GL Homes & ITID

The ITID Agenda on September 14th, included the GL Homes application to the County to increase their land use entitlement, the negotiations with ITID staff and a letter to the County regarding ITID’s position on GL Homes.

A summary of some points of the GL Homes application:

1. GL is proposing to become an active unit of ITID. Negotiations regarding the particular details are ongoing. This has the potential to address the financial impact of the development at least as it relates to our roads west of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road in perpetuity. What it does not address is impact on roads east of Seminole Pratt Whitney Road.
2. GL is negotiating with ITID on road improvements and traffic calming costs for Hamlin and Orange between Seminole Pratt Whitney and 180th Avenue and 180th Avenue between Hamlin and Orange.
3. A bridge over the M Canal at 180th Avenue is proposed. However it is important to point out that the City of West Palm Beach owns the M Canal and as part of their deed are not required to give any more bridges over the M Canal. GL does not believe their impact requires this bridge, further they need to reconstruct their own bridge at the end of 60th Street.
4. Construction traffic will be restricted to 60th Street for the development.
5. The County wants to add Hamlin and Orange from Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and 180th Avenue between Hamlin and Orange be added to the Long-range Thoroughfare Map. These are ITID roads, not County roads.
6. In the letter to the County from ITID, it includes supporting and encouraging 60th Street between Seminole Pratt Whitney Road and 140th Avenue be built. This furthers the argument that 60th Street will bear the brunt of development as a major thoroughfare as busy or busier than Northlake is now.
7. GL is wanting to increase their entitlement from 359 homes to 3,897 homes on their 4,900 acres. Currently zero commercial is allowed but the land use change will allow 350,000 sq ft of non-residential. It is GL and the County’s claim that this is the same density as the surrounding area.
8. GL is going to give 640 acres as requested by ITID for an impoundment area. It is important to point out that to get the full benefit of storage, it would cost ITID M1 basin taxpayers $50 million to develop. That is not an actual benefit to the Acreage as the cost to benefit ratio is not justifiable.
9. GL is prepared to put 1,038 acres into a conservation easement. With respect to this and the above point, they are deriving the value by getting the density calculated based on this land, as well they are receiving the benefit to count it as their open space requirement which they will have a total of 67%.
10. GL is prepared to give a restrictive covenant to the County that they will not annex into Minto, or incorporate themselves. The County has taken this a step further to ensure that GL will also not participate or contribute to incorporation of the Acreage.

“We volunteered to the county that we would not annex,” GL Homes Vice President Larry Portnoy told Indian Trail Improvement District supervisors. “We would not incorporate.”

GL, however, does have a problem with the county’s proposed condition of approval regarding incorporation.

“It is not our intention to shut the door on The Acreage or (the Indian Trail Improvement District),” Portnoy said. “It’s not our druthers to shut anybody out.”

Betty Argue, a candidate trying to unseat Indian Trail Improvement District Supervisor Michelle Damone in the Nov. 8 election, said she’s concerned the county’s condition of approval regarding GL Homes could keep The Acreage from including the developer’s project if area residents decide to incorporate.

“I think that’s something that needs to be addressed,” she said. “Considering the direction the community is going, we would want GL to be part of it.”

Link to the full article is here

Please note my comments at the ITID meeting regarding incorporation as quoted above are not because I am for or against incorporation. It is simply that the intent put forward to the County by GL Homes was not to restrict them from becoming a part of the Acreage incorporation but to give the assurance to the community that they are not going to annex into Minto or incorporate themselves as Minto did. It is astounding to me that any ITID supervisor, the President of the PLAN organization (the incorporation group) or that our own County Commissioner would support the language precluding GL from participating in Acreage incorporation if it were to move forward. The most successful path would include GL Homes.

ITID Seat 4 needs someone who not only understands the intricacies of comprehensive plan text amendments and zoning applications but also that has the ability to negotiate in the best interests of the residents of ITID. To make promises to residents that will never happen is absolutely irresponsible. I will always be honest and forthright based on the facts!