Preserving the Residential Character of Boca Teeca

Sunday, May 22, 2016

DEED Restriction Explained on Ocean Breeze Golf Course

There have a lot of misperceptions on the deed restriction on the Ocean Breeze golf course, formerly known as the Boca Teeca golf course.  The deed restriction was filed in the official records of the Palm Beach County clerk's office on Sept. 25th, 1974 and is officially located at book # 2353 and pages 653 to 659.  While the entire document is readily available online, below is the relevant text to current unit owners in the "Boca Teeca subdivision, comprising sections 1 through 5 and also including the tract of land comprising the golf course adjacent thereto:"

Whereas, Boca Teeca Corp., desires to restrict the use of the tract of land comprising the golf course and to limit the same to be used as a golf course facility for the benefit and protection of said subdivision...

Now, Therefore, in consideration of the mutual benefits to be derived by the developer and the several purchasers of property in said subdivision, the said Boca Teeca Corp hereby declare to and agrees with each and every person or other legal entity who presently owns property in said subdivision and persons or other legal entities who shall become owners in the future, that Boca Teeca Corp shall be bound by the following covenants, to wit:

     1. Legal Description:  The parcel of land burdened by these covenants shall comprise the entire tract of land described as:  Boca Teeca Golf Course, Boca Raton, Florida (the legal description of which is set forth on Exhibit "A," attached and made a part hereof).

     2. Use.  The subject tract of land shall be used only for the purpose of a golf course facility.

     3. Covenants Running With The Land:  These covenants , restrictions and reservations shall be considered and construed as covenants, restrictions and reservations running with the land and the same shall be binding upon and be for the benefit and burden of the Boca Teeca Corp, its successors and assigns and each and every person or other legal entity presently owning property in Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, of Boca Teeca subdivision and persons or other legal entities who may become owners in the future, their heirs, legal representatives, successors and assigns.

     4. Duration of Restrictions:  These restrictions are imposed in perpetuity.

     5.  Amendment:  This Declaration may be amended, modified or terminated at any time with the consent of the developer, the Boca Teeca Corp, its successors and assigns, and a majority of the then owners of condominium apartments, residential lots or other parcels located within Sections 1 through 5, Boca Teeca subdivision.  The instrument of amendment, modification or termination must be in writing and be recorded to become effective.

Explanation & Clarification of Above Deed Restriction:

1) There is no reference to a "vote" for the amendment or termination, so there is not a vote required in a similar manner that unit owners may experience with their condo associations.  The previous amendment attempt was conducted in 2007 and involved a legal consent document that was distributed by the successor owner, MCZ Centrum affiliated LLC, and subsequently recorded in the Palm Beach County official records on 9/10/2007.   This development was approved by the city, but this approval expired in April 2015 & it is the opinion of Lennar that this amendment is voided per their presentation on May 10th at the Ocean Breeze clubhouse.

2) There is no reference to condo associations, nor their board of directors.  Accordingly, these organizations have no jurisdiction over this matter and are only involved to the extent that the association owns 1 or more units since these deeded legal rights only apply to property owners in the Boca Teeca subdivision.








Saturday, May 14, 2016

Secret Wish List of BTUOA

ONE BOARD PRESIDENT REVEALED IN A RECENT NEWSLETTER TO THEIR HOMEOWNERS THAT ITEMS WERE GIVEN TO LENNAR TO WHAT THE OWNERS WOULD WANT IN EXCHANGE TO LIFT ALL DEED RESTRICTIONS. THIS HAS BEEN REFERRED TO AS THE RUMORED WISH LIST

HERE THEY ARE:

NIGHT SECURITY (needed for our several hundred nearby neighbors)

SOCIAL CENTER WITH KITCHENS LOCKERS WORKOUT EQUIPMENT AND CARD  & GAME ROOMS

SIDEWALKS ALL OVER THE PLACE (obviously if 4 lanes of traffic are a must) CROSSWALKS (obviously if 4 lanes)

NEW CONDO SIGNS,

 LANDSCAPING FOR YAMATO (obviously if 4 lanes of traffic)

GARDEN (nothing like group gardening)

PICKLE BALL (because we have many pickle ball players in boca teeca)

CASH (bribe money for each associations pet peeve project)

CASH - REALLY

If you have wishes you might want to let this self appointed BTUOA know what they are.  It is interesting that the BTUOA leaders did not mention one word about these items at their last meeting--so their secretive agenda continues without a survey of residents about their preferences.  Most of the unit owners in attendance at the May 10th meeting were clearly against the BTUOA and  any development of the golf course.  What are you suggestions?

