It is nearly 4 a.m. and I have just arrived home from City Hall. Thanks to everyone who came tonight. The meeting went as we expected, but the reality was worse than the prediction that we would lose. After hours of public input, the Commission closed the public hearing only to start writing the public participation condition from the dais. The site plan passed four to one - with Dean voting no. With the room nearly empty, the next motion was called. Few of us (maybe 15 of our original group) were left but we did our best. The applicants attorney got up, and as we predicted months ago, read the end of article 24 "The Lessor agrees hereby to not unreasonably withhold its consent to changes and alterations that may be desired and proposed by the Lessee, nor to exact or change any consideration for giving any consent." He told they had no choice but to agree. Just what we predicted! In addition to compliance with the lease, we raised issues such as 1. The outdated appraisal and the need for a new one particularly in light of the monetary value of the entitlements granted under R-4. 2. The need to understand the appraisal before determining what the return on the property would be. 3. The rushed manner in which both the auditor's memo (24 hours before the meeting) and the attorney's memo (handed out mid-afternoon) were handled. 4. The potential long-term negative impact on the marina of seven years construction. 5. The very flawed process We asked them to defer and get more information, to defer rather than make the decision at 3 a.m. (They actually made it even later) Romney explained that he had to support the Site Plan because it met code but that he as landlord could not agree to changes given the Lease, particularly Article 19. Dean backed him up. The other three said it still has a marina so the character is still marina. Jack Seiler said he saw nothing that said primary uses or ancillary/accessory/permitted uses. Using the "we have no choice" excuse, Bruce Roberts was right there. Dean moved to deny, Romney seconded. The motion failed 2-3. Bruce voted to give them permission to make the changes, McKinzie seconded the motion passed 3-2. On Sunday the Sun Sentinel Editorial ended with "And while blaming the politicians of yesteryear for today’s poor choices, don’t go down as the lame-duck group that made things even worse." And that is what happened. (and, yes, at one point they blamed the people of 40 years ago.) This is a very brief summary of over 8 hours of debate. I will write more later. I am really proud of our group. Over the past 18 months we have started many important conversations in this community. While tonight was a major disappointment, I hope we will keep up the efforts we have begun to work for a better Lauderdale Tomorrow. Good night (or should I say good morning.) Mary