Tequesta Notes
an initiative for the citizens of Tequesta
Paradise Park is zoned Mixed Use
Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Council Approves Untimely
Appraisal of Paradise Park
At the Mayor's urging, the Council yesterday voted four against one to purchase an appraisal for valuing the parcels at Paradise Park. Vice Mayor Stone opposed the motion. The Council's decision was ill-advised for the reasons set out here below and we thank Vice Mayor Kyle Stone for his opposition.
A Waste of Time and Money
The appraisal is an unnecessary expense at this juncture and it brings no benefit to the Village. The Village Manager could simply have called a few local commercial real estate brokers for quick opinions of value and that would have been perfectly adequate for this stage of the decision process. The Village Manager could also ask the seller what the price is. The appraisal will obtain for the Village nothing beneficial.
A Distraction
In fact, entering into the negotiation process in this manner at this time is a distraction from what the Council and residents should have been focused on:
1) What is the Mayor's plan for this property? We have no idea. And,
2) What would be the alternative in the event of private development?
What Purpose For Paradise Park?
The Mayor has offered no meaningful information concerning what the Village would do with the property in his vision. For several weeks, the Mayor has been pushing hard on this proposal but still we have nothing specific on the most important question: how would the Village use this land? And so of course we can also say nothing about what would be the development and maintenance costs, let alone the acquisition cost. And we have no basis further for comparing the Mayor's plan to the alternative of private development under the provisions of the Code and the Comprehesive Development Plan.
A Future Reason to Sell Village Land
It is worth noticing that the motion yesterday was exactly one of the elements that the Mayor had sought previously but failed to obtain for his plan. The other element was the sale of Remembrance Park and a one acre parcel strategically located between the railroad tracks and Cypress Drive in order to help pay for Paradise Park.
Let's recall the Mayor's proposal at the Council workshop May 3. Mayor d'Ambra explained:
"I would like us to think about the idea that if we are able to negotiate an agreement to acquire Paradise Park, that we look at selling Remembrance Park [...] and then we also have the property that's along the railroad tracks that I think really has little utilitarian value from the Village's perspective but would have value from the standpoint of those businesses." [The Mayor wanted to sell it to be a parking lot].
See May 3 Council workshop youtu.be/RuGYMUvwhqg 1:21:40. (In the ellipsis of this quote, the Mayor erroneously referenced Mr Bradford and to exactly the opposite effect. Mr Bradford's point was actually that it is a terrible idea to purchase the Paradise Park parcels because the Village would be losing tax revenue at the commercial rate.)
The explicitly stated purpose to sell critical Village-owned land was not mere speculation. At the very next meeting, the Mayor sought a vote to initiate the process to sell the one acre parcel along Cypress Drive. Fortunately that motion was defeated.
But what we see here is a continuing persistence to pursue a course that could result in a terrible outcome—the loss of valuable Village land that should be dedicated as natural, green space. By moving forward as it did yesterday, putting the cart before the horse, the majority of the Council allowed the Village to be entrained, blindfolded, down a process and a path that could very likely result in the sale of Village land, which the Village desperately needs in order to build a healthy community.
Moreover, because we have no information from the Mayor concerning his plan for Paradise Park we cannot determine whether the cost is justified in comparison to how this property would be developed privately under the Code and the Comprehensive Development Plan. These latter provide a substantial legal infrastructure to enable the Council to secure for the Village a very valuable town center including a sizeable open green space. Any site plan would be subject to the Council's review and approval.
One reason why it makes no sense to exchange the 2.75 acres of Village-owned land (Remembrance Park and the Cypress land) for the approximately 3 acres at Paradise Park is that the land the Village already owns is well located to serve the most valuable function for a park in this Village: the restoration of natural habitat. This priority is essential for the long-term health interests of the Village.
Opaque Governance Process
The vote yesterday achieved one of the elements that the Mayor had previously sought for the plan he articulated on May 3rd. The agenda yesterday, however, had not advised the public that any motion was under consideration and in particular it did not mention the subject of an appraisal.
The agenda stated only: "Discuss future plans for Paradise Park." Agenda May 24 Special Council Meeting. (And we still don't know what those future plans are.)
This is important because if the agenda had given notice of the appraisal issue then residents could have directed their comments to that issue. We would have been able to focus the dicussion on that.
Citizen comments precede Council discussion and the agenda provided no advance notice of the key action item, so citizens had nothing tangible to comment on.
It is not plausible that there was not a specific purpose for this meeting. The purpose was to get the appraisal, the prior attempt at which had failed.
Because the agenda notice to the public was inadequate, this was not a transparent process serving the interests of informed public debate.
Long Shot Grant Money
The Mayor has repeatedly referenced getting money from a grant to finance his plan. Yet he has not given any specific information as to the grant.
We did a very quick search and we think that the grant that the Mayor might have in mind is the Florida Communities Trust, Florida Forever, Parks and Open Space Grant Program.
If that is the case, this grant seems like a very long shot. Usually this grant seems to have a particular theme focus that changes from year to year. At least in a couple of recent years including last year, the theme would have made Tequesta uncompetitive to receive the grant.
If the Mayor's plan is to seek grant money, the first thing we need is a plan for the use of the land. Grants from the state all appear to require detailed plans of use. This is yet another reason why the first order of business was to clarify how the Mayor proposes for the land to be used if the Village were to acquire it.
The Council's Authority Over Private Development
At the end of the prior meeting, the Village Attorney had been tasked with advising on the authority of the Council to manage the development of Paradise Park in the event it were developed privately. This is essential to the decision before the Council because if it turns out—as seems very likely—that the Council can obtain a great result that includes substantial public green space without having to buy the land then why would the municipality waste that money? No information was offered or discussed on this critical question.
Paradise Lost?
We will soon have an untimely appraisal, but we will have made no progress on achieving a better understanding of what the Village would do with the land and what the alternative could be. The Village is not well-positioned in its current approach for an acquisition of Paradise Park.
We must first clarify the Mayor's plan. And then we must understand what would be the framework for the alternative of private development.
There is also a substantial risk that the Village would spend a lot of money for entertainment space and actually lose green space when the magnitude of the cost hits home and drives the Village to sell the land that the Mayor referenced at the May 3 workshop. That would be a serious loss to the long term interests of the Village because restoring habitat is crucial for a healthy community.
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