🌴 Lake Worth Beach Belongs to Everyone
Protect Our Pocket Parks. Preserve Our Waterfront. Defend Our Charter.

🧡 Why We Love Lake Worth Beach
Lake Worth Beach is a one-of-a-kind coastal city—full of character, history, and community. From College Park to South Palm Park, we’re defined by our walkability, charm, and shared access to the water.

Scattered throughout our shoreline neighborhoods are pocket parks—small public waterfront parcels that have connected residents to the Lake Worth Lagoon for over 60 years.

These access points are where:

Neighbors walk dogs and greet one another at sunrise
Kids and families fish, dip their toes, and enjoy the view
Residents without waterfront homes still feel connected to the coast
Generations have built memories

This is a part of our identity—and it’s under threat.

🌊 What’s at Risk

Resolution 21-2025, proposed by the Lake Worth Beach City Commission, would begin the process of abandoning the public park at the end of 13th Avenue South—transferring it from city ownership to adjacent private property owners.

This land is not surplus.
It is not unused.
It is not the City Commission’s to give away.

It is a city-owned, publicly maintained park, and it is protected by our City Charter.

🧾 The Facts
This parcel has been:

✅ Signed and recognized as a public park, including as a “Lake Worth Lagoon Access Point” per City Resolution 03-98
✅ Maintained with landscaping and city-installed trash bins
✅ Used regularly by residents for recreation, passive use, and shoreline views
✅ Included in the Palm Beach County Intracoastal Waterway Plan (2009), created by the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, which defines sites like this as:

“Street-end parks… important public spaces where city streets meet the water… Municipalities are encouraged to preserve and enhance them for public use.”
(Source: Treasure Coast Waterway Plan PDF)
Calling this a “right-of-way” is not only misleading—it is legally inaccurate.

⚖️ What the City Charter Says
In 2005, Lake Worth Beach voters passed a City Charter amendment with over 70% approval to prevent this exact scenario: backdoor giveaways of public land for private gain.

Here’s what Article II, Section 4 of the Charter says:

“City-owned property west of A-1-A roadway to the Lake Worth Lagoon… and public parks… shall not be declared surplus property and shall not be sold, hypothecated, conveyed or leased… without an affirmative vote of the qualified electors.”

That means:

If it’s city-owned
Used as a park
And located between A1A and the Lagoon
It is protected and cannot be abandoned without a public referendum.

📘 Read the Lake Worth Beach Charter (PDF)
🔗 City Charter page on official website

🚫 Privatization Is Not a Solution
The proposed abandonment is not about safety, stewardship, or public good—it’s about adjacent property owners requesting exclusive access to land they do not own. In fact, Mayor Betty Resch recently admitted that the vote was scheduled simply “because the neighbors requested it.”

But private interest does not override public law.

Lake Worth Beach has real challenges—like homelessness and dumping—but closing public parks doesn’t solve them.

What we need instead:
✅ Increased PBSO and code enforcement presence
✅ Better lighting and landscaping using CPTED principles
✅ Signage and community-led stewardship
✅ Supportive services for unhoused residents
✅ Transparent, inclusive civic process—not secretive deals

🧭 This Is a Precedent That Cannot Be Set

Losing this public park:

Decreases neighborhood appeal and walkability
Harms property values citywide
Sets a precedent of privatizing public goods
Violates both our Charter and the Public Trust Doctrine

✍️ You Can Help
We demand:

❌ A NO vote on Resolution 21-2025
⛔ No vote be scheduled at all without a public referendum
🛡️ Official recognition of the parcel as a protected public park
🗳️ Uphold the Charter and the law

Our public parks and public shoreline does not belong to private homeowners—it belongs to everyone.

🗳️ Take Action

📝 Sign the Petition
📣 Attend the City Commission Meeting on Tuesday, August 5
📬 Email your mayor and commissioners
📂 Share the facts on social media and with your neighbors

📌 Resources

🗂️ City Commission Agenda – Tuesday, August 5: Agenda with Resolution 21-2025
💬 Leave a public comment by clicking this Link: Submit comment to Commission
📘 Charter protections: Lake Worth Beach Charter PDF
🧭 Treasure Coast Waterway Plan: Read the 2009 Plan (PDF)

💬 A Note from Christine Cardoso
“We didn’t move here because it was perfect. We moved here because Lake Worth Beach has soul—and public shoreline is a part of that soul. Let’s protect it for everyone.”

Mimi May

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