In the recent ballots in South Florida's Broward County, voters in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood approved far-reaching changes to the allocation and disposal of municipal property. In Deerfield Beach, by contrast, citizens rejected proposals aimed at significantly easing construction projects along the coastal strip.
Fort Lauderdale eases disposal procedures for municipal property
In Fort Lauderdale, the electorate voted in favour of measures replacing formal competitive bidding processes and mandatory minimum valuation thresholds for sales of municipal property. In future, a resolution by the five-member city commission with a majority of at least four votes will suffice. The parties involved are required to demonstrate how the transaction serves the interests of the community. Leases of public parks will henceforth require a unanimous commission resolution.
Additional conditions apply to long-term use agreements. Leases with a term of more than three years now require external reviews, the costs of which must be borne by the tenants. If the duration exceeds ten years, an analysis of the user's financial viability is also mandatory. At the same time, previous requirements such as sealed bid procedures and public hearings for certain occupancy contracts have been abolished. The previous 50-year lease term limit has also been dropped; residents can now only force a referendum against contracts exceeding 50 years if at least 15 per cent of registered voters sign the petition.
Stricter requirements in Hollywood and a clear rejection in Deerfield Beach
In the neighbouring city of Hollywood, citizens voted in favour of modified guidelines for the transfer of municipal property. Leases with a term of more than 20 years will in future require a qualified majority of five votes on the seven-member city commission. For contracts with a duration of more than 50 years, a direct ballot by voters remains mandatory.
The vote was entirely different in Deerfield Beach: there, voters rejected the removal of floor area ratio caps for commercial buildings in the waterfront area between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, citizens refused to allow parking spaces on municipal land to count towards the mandatory parking space requirements of neighbouring commercial properties. A proposal to scrap the mandatory public vote for sales and leases of property valued at more than $750,000 also failed to gain a majority.
