And we have the "living, breathing Constitution" to thank for that. COTUS says whatever the Supremes say it says, even if it doesn't.
Posted on 12/07/2005 10:26:49 PM PST by vrwc0915
RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — It's across the inlet from Palm Beach, but this town — mostly black, blue-collar and with a large industrial and warehouse district — could be a continent away from the Fortune 500 and Rolls-Royce set.
But Riviera Beach's fortunes may soon change.
In what has been called the largest eminent-domain case in the nation, the mayor and other elected leaders want to move about 6,000 residents, tear down their homes and use the emptied 400-acre site to build a waterfront yachting and residential complex for the well-to-do.
The goal, Mayor Michael Brown said during a public meeting in September, is to "forever change the landscape" in this municipality of about 32,500. The $1 billion plan, local leaders have said, should generate jobs and haul Riviera Beach's economy out of the doldrums.
Opponents, however, call the plan a government-sanctioned land grab that benefits private developers and the wealthy.
"What they mean is that the view I have is too good for me, and should go to some millionaire," said Martha Babson, 60, a house painter who lives near the Intracoastal Waterway.
"This is a reverse Robin Hood," said state Rep. Ronald Greenstein, meaning the poor in Riviera Beach would be robbed to benefit the rich. Greenstein, a Coconut Creek Democrat, serves on a state legislative committee making recommendations on how to strengthen safeguards on private property.
With many Americans sensitized to eminent-domain cases after a much-discussed ruling by the Supreme Court in June, property-rights organizations have been pointing to redevelopment plans in this Palm Beach County town as proof that laws must be changed to protect homeowners and businesses from the schemes of politicians.
"You have people going in, essentially playing God, and saying something better than these people's homes should be built on this property," said Carol Saviak, executive director of the Coalition for Property Rights, based in Orlando. "That's inherently wrong."
"Unfortunately, taking poorer folks' homes and turning them into higher-end development projects is all too routine in Florida and throughout the country," said Scott Bullock, a senior attorney for the Institute for Justice, based in Washington, D.C. "What distinguishes Riviera Beach is the sheer scope of the project, and the number of people it displaces."
In June, a divided U.S. Supreme Court approved a plan by New London, Conn., to force some homeowners to sell their properties for a private development that was supposed to generate more jobs and tax revenue. That ruling has led to moves in Congress and at least 35 states, including Florida, to restrict the use of eminent-domain seizures of private property.
In Florida, the law allows local officials to take private land for redevelopment if they deem it "blighted." In May 2001, a study conducted for the city found that "slum and blighted conditions" existed in about a third of Riviera Beach, and that redevelopment was necessary "in the interest of public health, safety, morals and welfare."
A skeptical Babson, who lives in a single-story, concrete-block home painted aqua that she shares with parrots and a dog, did her own survey. For three months, she walked the streets of Riviera Beach photographing houses classified as "dilapidated" or "deteriorated" by specialists hired by the city.
The official study, she said, was riddled with errors and misclassifications. Lots inventoried as "vacant" (one of 14 criteria that allow Florida cities or counties to declare a neighborhood blighted) actually had homes on them built in 1997, she said. One house deemed "dilapidated," she found, was two years old.
Mayor Brown and Floyd Johnson, executive director of the Riviera Beach Community Redevelopment Agency, did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
The redevelopment agency's Web site says the plan will "create a city respected for its community pride and purpose and reshape it into a most desirable urban (place) to live, work, shop, and relax for its residents, business and visitors."
In past media interviews, Brown has said that his city was in dire need of jobs, and that if officials weren't allowed to resort to eminent domain to spur growth, Riviera Beach could perish.
The redevelopment project designed to bootstrap Riviera Beach to prosperity is supposed to take 15 years. It involves moving U.S. Highway 1 and digging an artificial lagoon to serve as a yacht basin.
In September, the City Council chose a joint venture between a New Jersey-based yacht company and a builder of condominiums in Australia to serve as master developer. The developer, Viking Inlet Harbor Properties, and the city now must agree on a contract.
Residents affected by the plan are supposed to be eligible for new homes elsewhere in Riviera Beach and compensation for business damages. But the uncertainties have been maddening for some.
