Comments from Mr Studers Progress and Promises Blog
The State did not answer any of our questions, rather, it simply spewed more lies. The permit was issued illegally, as the building is not zoned industrial, as is needed for a correctional facility. And this is a correctional facility. I doubt any of us thought felons were going to be housed there. Once again, the City of Pensacola has failed it's residents.
16-Mar-2014 03:22 PM Melanie Nichols
Part 1
The laws of our State and City are very clear on what should have occurred for this redevelopment project. While it is true that the property was neglected for several years, that was the fault of the bank's lengthy foreclosure process which is all too common in our community. Many people tried to purchase this property to no avail because it was tied up in court action. The community found out
only three weeks ago what the new owner's 'redevelopment' project entailed for this site. The State's
letter that you discuss in your article did NOT "answer" our specific questions to the legality of this use at this site, or their failure to provide the legal public notice that Florida Statutes required. It did not contain any reason why they violated the State Statute that required them to measure one quarter of a mile to areas where children congregate, and why the evidence received in our Public Records
Request documented that they only looked 250 feet, and therefore was a violation of the law. It did not contain any assertion that this site was legally zoned for such a use....which it is NOT. Their assertion was that it was "consistent with the services offered by other locations in the immediate area".
There is a vast difference between a law office, doctor's office that does blood testing like LabCorp, a thrift store whose profits support services for the homeless, and a County Misdemeanor and Bad Check Restitution Office for the County. This letter was sent as a scapegoat to the City's request that they appear at last Thursday's City Council, a visit they had agreed to make just three days prior. Both the City and the neighborhood wanted the ability to have our questions answered regarding this project in a public hearing. It is clear that they didn't want to answer questions or be recorded on video or audio.
16-Mar-2014 03:26 PM Melanie Nichols
Part 2
The North Hill Preservation Association Inc. has the law on our side and we WILL have our civil rights protected in this case. Our mission is to protect not only the historical structures but also the quality of life enjoyed in this neighborhood for over 146 years. Below are some particulars of the legal complaints that have been filed:
•Florida Statute 945.28 was NOT complied with so the lease agreement for the Probation and Parole Office for 1625 North Palafox Street is ILLEGAL. This Statue required the State to provide a letter of intent to the City Administrator. They did NOT.
•We have filed complaints with the City of Pensacola under Florida Statute 823.01 that we consider the State of Florida's intended use of this site to be a Public Nuisance as it violates the one quarter mile radius from where children congregate, schools, day-cares, churches, three City playgrounds, the City Swimming Pool, church run pre-schools etc.
•The proposed site is zoned C-3 and R-1AAA. Neither of which lists Probation and Parole as an authorized use. The only area of our Zoning Districts in the Land Development Code which specifically allows Community Corrections Centers is in the M-1 and M-2 Industrial Zones. While
the Department of Corrections wants to debate that their Probation and Parole office, whose functions and programs ALL are contained under the Community Corrections Program and performed by Community Corrections Officers, is NOT a Community Corrections "Center", our City's Land Development Code Section 12-1-5 "provides that in the event there is not a particular use listed anywhere in this title that corresponds with a proposed use, then it shall be interpreted that the use
described in this title having the most similar characteristics as the use in question shall apply."
•The existing Probation and Parole Office at 3101 North Davis Highway is in the M-1 Industrial District and has been for years. D.O.C.'s other Probation and Parole Office whose services were recently co-located into the North Davis site was located at 3100 S. Fairfield Drive, also in the
CORRECT zoning district of ID-1 which is the Industrial District of the County. The present owners of the North Davis office complex have NOT declined from renewing their lease agreement with the State as the State reported to the media. The owners' welcome the State's continued use of that site, in the Industrial District where it is legally allowed. If additional space is needed, there are two vacant
parcels of M-1 zoned land for sale that adjoin that existing site where they could expand to meet their needs without moving into a residential neighborhood, adjacent to and within one quarter of a mile to churches, schools, three parks, our city pool, pre-schools, and daycares.
