Builders Target Florida Golf Course Fairways As Broward's Open Spaces Disappear
Less than six years after voters approved spending $400 million in bonds to preserve open space and revamp parks, most of the money has been spent and roughly 900 acres of Broward County land saved from development.
The 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Program bankrolled the county's purchase of former orange groves, riverbanks, pinelands, wetlands, trailheads and slivers of beach.
To the dismay of many residents, developers increasingly eye these remaining chunks of green space for houses, condominiums and hotel rooms.
Plans are in the works to build on more than 550 acres of Florida golf courses in Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Margate, Oakland Park, Pembroke Pines and Tamarac, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel examination of development proposals, plans and interviews with city officials found.
"It's a function of the dwindling supply of land in Broward County. You are going to see a lot more Florida golf courses being redeveloped," predicted Dennis Mele, a land-use lawyer whose client wants to build on one of three Inverrary courses in Lauderhill.
Builders see Florida golf courses as the last remaining open space where large multimillion-dollar developments can be built. Politicians see benefits from increased property values and the large amount of cash that will flow into city hall. But many golf course neighbors prefer to keep the greens and large trees outside their windows rather than more houses and condominiums.
"They are destroying our way of life," said Sherry Taylor, who fears her quiet seniors community in Tamarac will be damaged by more than 750 new homes to be built on the Monterey and Sabal Palm, both Florida golf-course sites.
Politicians must weigh the anger of residents like Taylor against Broward's best-known lawyer-lobbyists, hired to pave the way for golf course redevelopment.
The group of investors that wants to build houses on part of American Golfers Club in Fort Lauderdale includes County Commissioner Jim Scott. The investors hired former Fort Lauderdale City Attorney Don Hall to advocate their project.
Beyond saying he was not a major investor in the project and that he would abstain from voting on it, Scott declined to comment.
Prestige Homes, which wants to build on the courses in Tamarac, has hired not only the veteran land-use lawyer Jerry Knight, but also Beverly Stracher, who was Tamarac Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco's campaign strategist in the March election.
Stracher explained her value to the developer: "I ran Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco's campaign so I know a lot about the city." Knight, who spoke for the developer, said he believes the project is best for Tamarac.
Tamarac city commissioners in March unanimously took the first step toward allowing Prestige Homes to build on the two Florida golf courses despite protests from hundreds of residents who wanted to preserve the 160 acres as open space.
The project replacing the two Tamarac courses will generate more than $1 million in new city taxes than the courses provided, according to a study prepared for City Hall.
Offsetting the city's tax benefit, the new development puts more cars on roads and more students in schools. The Sabal Palm project alone will add roughly two-dozen car trips a day compared to the traffic generated by a Florida golf course, and more than 300 new students in classrooms costing public schools more than $1.8 million annually, according to school system and county data.
In return for permission to develop two Tamarac golf courses, Prestige Homes agreed to donate 31 acres for recreation and earmarked $2 million to solve neighborhood traffic problems caused by the project. It also promised to sell 10 percent of the homes as affordable housing.
The Tamarac deal came after negotiations between city officials and developers.
Law professor Michael Allan Wolf said negotiations that consider the nearby residents are often the best route to take.
Wolf, a University of Florida law school land-use expert, said governments could hinder and maybe stop golf course projects, if they wanted, because nearly every developer seeking to replace a golf course needs multiple city, county and state approvals. But turning down such projects may not be the best policy, Wolf said.
"The alternative to compromise might be an overgrown, abandoned Florida golf course that is an eyesore," Wolf said. "Planning is about wise real estate development that has the fewest impacts and the most benefits."
Coral Springs City Manager Michael Levinson is looking forward to negotiations with the owners of the dilapidated 80-acre Broken Woods course. He envisions a mini-urban center, with homes, businesses and stores.
City records indicate Broken Woods has been cited for code violations since February stemming from failing to repair hurricane damage and removing debris. The city slapped liens on the land. In the wake of the violations, owner Sample Road Investments LLC is tearing down the former clubhouse, pool, maintenance sheds and tennis courts.
"It will never be a Florida golf course again," Levinson predicted.
To the south, Pembroke Pines city commissioners' negotiations with developer M. "Pat" Segall resulted in the preservation of the Grand Palms Country Club and Resort's 27-hole golf course. Commissioners voted unanimously this month to approve Segall's plan to add 308 hotel rooms and 292 high-rise units to the more than 1,100 homes at Grand Palms.
The Pembroke Pines commissioners didn't have as much luck with another Florida golf course -- Raintree Golf Course. Commissioners couldn't come up with the $40 million the owners wanted for the 123-acre course. A developer is now turning the course into 103 homes costing more than $1 million each.
County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, a vocal advocate of green space, said the loss of such large amounts of land to developers at a time the county is buying land to preserve open space "is very disturbing."
