If you haven't already, please use the link included to sign up for the December 1 7:00 p.m. Zoom call now!  http://www.hawkslandingpoa.com/link.aspx?l=XT8mwCAEH37Rbaqn2Tz28zf92gZSlbHCDxeBBeq2AWJfly1jp1H7xA==

(Thanks to Ric Roth and the "Save Our Acres" movement for creating these great digital links!).

Throughout this campaign of sorts, we have heard from concerned residents throughout the City including associates and homeowner groups in neighboring communities such as Plantation Acres and Westport.  Each of you share our overriding message that the process of considering and approving in-fill development must change.  There is no need for rancor and partisanship.  This is not a political campaign rather, it is a sensible movement for transparency, intelligence and mindfulness in approaching any new commercial or residential development.  What began as an opposition to one application seeking an obscene scale in a row townhome proposal has spread like wildfire to include crafting of a lens to examine any new residential and commercial project in the City.  Simply put, we advocate for openness from Day 1.  From the moment a proposal is filed with the City, there should be no reason why any resident should not be able to go online and see every document and be notified and attend (virtually) every meeting to be held on the matter.  So long as decorum is maintained, any resident should be entitled to have his/her voice heard on the matter.  In the end, this will result in two objectives. First, the very best planning will prevail for the site.  Second, the end result will naturally occur in a more streamlined, less rancorous manner.  Thousands of dollars in "soft costs" will be saved by an applicant who will be able to see precisely what objections there are to a project, early on in the process even before the Development Review Committee ("DRC") provides its comments.  The DRC should have a resident (non-professional) member sitting in on meetings as a non-partisan member of the community so that decisions rendered are done in the sunshine, rather than the dark.  As a very close friend and mentor once told me, often, "perception is reality."  While there are very good and decent professionals in the City's planning department, the process is set up to make them look bad.  And that must change. We must work together beyond the application at hand.  The process must open up.  By the time a matter reaches the Planning & Zoning Board, there really should be no reason for opposition if the process is fine tuned such that the residents' concerns are not only heard but included in the project.  In addition, the City should take a hard look at each of the potential in-fill sites remaining and task its professionals with coming up with plans of their own.  This sort of prospective mindful development is used in municipalities throughout the Midwest, Northeast and West.  Work hand in hand with the owners of these sites to engage smart development such that RFP's are sent out that entice mindful developers to engage with the City.  Streamline (saving unnecessary soft costs) and fast track approval for those projects that meet the staff professionals' and resident's seal of approval and let's save the political fights for Tallahassee and D.C.   Together we can advance this movement beyond an online presence and this one application to accomplish real and meaningful change that will serve to benefit all of Plantation.

Committee to Promote Smart and Mindful Development in Plantation.