Stop Parkland in Dade County!

We need a new economic model:

2009-03-09T06:37:00.000-07:00

Haiku

2009-02-18T20:38:00.000-08:00

Near the Everglades
Lennar Desires More Sprawl
Never Give Up Hope

Let the Marlins swim
We have bigger problems now
Eating, Shelter, Life

Google ads? Miami Herald?

2009-02-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

"Florida Marlins stadium vote delayed until March"

Here's the plan. All the concerned citizens of South Florida should band together and take out an advertisement in the Miami Herald about this horrible idea. Anyone with me? I'm in for $50!

Calvin and Hobbes

2009-02-11T10:50:00.000-08:00

We've gotta bail out the land speculators!!!

A mention in the Killian Newspaper

2009-02-09T12:47:00.000-08:00

Fellow sprawl-haters, I regret that I haven't posted in nearly a month. I'm quite busy teaching and honestly quite sick about Parkland.

I'm scared the men and women who clogged our roadways and plowed over farmland are going to keep getting what they want. Tax money for a baseball stadium? Sure! Parkland? Why not!

We had so many citizens speak out against Parkland at the community council meeting and it meant nothing. It was a foregone conclusion.

Even in the face of an economic meltdown, we aren't able to honestly evaluate the reasons how we got here. We just gotta get the hammers pounding to keep the growth machine sputtering ahead.

This isn't sustainable.

Hooray for CBS 4 doing some good reporting!

2009-01-13T20:05:00.001-08:00

These people don't even have 911 access. It truly is a ghost town:

http://cbs4.com/homes/foreclosure.florida.city.2.906607.html

But we need Parkland, right?

We have subdivisions that are COMPLETELY EMPTY! Why do we have county commissions again?

Read these comments from the Miami Herald about Lennar:

2009-01-09T19:03:00.000-08:00

This is not a well-loved corporation:

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/845439.html?mi_pluck_action=comment_submitted#Comments_Container

Depressing to consider...

2008-12-24T07:14:00.000-08:00

After learning of many important legislators disapproval of Parkland, I wasn't surprised to hear they asked for a deferral.

It's depressing to consider a bailout of the Latin Builder's Association, but after we've bailed out Wall Street, the credit card companies, insurance companies, and automakers, why not bail out wealthy developers?

As the New Year rolls around, I'll keep following Parkland and try to organize some more resistance to this horrible idea.

Look at the empty sub-divisions in Homestead already

2008-12-15T07:14:00.000-08:00

These pictures are stunning:

http://homesteadishome.blogspot.com/2008/12/oasis-big-homestead-mirage.html

We are dealing with the results of unrestricted growth. Lobbyists gone wild!

Thanks for the memories...the taxpayers will fund your foolishness for decades to come.

Miami is at the center of the Mortgage Meltdown!

2008-12-14T17:49:00.001-08:00

If anyone missed Miami on 60 Minutes last night, check out this video:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4668112n

The repo men are hiring and working nonstop. Yet we have jokers pushing PARKLAND! Way to go, huh?

Pinecrest = Proposed Parkland....

2008-12-11T19:44:00.000-08:00

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 19,055 people, 6,250 households, and 5,062 families residing in the village. The population density was 975.8/km² (2,527.8/mi²). There were 6,403 housing units at an average density of 327.9/km² (849.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village is 90.30% White (62.8% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[7] 1.72% African American, 0.12% Native American, 4.53% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 2.02% from two or more races. 29.66% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,250 households out of which 47.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 19.0% were non-families. 15.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 3.39.

THAT'S PINECREST...ABOUT THE SAME SIZE AS THE PROPOSED PARKLAND!!!!!! Think about it...

Great quote...

2008-12-11T17:24:00.001-08:00

Mark Twain:

Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it.

An ironic twist...

2008-12-11T11:33:00.000-08:00

The funny thing is Rod Blagojevich offers a Senate seat up for sale and the nation goes into an apoplectic fit. Rodney Barretto is appointed as the chairman of the Fish and Wildlife Commission for his fund raising abilities and people don't bat an eyelash!

Onward Parkland! Bring on the destruction of South Florida for the benefit of the landed gentry!

Please bail out the developers! My mind has been clouded by unimportant details!

2008-12-10T20:16:00.000-08:00

The men who purchased the goodly land known as Parkland deserve to be bailed out.

