City Commission Meeting – July 6

This meeting was tense and rowdy at times because the commission chamber was stuffed with people speaking for and against agenda item 7.4: the appointment of Jordan Rathlev, executive VP for Related / Ross, to the Downtown Development Association board.  Those speaking against included DNA board members Sitima Fowler, Jannie Matheson, and yours truly, along with at least 15 others from assorted organizations including 3 members of the local NAACP who all emphasized that it is now (and always will be) totally inappropriate for any city government panel to include two members from the same company / organization.  Those speaking in favor were almost exclusively commissioners, some of whom tried the tired, threadbare, illogical defense that current DDA board member Bernardo Neto is not technically a Related / Ross employee---even though he is head manager of a hotel fully owned by Related / Ross.  Mayor James was peppered with hostile, ad hominem attacks on his character by some of the public speakers---a needlessly rude technique we at the DNA board dislike and discourage.  The vote was 4-1 in favor, Warren dissenting.  Warren's dissent comments were particularly interesting.  She put forth the eminently sensible suggestion that all of the hostility and wasted time on this issue could have been avoided if DDA bylaws were changed to specify that only one representative per company / organization can serve on the board at any given time.  I thanked her for those comments afterward and think that the same principle should be applied to the bylaws of any city government panel (park & rec., the DAC, etc.) to make future appointments much easier---as they used to be.  Sitima Fowler has already discussed this possibility with Teneka James-Feaman, head of the DDA.  We will keep you posted on progress.

Another issue that drew a crowd was agenda item 9.4, which declares a "zoning in progress" (i.e., a 6-month moratorium on new building submissions) covering the general area west across from Mar-A-Lago where S. Flagler and Southern Blvd. meet.  There are several old apartment / condo buildings there that developers are licking their chops over, and commissioners want 6 months to create a new, unified zoning code for that area so they don't have to wrangle over the same issues with each building proposal.  Mayoral candidate Christina Lambert spoke in favor, even though she's no longer a commissioner.  There were other public comments which were in favor, but they also expressed nervousness about the new building heights allowed and the potential ruining of the historical character of the Southland Park neighborhood.

City Commission Meeting – July 20

There was little discussion directly affecting downtown. The primary announcement was that the city will spend nearly $8 million to build a new community center to replace the aging facility at Howard Park.