Bal Harbour Homeowners Association

                                                             Bal Harbour

                                                         Fort Lauderdale, FL

July 15, 2021

Re: Proposed Development at Bal Harbour Square

To Whom It May Concern:

We are the residents of Bal Harbour, one of the finest neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale. Although it is near commercial development, it is quiet and secure, in large part because there is only one point of entry to the neighborhood—NE 19th Street from N. Federal Highway—and walls separate the neighborhood from the commercial areas, providing privacy, security and noise control.

We are concerned about the development of a new Publix and other commercial operations being planned for Bal Harbour Square. The area is immediately adjacent to the south side of Bal Harbour, separated from it by a wall that is currently in a state of significant disrepair. The location was previously occupied by an HH Gregg store and had relatively little traffic. The commercial development in the planning stages now calls for a large Publix and one or more restaurants, which will produce more car and foot traffic, more early morning deliveries by large vehicles, and considerably more noise and people at the location.

We have reviewed the latest plans for the proposed Bal Harbour Square development, and we have two major concerns. (1) The plans must provide for a better traffic control plan for NE 19th Street (including reducing traffic), and (2) the plans must provide for a new 14’ high wall along NE 22nd Ave consistent with the wall provided by Trader Joe’s and by the developer of 1620 N Federal Highway, so that there is one continuous wall between Bal Harbour and the commercial development on Federal Highway (NE 19th Street to NE 16th Court). This is essential to preserve the character of Bal Harbour and provide its residents adequate privacy, security and noise abatement.

TRAFFIC

Bal Harbour has 147 homes and a church that has services every day and a food bank that draws hundreds of cars. All of the traffic goes in and out of the neighborhood on NE 19th Street, past the 19th Street entrance to Bal Harbour Square.

Bal Harbour Square traffic already creates extreme difficulty for the residents and congregation. The 19th Street traffic has no stop sign and has the right of way, a fact that is often not understood by the patrons of Bal Harbour Square. People trying to leave Bal Harbour Square by turning left onto NE 19th Street often recklessly cut in front of the traffic coming out of the neighborhood, frequently causing accidents and near-accidents, or completely blocking access for the NE  19th Street traffic trying to come into the neighborhood.

The City estimates an influx of 3,000 additional cars per day going to the new Publix. Obviously, the existing traffic problems will be greatly exacerbated by the increased traffic burden. The problems will also be grievously aggravated if large delivery trucks go in and out of Bal Harbour Square via NE 19th Street, as is currently proposed. Finally, the possibility of one or more as yet unnamed restaurants as part of the development could create chaos, particularly if a drive-through restaurant is part of the plan. One need only drive north on Federal Highway past NE 26th Street to understand the devastation to the neighborhood that would be wreaked by a Chik-Fil-A or similar establishment in that location. The plan as proposed to have delivery trucks coming in and out of Bal Harbour Square at NE 19th St., the possible inclusion of a fast food restaurant, and the sheer number of cars coming to the Publix would essentially ruin access to and from our neighborhood and—even more alarming—make it nearly impossible for EMT vehicles to get into Bal Harbour unless significant changes to traffic flow are included as part of the development. The traffic problems that will be created by the development plans as they currently stand are untenable and must be meaningfully addressed.

THE WALL:  SECURITY, PRIVACY, NOISE ABATEMENT

The existing wall between Bal Harbour and Bal Harbour Square is a blighted chain link and barbed wire affair with an additional concrete layer. It was installed by the previous owner—a car dealership—and still sports a rusty “Vicious Dog” sign. It is falling down in some places and is low enough to be climbed easily. It is wholly inadequate to insulate the neighborhood from the nuisance posed by the proposed development in Bal Harbour Square.

The wall proposed by the development plans would not abate noise from large trucks in any meaningful way. There is also an existing problem with homeless people congregating, bathing and living behind the stores in Bal Harbour Square. This causes noise, intrusion and sanitary problems for the neighborhood. A development including a grocery store and restaurants will exacerbate this problem. The wall proposed on the Bal Harbour Square development plan is inadequate for the security of the neighborhood, the privacy of its residents, and the quiet enjoyment by the residents of their homes.

PATTERN ESTABLISHED BY OTHER DEVELOPMENTS

Both Trader Joe’s and the development at 1620 N Federal Highway provided for a substantial wall bordering Bal Harbour. It has proven reasonably adequate to provide the residents with privacy, security and noise abatement. On the north side of the neighborhood, Union Planters Plaza likewise included an adequate wall as part of the Whole Foods development. We would expect the Bal Harbour Square development to comply with the neighborhood standard established by the prior developments.

ACTION BY THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Representatives of Bal Harbour expressed our concerns to DRC on April 13, 2021 and met onsite with representatives of the City—both Urban Planning and Traffic Engineers—on April 16 and again on April 30. We were promised that a traffic study for NE 19th Street would be undertaken and that the street would be restriped and an additional lane provided within a few weeks. This was to be an immediate partial solution to alleviate the traffic. We provided photos and uploaded videos as requested. None of what was promised has occurred.

City representatives ostensibly supported our concerns and said they would be reflected in the City’s comments on the plans. As far as we can tell, however, none of our concerns have been addressed. The entry and exit to the plaza is still at NE 19th St. for deliveries, with no provision to protect our ingress and egress to our homes. The proposed wall will be low enough to allow easy access to our neighborhood and to diminish our privacy and security, and too low to dampen noise from the commercial use of the property or the people who might congregate there after hours. In other words, our concerns were entirely ignored.

We are eager to be good and loyal customers of Publix and the other merchants in Bal Harbour Square, provided that Publix and the developers respect our legitimate concerns. Commercial development is vital for Fort Lauderdale, but it must be done so as to preserve the character of our residential enclaves, and it must not thwart our citizens’ quiet enjoyment of their property.

Sincerely yours,

[Electronic signatures]

cc: Mayor Dean Trantalis

      Commisioner Heather Moraitis

       Bal Harbour Square

       Publix Corporate Development

       Fort Lauderdale Urban Development Department