16-Mar-2014 03:27 PM Melanie Nichols
Part 3
•We are an established and registered neighborhood within the City of Pensacola since 1868 in which over 1,000 single-family residential homes WILL be negatively affected by the State's decision to bring estimates of over 4,000 offenders to our neighborhood at this proposed center. Some offenders report weekly, and many monthly. The Center's plans indicate that there is bullet-proof glass
separating ALL the Staff from the clients/offenders who will visit this site. None of our homes or properties are protected in such a way from their clients who will be parking on the residential streets, in front of homes and yards with children, because the parking does not allow for the quantity of clients and staff that this site will require.
•The property owner of the Coca Cola Building continues to violate our City's laws. Work began on the site without construction permits in November 2013 and this was published in the PNJ on November 21st. No permits were received until January 2, 2014. By law, these permits were to be posted at the construction site. They were NOT posted and the owner had to be forced by Code Enforcement action to post those permits on March 4, 2014. From the start of construction, it appears the intent has been not to disclose the identity of the project and to get it in as quietly as possible before the community could react. The owner has violated the quiet enjoyment of our neighborhood by violating our City's laws against commercial construction on Sunday's and after the legal operating hours during the week.
•These violations of the law do not give us much confidence in the State's ability, to govern "in the Sunshine", to oversee and administer contracts OR to manage our tax dollars.
There are legal reasons by these Probation and Parole Centers were placed in districts removed from and away from the dense urban area where homes and children are located. Do your own research and you will find this to be true in most if not all counties and cities in Florida*. City Hall will be made to enforce our Zoning Laws.
This project should be a wake up call to every residential neighborhood in the City. If the City's Land Development Code is NOT enforced by City Hall, what is next for other neighborhoods?
What 'mistakes' will be made next to your home?
16-Mar-2014 03:49 PM Julia H. Hoeschler
Shannon,
Based on this post, I'm not sure there is a clear understanding of the case. The permits were issued in error (at best). The facility is not zoned for the purpose, nor is it adequate. The city council refuses, based on advice from the city attorney, to enforce its own code. That's the real story here.
16-Mar-2014 03:51 PM Jena Melancon
I'm afraid that you are missing the point. This is not about probationers "interacting with residents on a daily basis...." This is about the Florida Dept of Corrections breaking the law in Pensacola by leasing a property for a Probation & Parole Office without holding a public hearing, about them claiming that the facility will be for one thing, when clearly floor plans show that the facility is not merely an administrative building (bullet-proof glass between all employees & their "clients"!) and about the City of Pensacola not enforcing its own regulations.
16-Mar-2014 03:52 PM Jena Melancon
Someone in the Department of Corrections clearly believes that the laws of the State of Florida apply only to other entities. This is either a blatant case of incompetency or an example of corruption in government.
Did you know that part of the property is zoned residential?
Did you know that there's not enough parking at this property?
16-Mar-2014 03:52 PM Jena Melancon
Did you know that the City of Pensacola claimed TWICE to have no documentation regarding this renovation when requested and that our neighborhood association only received documents after someone at the state level forwarded them to Melanie Nichols, our association president? (And, yes, that file had City of Pensacola paperwork in it....so much for the Florida Sunshine Law...)
Did you that the DoC's current landlord wants to keep them and that the DoC told them that they were moving to a newer building?
16-Mar-2014 03:54 PM Jena Melancon
Did you know that when the DoC started looking for new sites, that the others were all zoned correctly (M1 & M2)?
Did you know that one of the tasks the DoC was given was to find a building that was ENERGY EFFICIENT to make best use of taxpayer dollars?
Did you know that the owner of the building renovated FOR MONTHS without a permit and when contractors went to City Hall to complain, their complaints were ignored?
16-Mar-2014 03:55 PM Jena Melancon
When I learned that the Florida Dept of Corrections considered other locations and that those locations met the required zoning, I was confused. Why would someone use taxpayer money to lease a property not correctly zone for a Probation & Parole office when other properly-zoned choices exist? Why would this happen when their current landlord would like to keep them and when two parcels of land are available for sale next door to their present location if expansion is an issue? Why would the Dept of Corrections set this next door to an historic neighborhood filled with children and over 1,000 single family homes?
This is not progress in Pensacola, Shannon. This whole affair reeks of cronyism and has a negative effect on our community. Laws exist for a reason and ought to be followed.
17-Mar-2014 11:19 AM Mike & Jo Elizabeth Brown
Part 1
What is really going on behind the scenes? The residents of North Hill are the ones being ‘railroaded’ by contractors and our own city and state governments.
Where is the vision of our city’s leaders and planners?