Jacobs vowed that when Florida golf course redevelopments reach the county commission "they won't be rubber stamped. There have to be very compelling reasons to remove open space."
The 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Program bankrolled the county's purchase of former orange groves, riverbanks, pinelands, wetlands, trailheads and slivers of beach.
To the dismay of many residents, developers increasingly eye these remaining chunks of green space for houses, condominiums and hotel rooms.
Plans are in the works to build on more than 550 acres of Florida golf courses in Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill, Margate, Oakland Park, Pembroke Pines and Tamarac, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel examination of development proposals, plans and interviews with city officials found.
"It's a function of the dwindling supply of land in Broward County. You are going to see a lot more Florida golf courses being redeveloped," predicted Dennis Mele, a land-use lawyer whose client wants to build on one of three Inverrary courses in Lauderhill.
Builders see Florida golf courses as the last remaining open space where large multimillion-dollar developments can be built. Politicians see benefits from increased property values and the large amount of cash that will flow into city hall. But many golf course neighbors prefer to keep the greens and large trees outside their windows rather than more houses and condominiums.
"They are destroying our way of life," said Sherry Taylor, who fears her quiet seniors community in Tamarac will be damaged by more than 750 new homes to be built on the Monterey and Sabal Palm, both Florida golf-course sites.
Politicians must weigh the anger of residents like Taylor against Broward's best-known lawyer-lobbyists, hired to pave the way for golf course redevelopment.
The group of investors that wants to build houses on part of American Golfers Club in Fort Lauderdale includes County Commissioner Jim Scott. The investors hired former Fort Lauderdale City Attorney Don Hall to advocate their project.
Beyond saying he was not a major investor in the project and that he would abstain from voting on it, Scott declined to comment.
Prestige Homes, which wants to build on the courses in Tamarac, has hired not only the veteran land-use lawyer Jerry Knight, but also Beverly Stracher, who was Tamarac Mayor Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco's campaign strategist in the March election.
Stracher explained her value to the developer: "I ran Beth Flansbaum-Talabisco's campaign so I know a lot about the city." Knight, who spoke for the developer, said he believes the project is best for Tamarac.
Tamarac city commissioners in March unanimously took the first step toward allowing Prestige Homes to build on the two Florida golf courses despite protests from hundreds of residents who wanted to preserve the 160 acres as open space.
The project replacing the two Tamarac courses will generate more than $1 million in new city taxes than the courses provided, according to a study prepared for City Hall.
Offsetting the city's tax benefit, the new development puts more cars on roads and more students in schools. The Sabal Palm project alone will add roughly two-dozen car trips a day compared to the traffic generated by a Florida golf course, and more than 300 new students in classrooms costing public schools more than $1.8 million annually, according to school system and county data.
In return for permission to develop two Tamarac golf courses, Prestige Homes agreed to donate 31 acres for recreation and earmarked $2 million to solve neighborhood traffic problems caused by the project. It also promised to sell 10 percent of the homes as affordable housing.
The Tamarac deal came after negotiations between city officials and developers.
Law professor Michael Allan Wolf said negotiations that consider the nearby residents are often the best route to take.
Wolf, a University of Florida law school land-use expert, said governments could hinder and maybe stop golf course projects, if they wanted, because nearly every developer seeking to replace a golf course needs multiple city, county and state approvals. But turning down such projects may not be the best policy, Wolf said.
"The alternative to compromise might be an overgrown, abandoned Florida golf course that is an eyesore," Wolf said. "Planning is about wise real estate development that has the fewest impacts and the most benefits."
Coral Springs City Manager Michael Levinson is looking forward to negotiations with the owners of the dilapidated 80-acre Broken Woods course. He envisions a mini-urban center, with homes, businesses and stores.
City records indicate Broken Woods has been cited for code violations since February stemming from failing to repair hurricane damage and removing debris. The city slapped liens on the land. In the wake of the violations, owner Sample Road Investments LLC is tearing down the former clubhouse, pool, maintenance sheds and tennis courts.
"It will never be a Florida golf course again," Levinson predicted.
To the south, Pembroke Pines city commissioners' negotiations with developer M. "Pat" Segall resulted in the preservation of the Grand Palms Country Club and Resort's 27-hole golf course. Commissioners voted unanimously this month to approve Segall's plan to add 308 hotel rooms and 292 high-rise units to the more than 1,100 homes at Grand Palms.
The Pembroke Pines commissioners didn't have as much luck with another Florida golf course -- Raintree Golf Course. Commissioners couldn't come up with the $40 million the owners wanted for the 123-acre course. A developer is now turning the course into 103 homes costing more than $1 million each.
County Commissioner Kristin Jacobs, a vocal advocate of green space, said the loss of such large amounts of land to developers at a time the county is buying land to preserve open space "is very disturbing."
Jacobs vowed that when Florida golf course redevelopments reach the county commission "they won't be rubber stamped. There have to be very compelling reasons to remove open space."
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