For the past few months I've been spending my free time telling my friends and neighbors about the environmental destruction that building outside the UDB would bring. I've been talking about building within two miles of the Everglades and the precedent it would set. Flooding and inadequate roads have been mentioned. I've worried about traffic clogging Kendall Drive.

But I was missing the most important point of all! Miami's nobility: Patrick Gleber, Sergio Pino and Rodney Barreto, among others, are what really counts in all this! You see, they took a risk when they purchased land at inflated values outside of the area they were permitted to build on.

Are we going to let them lose some of their hard-earned millions just because of a real-estate crash? Are we going to give up on our esteemed Lords and Nobility just because the stock market has fallen? Bah!

I'm ashamed of myself. Just like our worthless forebearers from the Middle Ages, the serfs, we are nothing without the Lords of the Manor. In my ignorance, I have forgotten how petty and inconsequential I am. Since we don't have any crops to give to Sire Pino and Sire Barreto (we don't need agriculture when we can grow sub-divisions!), the least we can do is let them do whatever they want with their land.

In the spirit of forgiveness, I feel they should be able to deduct our tax money directly into their off-shore bank accounts.

Attack of the "free market"

2008-12-09T15:34:00.000-08:00

You are going to love this :

Attack of the "Free Market". It consumed too many mortgage backed securities!

Future generations will judge us...

2008-12-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

...based on how we maintain the environment.

Thankfully Commissioner Sosa has agreed to meet with me next week. I am so excited to be able to speak with one of the people who will decide on Parkland.

If you think traffic on Kendall Drive is bad now...

2008-12-04T14:23:00.000-08:00

...Wait until after we have 18,000 more vehicles coming from Parkland.

You might as well install parking meters because nobody is going to be moving....

Predictable responses

2008-12-04T06:17:00.000-08:00

When people hear of a plan to build 7,000 new homes outside of the urban development boundary their reaction follows a predictable plan.

First they are horrified. Then they remember where they live and how corrupt this city is and they accept it. Then they tell me how they are leaving Miami anyways.

It's a fairly regular pattern. But we'd have a chance to defeat Parkland if we had more exposure.

I'd guess that today, December 4th, 2008, 3 out of 100 people know about the proposal. If we could increase recognition, we'd be able to win!

Last night I purchased www.notoparkland.org. I'm going to print out flyers and put them around town.

Essential reading....

2008-11-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

The Suburbs March On and On...

The fact that Parkland has such wealthy and well-connected owners and agents should give us pause. We reward those who can sell as many mortgages no matter the outcome. We shipped those mortgages off to ends of the earth and now we are dealing with an international crisis.

We are seeing the results of this process across the world. Bailouts come every day, we are above four trillion dollars. Entire neighborhoods in California, Florida, and Nevada sit empty.

Closer to home, we have a UDB line which has served our community well. It would be foolish to reward speculators with ANOTHER bailout (which is what allowing Parkland to be built would be, in my opinion).

One Parkland is ENOUGH!

2008-11-24T19:12:00.001-08:00

The city of Parkland, very sensibly, does not welcome the idea of a second Parkland.

From the article:

"We want to maintain our brand," said Parkland Mayor Michael Udine. "There's a uniqueness to the city of Parkland and we want to preserve that and we don't want to water down our city's identity."

South Florida can not absorb thousands of new homes. Economically and environmentally it would be a disaster.

By the way, 7000 homes is NOT A neighborhood. It is a disaster.

My daily progress...

2008-11-24T19:02:00.000-08:00

I've been writing the County Commissioners one by one. Tonight I will also write to the Mayor. We have to defeat the corruption!

I'm proud that I've been picked up by many Google searches! We are getting out the word!

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I need your help! Let's win this!

Check out the shirt I just made:

2008-11-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

I was considering applying any revenue from its sale towards Google Adwords to educate more about the Parkland debacle.

Buy a couple of shirts and make some of your own on Zazzle!

He who predicted the economic collapse...

2008-11-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

We had a phony economy.

Building homes makes jobs! Selling homes makes jobs! An economy based on real estate was doomed to fail.

How much worse will it get? Someone needs to tell the phonies at Lennar that it's almost 2009 not 2005.

Great video!

