Bill of Rights Workshop Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 at 5:30 in Council Chambers at City Hall
Bill of Rights Workshop Tuesday, February 4th, 2014 at 5:30 in Council Chambers at City Hall February 3, 2014
From: Dianne Gardner” <dtgardner@cfl.rr.com>
To:”Drew Bastian” <dbastian@port-orange.org> “Dennis Kennedy” <DennisK@port-orange.org> “Dennis Saller” <smilebrevard@hotmail.com> “Bob Ford” <bford@port-orange.org> “Don Burnette” <dburnette@port-orange.org>
To:”Drew Bastian” <dbastian@port-orange.org> “Dennis Kennedy” <DennisK@port-orange.org> “Dennis Saller” <smilebrevard@hotmail.com> “Bob Ford” <bford@port-orange.org> “Don Burnette” <dburnette@port-orange.org>
Dear Neighborhood and Interested Members of our Larger Community,
The Bill of Rights Workshop will occur this Tuesday. Tomorrow. That is tomorrow night, Tuesday, Feb 4th at 5:30 in Council Chambers. We hope it is televised for the public good. It is in Council Chambers right before the regular City Council meeting which occurs at 6:30 PM.
I would hope everyone from our Powers Avenue/Ruth Street neighborhood will appear. While we know the Bill of Rights is currently weak in its language, its a starting point for all residents of Port Orange who are now affected or may be affected by commercial development that we know is coming. And its coming for all of us. We need to get in our comments and discuss our experience as a neighborhood so far before the council. I will certainly be standing up using whatever portion of the format is for citizen participation to describe what has happened to us. Illegal tree cutting and land clearing behind us occurred at 619 Lemon with a wink and nod from the city between August 8th, 2013 and Labor Day; i.e. “there was no forest, just trash and debris.” Right. Everyone on that council who has lived here knows there was a forest there. Some of them lived on Lemon Street. All are long time residents of this city. Code Enforcement has been on that street repeatedly. Like 7-3-2007. CE stopped the tree cutting that day. The city took pictures, I have the hard copy paper work from their actions that day.
See link below.
To state that there was no forest to those of us who purchased here because of it is absolutely Orwellian . The Big Lie.
Further they will ram through the legal non conforming grandfathered use of 619 Lemon Street to be used as boat storage after the PCD is approved by Council. We know that too. Yet there is zero documentation such as a business tax receipt from the city that any such activity ever existed. They will allow Atlantic Marine to proceed with this boat storage with no restored buffers to separate us from that commercial activity. Used boats on trailers abutting my rear lot line. Nice. They will allow Atlantic Marine’s commercial traffic through our neighborhood on Ruth and Powers. We know its coming. The developer will join the PCD and the boat storage parcel at 619 Lemon Street and traffic will turn right on Lemon out of the development and come through our neighborhood. We know that.
These are our issues and the Council knows them well. We hope that further consideration and reflection still may sway our City Council to not proceed with this development which will cause many immediate and future problems for our community at large and our local neighborhood.
Growing antagonism and loss of trust exists now. It will only increase if this development is allowed to proceed. This loss of trust has now become generalized for many in this community.
Also we hope any that all of our neighbors in other areas of Port Orange will appear and speak to this Bill of Rights for Neighborhoods. We ask everyone of you who may have been badly treated in the past or are still being badly treated, i. e. those who abut the Masci Corporation on Ridgewood or who have experienced illegal tree removal, etc. to attend this meeting.
We must as citizens say “enough is enough”. If we do not stop it, it will never stop. Its just “Business as Usual” for this city and developers. Developers, high paid lawyers, staff and council will continue to run over us. Those of us on Powers and Ruth have been energized by this experience. You think we will become exhausted and quit. We will not quit. We will not go away. Please know that City Council.
Its your choice Port Orange Citizens. It’s your quality of life. It’s your property values. We have made our choice. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!
Dianne Templeton Gardner
618 Ruth Street
Port Orange, Florida 32127
386-527-1641