005
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
Last spring, Mike Uhorchak, a pharmacist who lives in Palmetto Bay, called Florida Power & Light and asked it to trim the branches of a sprawling live oak hanging over the power line in his yard.
FPL never came. Hurricane Katrina did. Just as Uhorchak feared, Katrina toppled the tree into the line, and his neighborhood was out for five days.
As yet another storm bears down on South Florida, more homeowners are wondering whether FPL's tree-trimmers are doing enough to trim vegetation that's endangering power lines.
So is the Florida Public Service Commission, which regulates FPL. A July report from the agency faulted FPL's trimming, noting that the number of outages caused by vegetation increased 23.8 percent from 1999 to 2003. And that doesn't include tree-related outages during hurricanes.
FPL responds that its reliability record is among the best in the nation. The company is always working to improve its performance, spokesmen said.
Still, FPL acknowledges there's a reason why customers like Uhorchak gripe about feeling ignored. Two years ago, the utility adopted a formal policy to reduce the number of trees cut at the request of customers.
METHOD
The company now emphasizes methodically trimming along every mile of power line once every three years. If a customer calls about a tree that needs trimming and it's not posing an immediate danger -- sparking, for example -- crews will let it wait until it's up for regularly scheduled maintenance.
''From an efficiency standpoint, you get a lot better results,'' says Geisha Williams, the FPL vice president in charge of the reliability of the distribution system. ''It's the integrity of the line overall that matters,'' not one individual's backyard.
Over the years, FPL has steadily increased its miles of regular trimming. Last year's 9,289 miles represented a 29 percent increase over 2003, according to the PSC.
But, the commission's report noted, FPL only achieved that by adding crews in December. And PSC figures show the company spent less on its tree-trimming in 2004 than the year before. Its average cost per mile trimmed fell 25 percent, from $6,472 to $4,909.
PSC watchdog Mike Twomey suggests FPL might have been inflating its trimmed miles right before a big rate hike request -- which was dropped after a settlement with the state attorney -- but doing a less thorough job of cutting back vegetation.
Not so, Williams says. ''2004 is a bit of an aberration.'' As three hurricanes -- Charley, Frances and Jeanne -- blasted through its operating area, ''we spent upwards of $90 million to trim trees during those hurricanes.'' That sum is not included in the standard trimming budgets.
The regular tree-trimming work -- more than 90 percent of which is subcontracted to Asplundh, a Pennsylvania-based company -- went faster than usual and cost less in 2004 ''because so many trees were gone or trimmed during the restoration,'' Williams says.
STRATEGY QUESTIONED
Peggy Arvanitas, a staunch consumer critic of FPL, suspects the company in the past intentionally minimized its tree-trimming, which comes out of its normal operating budget, so that it could spend more on tree-trimming after hurricanes come through. ''Then they dump the cost on the consumers,'' by getting the PSC to approve a storm-related surcharge added to customers' bills.
Williams says that's simply not true, but some South Florida customers report they heard similar reports from out-of-state crews who trimmed trees here after Katrina.
''They said this is FPL's idea of preventive maintenance,'' says Lauran Mehalik, a resident of the Croissant Park neighborhood of Fort Lauderdale who talked to a South Carolina crew cutting back vegetation after the hurricane went through. ``They said they [FPL] don't do anything about the tree canopy and then wait for a storm.''
''We get that often,'' says Williams. ``These out-of-state people think their utility is always better.''
But, she said, a national survey by the Edison Electric Institute showed that FPL's reliability of service was in the top 25 percent of the nation. ``That is saying something, when you consider we're the lightning capital of the United States. We have year-round vegetation. We have more critters -- like squirrels and snakes -- crawling into our facilities.''
However, Edison Electric Institute spokesman Jim Owen says he couldn't confirm FPL's performance because the trade association doesn't release the data.
Owen says it's ''very difficult to make comparisons'' between utilities performance with vegetation management, because the kind and density of trees varies widely across the country and standards of performance differ.
COMPARISON
Perhaps the closest comparison for FPL is Progress Energy, which covers a broad swath of Central Florida. PSC research shows FPL consistently has lower average outage minutes per customer due to vegetation issues than did Progress Energy. In 2003, FPL's average customer had 35 percent less time lost to vegetation-caused outages than did Progress Energy's.
Williams insists FPL has given her adequate funds to do the tree-trimming work and doesn't wish for more, but when the utility made its case for a rate hike earlier this year, it proposed a considerable increase in tree-trimming expenditures -- a cost that would be built into its rate base.
Charlie Beck of the Office of Public Counsel, the official state representative for utility customers, says that after years of 5 percent increases in spending on tree-trimming, FPL proposed a 17.7 percent increase in 2006. ''It seems they recognized they needed to do more,'' Beck says.
Some residents deter trimmers
Some cities are studying or have approved measures requiring their citizens to let treetrimmers do their work.
Miami Herald
posted Sept 20, 2005
BY JOHN DORSCHNER
While some customers complain FPL does too little tree-trimming, at least five towns in Miami-Dade and Broward are concerned that some of their own residents may be messing up power reliability by not letting the tree-trimmers do their jobs.
Coral Gables, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Southwest Ranches and Palmetto Bay have passed or are studying proposals to urge or force residents to allow the utility's hired tree-trimmers to enter their property and cut branches or trees in danger of falling on power lines.
Most of the municipalities were contemplating such moves even before Katrina.
Coral Gables Mayor Donald Slesnick complains FPL has an ''antiquated system'' of lines and transformers that need updating, but also says that his city's possession of ''one of the great tree canopies in the United States'' presents problems.
Among the city actions:
• Key Biscayne: The village council voted earlier this month to threaten homeowners with a lien if they don't trim back vegetation near electric lines.
• Southwest Ranches: A 2004 law makes it illegal to stop a utility worker from entering private property to trim or remove a tree.
• Coral Gables: A resolution passed last week ''urges city residents. . . to permit'' FPL crews ``access to clear vegetation.''
• Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest: City leaders are waiting for a meeting with FPL before taking final action.
Marlen Oria, an FPL spokesperson, said that although the utility has the legal power to enforce tree trimming on private property, ``That's not something we like to do. ''
Not all political leaders believe new laws are the way to go. Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs said FPL hasn't approached her about any problems , and she wouldn't support an ordinance that gave FPL free rein to go on private property.
She said when the state was dealing with the citrus tree problem, the workers let pets loose, tossed hammocks in swimming pools and destroyed orchids.
Downtown hitting growth limits
Growth limits in downtown Fort Lauderdale will force commissioners to reject at least one of three condo projects up for approval Wednesday.
Miami Herald
posted Sept. 27, 2005
BY SAMUEL P. NITZE
Fort Lauderdale commissioners will face an unusual quandary Wednesday as they consider three new con
