Washington Park Neighborhood Preservation and Enhancement Dist.

Washington Park Enhancement and Preservation Meeting 04-08-04

Apr 23, 2004

WASHINGTON PARK ENHANCEMENT AND PRESERVATION
COUNCIL MEETING
P O Box 1233
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33311


April 9, 2004

Our meeting started at 6:38P.M.

Council members were introduced. Guests Luther Jackson Building Code Inspector, Linda Laskin Special Projects Traffic, John Crouse Engineer IV DPEP and Sonia Cummings Contractor and resident.

Idella Wright moved to accept minutes from March 11, 2004. Julia Porter seconded the motion. There were no questions. We voted to approve the minutes.

Linda Laskin said according to the study of traffic in our neighborhood we need speed humps to calm the traffic. Eugene gave her the list from the survey of our residents. She said we would need 67% of the residents on that street to sign approval for humps on that street. Eugene questioned roundabouts. She said she would order the material. The first location to install would be NW 8th Street and NW 8th Road. She will try to order enough material for two locations. Residents can sign the survey. The property owner doesn?’t have to sign. A Street Light is needed on NW 28th Terrace and NW 8th Street. She has forwarded the request to FPL to get Right A Way signed by property owner. Speed will not be lowered that?’s why speed humps will be installed. She tried to have the speed lowered to 25 but she couldn?’t. The speed limit signs will be replaced. Eugene said he only saw three signs in the entire neighborhood. Linda said the way Engineers look at speeding is to use the average speed. On one street the average was 44MPH. When the speed limit is not enforced the Engineers will not lower the speed. It was questioned if NW 6th Court from 29th block to 31st Avenue should be designated a School Zone. Linda said no, it has to be in a certain area. Yvonne questioned a School in Coral Springs that doesn?’t have a certain area designated. Linda said all Schools in the County have a School Zone. Yvonne will email Linda the information for the residents. Eugene questioned how Council members felt about the humps. We don?’t want them. The intersection on NW 7th Court and NW 29th Avenue was discussed. Roundabouts versus stop signs. Linda will test roundabouts.

Eugene said Building and Zoning regulates the standards set by DPEP. Flood level set by FEMA is eight feet from the crown of the road. We have had some complaints about the elevations and fill being dumped in lots. We have invited the contractors but they are not present. We want to be able to help residents. Some houses were built with SHIP money (about 30) eighteen to thirty five thousand dollars and they have problems. Maybe with their help we can get help from the County Commissioners. Some contractors have done what needs to be done. They would like to see the codes changed. Yvonne said we need Luther Jackson to explain the vague part of the code.

Mr. Jackson said they have checked the houses and they all comply with the code. He said down the road there would be problems when the fill settles it will cause foundation cracks. John Crouse questioned if codes apply to the yard. Mr Jackson said no. He said based on what the Architect certifies they approve the work. Yvonne asked if there is a way to monitor this. He said we could call Zoning to remove dirty fill. They can?’t ride the neighborhood everyday to enforce clean fill. Yvonne said there has to be a way to get the true information of what is in the fill. He said they give the permit only. We would need to go through the County Commissioners to change the code. They could go to the Florida Building Commission to change the code. A stop work order was issued on NW 9th Place because of all the debris in the fill. Mulch can be compacted to 95% and it disappears. It was questioned why couldn?’t the Architect be held responsible. The contactor depends on the Architect. The Architect should have an Engineer to do the boring test. Eugene questioned lifts in Section 1818 High Velocity Hurricane Zones bearing capacity of Soil code 1820.3.2. He said there is a copy of every test on file of the boring test. Eugene said every new house is more that 12 inches above the crown of the road. Mr Jackson said lifts are done from the bottom according to code. Yvonne questioned the relationship between Zoning with tree removal and foundation cracks. He said the foundation could meet code but still crack. Eugene said they looked at houses today and a stop work order was done. When the fill was removed a tree stump that was there before was still there. There were large rocks and a septic tank top also. Carolyn Penn said that her house has noises in the walls and ceilings. She has to keep a TV on at all times. The noise started in the den and went around to her bedroom. Julius Blount built the house. She has the blue print of the house with the Architect?’s name. We questioned how could a house be re-inspected? Mr. Jackson said that you can re-test the foundation and a laser can be used. His hands are tied because they can?’t go on the property until they get a permit. Eugene questioned the high water table, could it cause erosion and breakdown of the foundation. Sonia Cummins said the problem she sees is contractors don?’t compact like they should. If they use a 12,000-pound roller about two streets around them will know it. They don?’t see Engineers doing boring samples. Some contractors let the fill sit 30-45 days to compact. Contractors and Architects are responsible for the home for one year. Carolyn said the noises in her home started in February. When she turns on the light in the bathroom and the home next-door A/C unit turns on the light dims. Mr. Jackson has met with his inspectors and advised them to check for bad fill. Yvonne said a hole was dug in Steve and Traci?’s lawn and left. They could be looking for the stake for the property line.

John Crouse said FEMA was created in the 60?’s to deal with flooding all over the country. Broward Water Management said FEMA standards were not good enough when they looked at the continuous building taking place. They designed a water system for continuous development. Property less than two acres and single-family homers are exempt from Water Management codes. 27.4 Section of the Code defines water nuisance as the release or discharge of water that causes a danger to humans or the environment. They talk to people first to let them know of the code violation when there is a problem. If a violation is given it can be up to $15,000.00 a day. They list the contractor and the homeowner on the violation. Old code from 1999 said you can?’t let your water run onto another person?’s property. This code changed and now they use 27.4 Section of the Code for nuisance. Sonia said they have always built by the old code. She said where they want to build it is going to be a problem due to the elevation of the other homes. When there is a problem they can tell the contractor that it would be a violation and have the contractor put in a swale to retain the water.

We could put an Ordinance in the Washington Park Preservation and Enhancement Plan to control the elevation problems. On NW 7th Court the contractor James Ross has a letter from the Building Department that he doesn?’t have to raise the floor. In some area new homeowners will have to build higher to keep their property from flooding. The current homes have high elevations. Yvonne questioned how is activity defined. John said it was not defined. We need to take VIII Strategies on page 12 of 17 4 (b) of our Plan to the County Commissioners to change what?’s happening with our elevation for new homes.

Lt. Fleming said that the Deputy needs to respond when we are having the problem on NW 8th Court with disturbances. The Deputy must write a report with a case number. He can?’t just put it on his log. The notice to appear for mobile food dispensing is not enforceable now. Our Amendment to the Plan goes before the County Commission on April 13, 2004. Eugene read the information published for that meeting. Our Amendment is Agenda 13. Once the Amendment is approved and the person receives a violation they will have to go to court and receive a fine. The penalty part of the violation was re-written.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45P