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Alternative to Lennar & BTUOA

At the 5/10 meeting with Lennar there was a question about what alternatives are available to the Lennar development proposal, but the BTUOA leaders did not have a response.  Did they consider any alternatives?

The obvious alternative is to allow Wells Fargo to close the golf course as the city code will require maintenance of the property including a maximum height of the grass at 8 inches.  Based upon the negative reaction to the weak Lennar & BTUOA presentation this would appear to be preferred alternative by the large majority of the residents in attendance.  Consensus opinion is for the maintenance of current open space views as opposed to views of rooftops and the widening of NW 2nd Ave to 4 lanes.

Lennar rep Bruce Grundt gave such a poor presentation to residents on May 10th that residents are encouraged to email and call him to let him know their opinion of his proposed development on the ocean breeze golf course.  Accordingly,  please call and email Bruce Grundt at 305-485-2060 & bruce.grundt@lennar.com to express your opposition to lifting the deed restriction and allowing Lennar to develop any of the golf course.

You may also want to let Mr. Grundt know that the self appointed leaders of the BTUOA do mot represent you and they should stop wasting their time negotiating with their leaders.

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

Here is the picture of the "Concept" rendering that was proposed today at the meeting of the BTUOA.  At the meeting last month the Lennar rep promised a site plan but all he provided was a drawing that has water adjacent to all buildings without any units shown.   Several residents informed Mr. Grundt (Lennar Rep) that there is already a drainage problem in boca teeca so this "water feature" concept was not realistic.

Was the Lennar rep trying to use this meeting as a "trial balloon"in order to see how many residents would show up in opposition or support of the general development proposal on the golf course?

Mr. Grundt should row, row, row his boat back to his Lennar office and stop wasting his time trying to pull the wool over the eyes of senior citizens in an attempt to get their signatures on the deed restriction amendment proposal.  Maybe he can fool the BTUOA leaders but it was obvious that the vast majority of residents were very opposed to the development on the golf course.

Tuesday, May 3, 2016

Beware of Condo Board Members Bearing Promises

Beware of condo board members that have spent your entrusted condo dues to support a private 3rd party corporation (BTUOA, Inc.) and ask you to sign away your legal rights that are completely separate from any condo association authority or responsibility.  Some condo association boards have given this unrelated corporation funds based upon promises that have no bearing on the responsibilities entrusted to condo boards.  These board members may attempt to justify the spending of condo funds in an effort to support this unrelated corporation's efforts to represent Boca Teeca residents in support of a proposed development.

Were these funds given to the BTUOA as an investment with a promise of negotiating a handsome return?  Is this an alternative to investing condo operating funds in bank CDs and money market accounts?

It could be anticipated that the BTUOA's secret committee may be attempting to negotiate a financial contribution (bribe?) from a developer in a similar fashion that this organization negotiated with MCZ Centrum.  In exchange for the condo association "cooperation" the MCZ Centrum LLC agreed to give approximately $226/unit to each condo association for deposit to their reserve funds.

Is the current negotiation going to follow a similar path?  Is this "investment" by condo associations going to payoff or will this be money down the drain as was the case with their past financial support of the BTUOA?  The track record has not been favorable for condo boards that have given funds to the BTUOA and where is the accountability of the funds spent by BTUOA?  There have not been any treasurer reports provided publicly to the many "members" of the BTUOA.

How much will your property values fall in exchange for even several hundred dollars promised by a developer to your condo association?  Is your condo association attempting to make a profit on their Investment  in the BTUOA at your expense?  Are you going to save a few hundred dollars in condo association dues and watch your property value decline by thousands of dollars?

Obviously these are not attractive alternatives, so do not be supportive of any effort to sign away your separate deed restriction rights if approached by a member of your condo board or some secret committee member of the BTUOA.  Note, the condo boards will not have the authority to "vote" away your deed restriction rights and the condo association has no authority to take any action on "your rights" as a unit owner concerning the legal deed restriction issue.

Monday, May 2, 2016

Deed Restriction Removal: 50% or 75% Approval Required?