If one was to use it according to the intent of the zoning, this property could have wonderful loft apartments, boutiques, coffee shop, cafes & restaurants, etc. below....what a lovely historic location to help revitalize an ‘entryway into downtown’ with the beginning of a wonderful Mid-town area full of vibrant activity.
This is not what the residents of the North Hill neighborhood envisioned when they purchased their properties and put money, time and energy into revitalizing their historic treasures.
We never dreamed in a million years that we would have citizens who have difficulty conforming to the laws, roaming our neighborhood and parking on our streets. Not to mention the foot traffic and decrease in property values. Not to mention safety concerns.
Never in a million years did we believe that the City of Pensacola, who has appealed for families to move in to the downtown and surrounding areas, would approve a building that is not compliant with this type of intended use.
Never in a million years did we dream that the City of Pensacola & the State of Florida Department of Corrections think that this type of facility would be acceptable in a neighborhood where children play in the numerous parks and in their yards. Where children attend abundant daycares, public and private schools, that are within walking distance of this building. Where churches abound and where families walk to the city swimming pool. Where families walk and bike to the Farmer’s Market and festivals downtown.
Never in a million years..... did we think that this would be permissible.
17-Mar-2014 11:22 AM Mike & Jo Elizabeth Brown
Part 2
Palafox Street north of Cervantes is the ‘gateway’ or ‘corridor’ into our lovely city. Instead of working against the neighbors of Palafox Street and North Hill, the city and State of Florida should work together with the neighborhood residents to establish Palafox Street to be the ‘crown jewel’ that it should be.
However, city planners and real entrepreneurs would need to collaborate on that dream, vice the current destructive plan to destroy one of Florida’s best neighborhoods and bring it to Detroit, Michigan standards.
Where is the ‘growth’ and ‘revitalization’ in allowing this type of facility?
'North Hill' extends beyond the 'preservation district.' Furthermore, residents surrounding the North Hill neighborhood, downtown and all neighborhoods should be aware and very concerned.
The residents of North Hill understand; that they were never notified of this proposal by the Department of Corrections. If one thinks that in today’s day and age regarding public notification, that a posting in the Pensacola News Journal will suffice, is not living in reality. Newspaper readership is passe and a thing of the past. Newspapers can barely survive. What other notification outlets did they use?
Why didn’t the City & the owner of the building work with the North Hill Preservation Board and the entire surrounding neighbors? Our neighborhood is right there; not to mention a neighborhood that has been rebuilt and is teeming with children.
17-Mar-2014 11:26 AM Mike & Jo Elizabeth Brown
Part 3
Why not a public hearing before construction began? Why did they not follow proper protocol? Why was the law violated? What is the true reason that three other locations with proper zoning, which were non-residential, were not selected? Why were they doing construction on days that are against city ordinances? Why were we initially told that this facility would house “offices?” Then we find out that there will be a booking room, fingerprint room, drug testing laboratory and bullet proof glass to protect employees?
This facility will filter through it's doors and the North Hill neighborhood, anywhere from 3,000 - 10,000 felons a month from Escambia County, as well as parts of Santa Rosa County.
North Hill is the only site of the four that is residential, yet the historic Coca Cola building was their final choice. North Hill was the only site that is not zoned for this type of usage and this location will not be able to accommodate parking.
Let’s work together to put this facility where it should be; either enhance the current location on N. Davis Hwy. or find a suitable and properly zoned location in a industrial area. There are many locations throughout Escambia County that are suitable. Or revisit the three other locations that made the DOC’s final list.
Please cease all construction and build upon the current location on North Davis Highway, which it is already in existence and properly zoned.
Take the invested dollars and partner with retail, restaurants, coffee shops, residential contractors and help continue to clear out any remaining blight from days gone by and truly rebuild a significant lot and historic building that will compliment the neighborhood and not lead to it’s destruction.
The City Attorney and City Administrator are in error and should be held accountable. They were wrong for moving ahead on this project. The contractor/owner also misled them in his request for the proposal. The activities contained within a DOC facility are not consistent with a C-3 & R-1AAA zoned property; they are specifically consistent with M-1 zoning criteria.
There are many red flags with the sequence of events and all citizens of Pensacola should be concerned.
We the people of Pensacola deserve answers! We the people vote and we will remember!!
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