Croissant Park General Meeting May 2013

Croissant Park General Meeting May 2013

Hi Neighbors,

Our May meeting opened at 7:10 pm with a crime report from FLPD Officer Stevens.  Over the last two months there have been 10 residential burglaries that resulted in 3 arrests, 4 vehicle burglaries, 2 vehicle thefts, and 3 business burglaries that resulted in 4 arrests.  FLPD is working on an information base that links the perpetrators  who are repeat offenders.

Our President Pat Rathburn led us in the Pledge of Allegiance.  All Board members were present and we had a large turnout of Croissant Park neighbors, approximately 48 people, for what turned out to be a rather lively meeting.

Our District Commissioner Romney Rogers was our keynote speaker and he brought City officials with him.  Comm. Rogers first addressed Code Enforcement issues.  There is currently a discount being given to any violations of Code if, and only if, the violation is brought up to compliance.  So, if you have been cited for any code violation and received a fine or a lien, you are eligible for a discount on that fine if you fix the problem.  This discount ends June 30, 2013.

Next, there was a heated discussion concerning halfway houses, sober homes, etc. that fall under the term “community residential homes”.  The Association had previously been informed that these homes could not be closer together than 1000 feet, or they would be in violation of Code.  Board member Joe Russell located and mapped the known homes  in Croissant Park and it seems that they are all in violation of the1000 foot rule, and some are suspected to be unlicensed. Pat asked if the City has a list of locations of these homes and was told that there is no list.  After much discussion Director of Dept. of Sustainable Development Greg Brewton,  tells us that this problem exists throughout our City and State.  The City of Ft. Lauderdale tried to set legislation but it did not make it out of committee.  We are told that this must be dealt with at the State level, and that we can help by talking with our State Representative and State Senator. A motion was made and seconded to make it our primary legislative agenda to encourage the State legislature and City to pass laws and regulations on “community residential homes”.  Loren will see if she can invite our State Senator Maria Lorts Sachs to our September meeting.

Third on Comm. Rogers’ agenda was the paving of our streets. The City will be using new software that will input the age, use, and condition of our streets, then it will prioritize as to when paving will take place in each area, attacking the worst areas first.  We feel like we are long overdue in Croissant Park, so stay tuned.

Fourth issue was the WAVE, the proposed light-rail transit system. This transit system will be paid for by a Federal, State, County, and City 25-year bond issue, with an assessment for businesses and some residential properties on the route. Public hearings scheduled for June 4 and July 9. Check City website for more info.

Loren raised the issue of heavy rush hour traffic bleeding onto our residential streets and it was suggested that we re-visit speed humps in those areas to discourage cut-throughs. A member in the audience suggested that we reconsider some through-street closures that we rejected in the past. We should also bring speeders who cut through to the attention of Officer Stevens at our next meeting. Comm. Rogers stated that the commission is aware of the east/west corridor traffic issues and they are looking into it.  City Manager Feldman reported that there is a proposal to run Tri-Rail on the FEC railway corridor, thereby alleviating some of the traffic in the area.  

Loren’s second question referred to the impact of the increase in density brought on by the

 

 many new rental apartments and condos proposed on the south side of the New River and asked what the impact will be on traffic and what they plan to do about it.  The answer given is that the builders have to have an impact mitigation proposal.  The possible solution to the heavy traffic suggested by Mr. Feldman, was the WAVE for ease in getting around downtown, connecting with the Tri-Rail station and the FEC commuter rail proposed for 2016 or 2017, the “grand plan” for the near future.  Diane S.  asked why we need the WAVE, the proposed commuter rail AND Tri-Rail, the answer is that the WAVE will be local and the others are regional.

The Transportation Manager for the City, Eric Czerniejewski, will look into the walkability of 15th Street from 6th Ave to Andrews.  As it exists now there is no safe area to walk, and if the WAVE comes to be, that would be the gateway route from our neighborhood.  Safety zones, green bike lanes, speed limit lowered to 35 mph, safe and navigable streets for pedestrians, bikes, and cars are all in the works for his department.  Two of our Board members have brought up the problem of parking on streets, in yards, across sidewalks.  Code enforcement has been called, the problem goes away for a few days, then returns.  There seems to be no follow up.  Comm. Rogers indicated that there will be increased enforcement in the future.

Trees for swales: our City Forester, Gene Dempsey tells us that a street with sidewalks must have a minimum 12 foot swale with no overhead utility wires to accommodate the live oaks being offered to Association members.  If you don't have a sidewalk and only have street light wires, you will probably qualify for a tree. The Association is paying the $250 cost plus 1/2 the cost of installation - $130 (too large to plant yourself) leaving an investment of $65 to the homeowner for their 1/2 of the installation cost.  However, City Manager Feldman reminded us that FPL is offering trees that can be planted almost anywhere you choose if you sign up for electronic billing (paperless).  Look for the flyer in your bill or log onto www.FPL.com 

A member asked if anyone else besides her has brown water coming from the tap.  No answer to that inquiry.

The Ice Cream Social and Cookie portion of the meeting was enjoyed by all.  Thank you Board member Michelle and helpers for organizing the event. Thanks also to the neighbors who brought home baked cookies to share at the meeting and to send to our troops in Afghanistan. Pat will be packing those cookies to send overseas.

The man with the big smile and fist full of cash was the winner of the 50/50 drawing!

See you at our next meeting in September.  Have great summer!

Meeting adjourned 8:50pm.

Minutes by Virginia-Secretary