The legal documents available at the Palm Beach county clerk of courts indicate that 75% of owners in Boca Teeca would need to sign a document to remove the deed restriction on the Ocean Breeze golf course property that would allow any development on the golf course.  This legal filing is shown on book and page number 22098 / 41 of the Palm Beach county official records..  This was filed by the previous owner of the Ocean Breeze property as a result of past negotiations by the BTUOA, but now the BTUOA web site claims that only 50% or more is required to lift the deed restriction.

Why is the BTUOA ignoring their own negotiated 75% requirement?  Was this process possibly not done legally?  Were the non-witnessed and non-notarized "consent documents" considered illegal by their attorney or Lennar's attorney?  Or, is it merely convenient to use the lower percentage of 50% that was the original deed restriction requirement since MCZ is no longer in business and is not going to legally support their own legal filing?

Beware of condo board members or BTUOA representatives seeking signatures from Boca Teeca residents for the purpose of removing the deed.restriction that will "pave the way" for any development on the ocean breeze golf course property.  Signing away your rights will be expected to negatively impact the residential characteristics of the Boca Teeca community AND reduce your property values.  It is expected that widening of NW 2nd Ave will be a requirement of any development approvals which is potentially a safety hazard as you and your neighbors will be required to navigate a road that will resemble the same roadway South of Yamato road.  Have you seen the traffic south of Yamato during peak rush hour?

With a 4-lane highway running through the current community this will eliminate virtually all of the current green buffer between the east side condo property and the exhaust fumes from the increased flow of traffic  Think of the view that would overlook the similar 4 lanes located south of Yamato road - YUK!  Certainly not a pretty site!

You  can expect BTUOA supporters and Lennar to provide pretty pictures and renderings with many promises, BUT the additional traffic and your current views being replaced by rooftops is not going to improve your property values , nor your residential quality of life.  You are encouraged NOT TO SIGN anything that removes the deed restriction from the ocean breeze property if you want to maintain your open space views, your property values and your residential quality of life.





Sunday, May 1, 2016

Condo Boards: Duped by BTUOA?

Condo boards have a responsibility to manage the maintenance of the physical structure of their property as reflected by their annual budgets.  But, their support financially of the BTUOA has no relevance to the physical maintenance of their property so are they being duped by the leaders of the BTUOA?   Are condo boards acting within their legal rights when they give hundreds of dollars to the BTUOA for memberships to an organization that has no bearing on the operation of the condo association?  Are there legal ramifications for condo board members that support spending condo funds irresponsibly?

Some condo boards have informed their owners that they are now members of the BTUOA since the board has paid $1/unit so that all owners are considered members.  But, what does membership in the BTUOA provide to the owners?  The BTUOA does not provide any visible benefits to be a member and the BTUOA has not held any elections by their "members" for many years.  It does not appear that the membership in the BTUOA provides any tangible benefits to its "members", nor does it support the physical maintenance of the condo property.

In the past the BTUOA was supported by individual owners and residents who were charged $5 - $8 for a voluntary membership and the primary benefit was a telephone directory that listed all owners and residents of Boca Teeca.  This telephone directory was provided with the cooperation of condo association boards who provided the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the Bica Teeca residents.  This telephone directory has not been published for over ten years and condo boards are no longer providing the contact info to the BTUOA.  Are the condo boards concerned about legal ramifications for providing this confidential info to an outside organization which may be against Florida regulatory rules and statutes?

The BTUOA has also been requesting that condo boards pay $3/unit to support their legal fees for negotiating with Lennar.  Are the boards acting legally when they transfer funds to the BTUOA for supposedly supporting their legal fees?  Was this a budgeted item in the annual condo budget?  What purpose does paying several hundred dollars to the BTUOA provide to the condo association for the maintenance of the physical property of the condo association?

HAVE CONDO BOARDS BEEN DUPED BY THE BTUOA?   IS THIS LEGAL?

On the BTUOA web site (www.btuoa.org) they posted admission that they had been secretly negotiating with Lennar for many months via a secret committee of their neighbors.  This small committee is led by someone who was no longer even on their own condo board and who has been a self appointed President of the BTUOA?  Are the leaders of the BTUOA acting legally and within the rules of their own charter and bylaws by not having elections?

The BTUOA has not surveyed the residents nor been elected to their positions, yet they claim to represent the owners and residents of the Boca Teeca community.  Does this sound reasonable to you?  Who are they trying to fool, besides the condo boards? - Lennar & city officials?

What are your thoughts & comments on these issues?