2008-11-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

http://www.local10.com/video/18019482/index.html

I talk to a number of educated people about Parkland and they almost all agree it couldn't possibly pass! They try to reassure me that the UDB is still sacred.

So it's a small group of us that meet at the Audubon house. We follow eyeonmiami.blogspot.com and show up at the community council meetings.

What is the possibility of this passing? Could the monstrosity known as Parkland actually pass?

Obviously, I'm terrified of the idea. From what I know of the big money behind Parkland, I think it's a possibility.

We need massive action! How DO WE REACH THOSE THAT ARE CONCERNED BUT COMPLACENT???

We need action!

2008-11-14T13:59:00.000-08:00

Domingo Castillo
Council Chairman - Miami

West Kendall Community Council District 11
14821 SW 169th Lane
Miami, FL 33187
Phone: (305) 375-2800
Email: cast2l22@bellsouth.net

Anyone know the correct info for Domingo Castillo??

http://www.danr.org/ip.asp?op=elected

We need to let him know that we don't appreciate the way he hurried the citizens speaking against Parkland but extended the time for those speaking in favor of it. At least he didn't fall asleep I suppose.

Join us to protest!

2008-10-31T05:06:00.001-07:00

PARKLAND

7,000 HOMES IN OUR BACK YARD? REALLY? OUCH?

HOW IS THAT GOING TO AFFECT YOUR PROPERTY VALUES?

MAYBE WE NEED TO TELL THE DEVELOPER HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THIS

BE THERE!

Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School Monday, November 3 6:30

15735 SW 144th St
Miami, FL 33196

Details: This application is outside the Urban Development Boundary (to the west) and seeks 900 acres for hundreds of houses and thousands of people. It is east of Krome between 136 and 152 St. It asks for road punch-throughs of 136, 144 and 152 Streets and 162, 167, and 172 Aves.

November 3rd, 2008

2008-10-29T19:57:00.000-07:00

November 3rd, 2008

Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School
15735 SW 144th St
Miami, FL 33196

Let's organize!

2008-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a really great opportunity:

Friends:

You have an important voice in your community which is why we wanted to bring to your attention to a critical issue and ask for your participation in a discussion on Wednesday, October 22nd. As you may have heard, the Lennar Corporation is seeking approval from the County to build 7,000 new homes in Parklands. At a time when the Miami-Dade housing market has already reported 59,798 pre-foreclosures in the first nine-months of 2008, why is there a need to build more?

If you are concerned about:

Decreasing home values
Traffic congestion
Overcrowded schools
Insufficient emergency services for our fire and police
Revitalizing blighted communities
Impacts on our drinking water supply
The Everglades and our National Parks

Come out to discuss the proposed Parklands Development and what you can do to help Hold the Line.

We believe we need the community to take a careful look at proposed developments outside the Urban Development Boundary and develop a shared vision for future growth that helps protect our health, our environment, and our community.

PLEASE JOIN US:

WHEN: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 from 7:00 - 9:00 PM

WHAT: Discussion of the Parklands Development Project (Food and Refreshments will be provided)

WHERE: Doc Thomas House, 5530 Sunset Dr., Miami, 33143

Please contact me at dshirreffs@cleanwater.org to R.S.V.P. or call (305) 653-9101 with any questions. We look forward to seeing you on October 22nd at this important first meeting.

Sincerely yours,

Dawn Shirreffs

We Believe ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

2008-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

First of all, land speculators and developers were able to turn too much farmland into suburban tract housing. The mortgages were offered to individuals who couldn't pay for the housing. We are now witnessing the result: COMPLETE FINANCIAL MELTDOWN.

The politicians will respond to us if we are united. Parkland is an obscene development which will attempt to circumvent the urban development boundary in Miami-Dade. We are endangering our ability to live in South Florida.

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Eye on Miami, one of the top blogs in South Florida, has been on the case for months:
check out their posts.

The first hearing is with the West Kendall Community Council on October 27th at 6:30 pm. It will be at the Jorge Mas Canosa Middle School, 15735 SW 144th Street.

Richard Freer discusses the possibility of a park

2008-10-12T16:11:00.000-07:00

Richard Freer (standing) discusses the possibility of a park with the Kendall Federation of Homeowners.

TOGETHER we can accomplish so much more. Let's put a stop to the sprawl in South Florida.