For 25 years, Bill Mars has sold and serviced luxury sportfishing boats in Riviera Beach. He hasn't been told yet, he said, whether a place in the redevelopment zone has been kept for him.
Under the plan, his sales and service center is supposed to make way for an aquarium.
"If you look at our business, we're one of the shining stars of Riviera Beach," Mars said. "Yet no one has come to us to say, 'We're going to take care of you and relocate you.' " That despite the plan's incorporation of a "working waterfront," including boat sales and repair.
Babson said she was counting on the Florida Legislature, as well as public interest kindled by the recent Supreme Court case, to halt the developers.
"We're definitely in Tiananmen Square: one little guy in front of all of those tanks," Babson said. "We've slowed them down, but we haven't stopped them."
It's called Re ver a and it is a great place to stay away from.
no please send me info on that
I would lay the blame for this problem at the feet of the voters who elected the local government. The crooks are doing their stealing in the name of those who elected them. Unfortunately the names of those who elected this government are hidden from public view, just as a robber covers his face before entering a bank.
So far this activity has greatly improved life here in Riviera Beach and my neighbors and I are eagery awaiting being bought out.
Thank you SCOTUS!
This time, according to a witness, police responded to villagers throwing explosives by firing "very rapid bursts of gunfire" over a period of several hours both nights. Some villagers reported seeing police carrying AK-47 assault rifles, one of the Chinese military's standard-issue weapons. There were no reports of violence Thursday night. The villagers were protesting land confiscations in Dongzhou, a community of 10,000 residents, 14 miles southeast of Shanwei city, in Guangdong province near Hong Kong. In their confrontation with authorities, they also stepped up their tactics by using homemade bombs and explosive charges that local fishermen normally use to stun fish in the adjacent South China Sea. In previous riot reports, attacks against police were limited to throwing stones and bricks or setting fire to official vehicles.
03-08-2005 - Uniform Municipal Elections
Where was the local outrage back in March?
No, I am saying that a healthy majority of those who voted as recently as this past March put / kept the Mayor in office. The county web site doesn't give turnout statistics for the towns but I suspect there are more than 5,090 registered voters in Riviera Beach. Yes it is a Constitutional Republic but you have SCOTUS deeming the taking as constitutional and therefore the only recourse left is through the ballot box. I assume most of the 6,000 residents facing the taking are registered voters so it seems highly likely that as a block they could nip this in the bud locally. But they didn't. I sympathize with their plight but only to a point if they are not motivated enough to cast a ballot.
Yes, otherwise you would not have been flagged to my post #36.
You and your neighbors are free to sell your property, if your deal depends on the government forcing others to sell their property, you are merely profiting from a deal made with the devil.
What good is integrity, after all you cant deposit it in the bank.
There is a similar issue before the Anchorage planning commission. 150 private properties are proposed to be taken for developing a coastal trail. Whether a coastal trail would do anything to alleviate the intense traffic crowding on the existing roads is doubtful, perhaps ten bicycles a day might use the trail for the daily commute in good weather. It's a wonderfully expensive plan for exercise and contemplation of nature on the weekends by the few residents that would use it. Hearing Tuesday.
This From The Washington Times:
Florida's Riviera Beach is a poor, predominantly black, coastal community that intends to revitalize its economy by using eminent domain, if necessary, to displace about 6,000 local residents and build a billion-dollar waterfront yachting and housing complex...
(Mayor) Brown said Riviera Beach is doing what the city of New London, Conn., is trying to do and what the U.S. Supreme Court said is proper in its ruling June 23 in Kelo v. City of New London. That decision upheld the right of government to seize private properties for use by private developers for projects designed to generate jobs and increase the tax base. "Now eminent domain is affecting people who never had to deal with it before and who have political connections," Mr. Brown said. "But if we don't use this power, cities will die."
But in another article posted August 24,2005 on local news channel WPEC News 12:
Riviera Beach Mayor Michael Brown is proceeding with his lawsuit against his own city and it's redevelopment agency. He's suing for excluding him from redevelopment discussions. Those discussions include plans for a major waterfront revitalization project. Brown wants those plans halted until his lawsuit is settled. Brown also wants the court to stop the city from barring him from a seat on the dais. Wednesday, a judge told the mayor he'll have to re-file his complaint. Brown and the redevelopment board will be back in court on September 8.
