First, a big thank you to you all.  Last evening the entire West Broward Community showed up in force on the Planning & Zoning Board Zoom® call.  Without one exception, the voices heard were overwhelmingly opposed to the overly dense 110-unit row townhouse project.  The one exception appeared to be a representative of the applicant in that the caller specifically asked for sales information that tracked a post card marketing mail-out.  Discounting that one planted outlier, the outpouring of support from neighborhoods throughout Plantation was utterly and unanimously overwhelming and you are all to be congratulated for your involvement in this movement.  For now, the Planning & Zoning Board has voted, again, to table the matter and has instructed the applicant to meet with the stakeholders, either in person or by Zoom® call, in order to discuss scaling down the project.   As one prescient attendee stated last night, 'Let's stop the idiocy of discussing landscape buffering or paint and roof samples when the entire scale of the project is utterly obscene for the site in question.!'  Bravo.  We sought this action from Day 1.  We are gratified that the community understands the vital importance of this movement as the outcome can and will affect each and every resident in Plantation.  Consider the outrageous outcome if a developer is permitted to simply toss-out the underlying land use plan (herein 3 density single family units per acre) and up-zone to allow for the 110-unit row townhome (multifamily) development. Not only is this horrible precedent for any and all remaining vacant parcels in the City, but if the applicant gets away with this travesty, no neighborhood will be protected.  Following the same logic, there is nothing to prevent a developer from purchasing ten homes in Jacaranda Lakes near the corner of Sunrise and Pine Island and carving that out from the existing community then obtaining an up-zoning to permit over 100 multifamily row townhomes.  Rest assured, if they can get away with the present bailout attempt justified by the argument that “we need to do this to make a profit” schemes like that just described are right down the same pike. 

Together with our stalwart supporters in Plantation Acres and Westport we are pleased to serve as the vanguard against runaway unchecked development in Plantation.  In that vein, and as an extension of the movement against the up-zoning at Hiatus/Broward, there is a corollary movement afoot to open up the process at the City Planning & Zoning Department from the first moment a development application is received.  We have begun discussions on shining a light on all development applications to bring them into an online portal for view by any member of the public. All meetings with staff and elected officials on any pending matter would be recorded and also available for review through this online portal.  A link to the portal would appear, along with a rendering and site plan, posted on a visible sign on the site itself so that anyone driving by or living next door or in the neighborhood could see what is being proposed in his/her backyard.  All of this removes the adversarial nature which surrounds the process, of late.  If potential developers are prompted to conduct outsource stakeholder charettes with the community at or near the time they initially file their plan, there is a greater chance that plans that move to the Development Review Committee are actually supported by the Community at large.  In the end, this actually reduces the “soft” costs that developers expend for lobbying and “battling” the citizenry in prolonged meetings such as last night’s Planning & Zoning Board.  Removing the conflict which has now become all too common in these residential “in-fill” rezoning/land use plan amendment “battles” is inherent to restoring smart, mindful and reasonable development to a City that prides itself on being the place “Where the Grass is Greener™”.  See, www.plantation.org 

Finally, the Planning & Zoning Board must be treated as the consummate panel of professionals they are.  Each member is appointed to represent your interests in reviewing new and re-development applications yet, their decision to deny an application is virtually meaningless.  We are advocating that the City Charter must change to provide that a denial by the Planning & Zoning Board is final and that any appeal from that denial carries with it a rebuttable presumption that the denial is correct.  The presumption may only be overcome by an overwhelming showing of error by the Board.  In that regard, more emphasis will be placed on community outreach and satisfying the City's own hired staff of professional planners and appointed panel of experts (i.e., your Planning & Zoning Board) than simple politicking, lobbying and lining up city council votes.  While this may not remove all politics from the process, it does go a long way to returning the power to the people and away from the campaign bundlers.