City Covenants
LAWSUIT REQUIRED TO ENFORCE COVENANTS THAT RUN WITH OUR LAND
Standing Up for Palm Aire: Protecting Our Community, Green Space, and Legacy
Key notes
- The City of Pompano Beach has turned a blind eye to the legally binding restrictive covenants that safeguard the unique character and cherished green space of Palm Aire.
- Palm Aire’s irreplaceable green space and natural resources are critical not only to our community’s identity but also to its livability and long-term sustainability.
- Instead of representing the interests of its residents and fighting to preserve and creatively utilize Palm Aire’s rare and beautiful open spaces, elected officials prioritize the agendas of developers.
- Residents deserve assurances that City Hall decisions are made with the Palm Aire community’s best interests in mind, not the preferences of influential donors like developers, who are also bound by the restrictions of explicit covenants running with our Palm Aire land.
- We are taking action to enforce the covenants that were designed to protect this community, its residents, and the promises made to us all.
[Download the Full Complaint Below]
We strongly believe that the City of Pompano Beach and Clublink are in direct violation of binding agreements intended to provide long-term assurances to all of the Residents of Palm Aire and Pompano Beach.
As the Residents strictly relied upon these publicly-recorded agreements, the current disregard of such Agreements by the City of Pompano Beach and Clublink will continue to cause significant damages to all Residents throughout Palm Aire and Pompano Beach.
The basis of the concerns stem from Clublink’s pending application with the City of Pompano Beach seeking approvals to develop some 216 rental units at the current site of the Oak’s Clubhouse in violation of the binding agreements and assurances made to Palm Aire and Pompano Beach.
A unified community effort is required to seek enforcement of two long-standing agreements entered into by the City of Pompano Beach and Clublink, intended to protect the Palm Aire community and its open green spaces for the residents of Palm Aire and Pompano Beach.
The first agreement sets a maximum density in Palm Aire of no more than 10,631 units – with specific allocation of these limited units to designated areas. The lawsuit refers to this recorded agreement as the “Master Plan Agreement”.
The second agreement protects the open green spaces of Palm Aire’s golf courses by disallowing Clublink (or any other owner of such properties) to make any improvement other than a golf-related improvement on any of the golf courses it originally purchased (there are only three remaining).
It appears that a separate owner’s recently announced deal with Pulte, seeking to develop 186 townhomes at the site of the former Sable and Pines courses, also violates the binding agreements protecting our community.
The Agreement that sets the maximum density in Palm Aire at 10,631 units, with specific allocations throughout Palm Aire, is referred to as the “Master Plan Agreement” within the filed Complaint. This Settlement and Master Plan Agreement was entered into between the City of Pompano Beach and Clublink’s predecessor, who sold the golf courses to Clublink.
This Master Plan Agreement is specifically referenced as a title exception in Clublink’s deed, which passes legal title of the golf course properties to Clublink. In other words, Clublink purchased the golf courses with full knowledge of, and subject to, the Master Plan Agreement setting the maximum density in Palm Aire at 10,631 total units.
The Agreement that protects the open green spaces within Palm Aire is referred to as the “Open Space Restrictive Agreement” in the filed Complaint. As alleged in the Complaint, Clublink makes an explicit promise through the Open Space Restrictive Agreement to restrict the future use and of the Palm Aire Golf courses to golf courses and open space. The promise extended for a period of 15 years following its 2015 effective date – thus, through 2030. This restriction applies to the current Oaks Clubhouse site, upon which Clublink is currently seeking to build. We believe this Oaks Clubhouse project to be a clear violation of the promises Clublink made to the residents of Palm Aire. We also believe that a separate owner’s recently announced deal with Pulte, seeking to develop 186 townhomes at the site of the former Sable and Pines courses also violates the binding agreements protecting our community.
- It is important to note that nothing in the Open Space Restrictive Agreement permits Clublink to develop Palm Aire’s golf courses and open spaces in 2030 or thereafter (a common misconception).
- The Agreement was instead intended to provide transparent assurances to the residents of Palm Aire that no attempts would even be made by Clublink to rezone or otherwise seek city approvals to do anything with the open space land inconsistent with golf course operations until the Agreement’s expiration. And even then, Clublink would still be bound by Palm Aire’s Settlement and Master Plan Agreement limiting the maximum density in Palm Aire to 10,631 units.
- In other words, under current agreements, land use zoning and other restrictions, Clublink would still face significant challenges in seeking to develop our precious open spaces, even after the expiration of the Open Space Restrictive Agreement.