What is going on in this small burb of Palm Beach? Maybe this study presented by THE FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING dated The Spring Of 2004 explains the problem in it's conclusion:
Conclusion:
After a thorough review, it has been determined that the City of Rivera Beach has many different programs and several organizations that assist with the implementation of those programs. There is a vast difference in the number of community development programs in place and the number of economic development programs in place. Specifically, the City does not fund any economic development initiatives. Rather, the City concentrates all of its efforts on the community development side. The Palm Beach County Department of Housing and Community Development Department funds various economic development initiatives through LISC or the Northwest Rivera Beach CRC that are implemented in the City. The City of Riviera Beach is effectively addressing the community development issues, but lacks a focus on the human element.
Further, the City should seek to obtain additional grant funds that will allow implementation of economic development initiatives. It has also been determined that numerous economic development initiatives exist through Palm Beach County, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and other organizations. However, the City of Riviera Beach is not participating in these initiatives. Therefore, its residents are deprived of services that could assist in improving their quality of life. Finally, the City should re-evaluate and redevelop its 30 community and economic development strategy and develop a plan for full implementation of the new strategy.
The Inlet Harbor Redevelopment Plan is a well-prepared plan. However, the City lacks the ability to implement the initiatives due to insufficient funding. Specifically, the City has not provided the necessary funding to the CRA to allow it to provide incentives to obtain commitments from developers to build in the CRA redevelopment area.
The CRA has found that developers are not willing to utilize their money for projects without a match from the City. The CRA is now depending on gaining additional tax increments from two new projects. Those projects, the Marina Grande Condominiums at Inlet Harbor and the Singer Island Condominiums Limited, are currently being built. The CRA will be able to utilize the Tax Increments from these projects to obtain bonds that will allow it to begin implementation of additional initiatives included in the Inlet Harbor plan. This strategy further delays the implementation of the plan.
As a result of the CRA’s Inlet Harbor Plan and the relocation of U.S. 1, residents and businesses will become displaced as the plan moves forward. The CRA has developed a relocation plan that meets the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development standards for relocation. Residents and businesses will have two options for relocation. Option 1 will allow the CRA to purchase the property of residents and businesses desiring to relocate outside or inside the City. Option 2 will allow residents or businesses to relocate within the CRA area.
Will affordable housing exist in the CRA? Conceptually, the CRA plans to provide affordable housing in the redevelopment area. Some of the properties included in the Inlet Harbor Plan will provide opportunities for affordable housing. It has not been determined how much affordable housing will be available or whether it will be enough to accommodate the 31 need. Will residents be able to qualify for and afford to purchase the newer properties? The CRA says “yes”.
Finally, the City of Riviera Beach should carefully re-evaluate its community and economic development strategy while continuing to implement current initiatives. The City should commit funding to this effort and also seek additional funding. The City should continue to collaborate with non-profit organizations and the County to leverage resources to continue to improve the quality of life for all residents.
This Report was written long before The Kelo Decision by the Supreme Court.
Another article from the Palm Beach Post.
Some more from Mayor Brown on the 2000 Election:
Riviera Beach Mayor Michael Brown expressed amazement "that we have a candidate for the highest office in the land who would say with a straight face that we shouldn’t count every vote."
Oh, I forgot to mention that post is from the PWW .
Nobody is paying much attention to this eminent domain case. Too bad. Wait until it reaches other communities which will inevitably happen.
If states don't enact laws to counter these illegal land grabs we will be closer to the socialistic society the Democrats want.
South Africa did the same to the townships. Once land became desireable, they broke up the community and gave it to whites. It did happen to be fully racist there, not just rich-poor, but the same principle is in effect. Some people's desires are more important than other people's needs. I will have to post again after doing a google on Cape Town to provide more details. Bottom line, the USA is following in the footsteps of aparthied South Africa. South Africa has changed their ways and now recognises that what happened to these people was wrong, 'economic development' does not condone injustice.
And we have the "living, breathing Constitution" to thank for that. COTUS says whatever the Supremes say it says, even if it doesn't.
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