Our Strength is our Voice, our Power is our Numbers!
Citizens of Deerfield Beach, Fight Exploitative Overdevelopment!
Celebrate Deerfield Beach‘s 100th anniversary by protecting its safety and legendary charm for future generations.
Stop Deerfield Beach from gentrifying historic communities
The City Of Deerfield has approved exploitative overdevelopment in two neighborhoods.
The AXIS Project, on Federal Highway at NE 2nd St., and Vista Clara just west of Dixie, are exploitative overdevelopment projects that sacrifice the safety and well-being of the neighborhood and school children and as well as drivers on Federal Highway between Boca Raton and Hillsborough Boulevard.
On 12/20/1024, our neighborhood group had a 2 1/2 hour meeting with the legendary attorney Robert Sweetapple and his co-counsel Cynthia Miller, where they outlined all the many legal points we have available to us. The first few of the biggest issues are what we’ll lead with. What the city has done is illegal!! And they gone ahead and done it anyway.
Now, brace yourself for the part you know is coming… we are very confident moving forward but it will cost $30,000. Yes it’s a lot, but spread out among neighbors, it’s a lot less painful.
When you contribute to the GoFundMe; it helps the win in the obvious way, by paying the attorney, but it also shows the 3 judges whom Sweetapple goes before, that the larger community supports this effort. The more people who donate, the better, even if it’s a dollar. Please contribute and share via email and via social media to help save the character of Deerfield Beach.
Allowing this pivotal change would set a precedent and forever change the face of Deerfield Beach along Federal Highway. Now is our only opportunity; if we give up, the AXIS Project would be the first of many apartment buildings that completely cut out local realtors- they do their own in-office ads and renting, like at a dorm, all up and down Federal Highway.
With this change comes extreme safety risks on 45mph Federal Highway because of their single-file, gated entry on Federal Highway. Their delivery entrance is on Eller St, DIRECTLY ACROSS from the new Chick-Fil-A entrance. The change also brings five times the Floor Area Ratio and 5x the density.
It’s extremely lucrative to the developer, and many powerful people in the city recognize that, for better or for worse. They've taken a home off our street and are calling in a private dog park where our neighbors will be living beside the waste of approximately 125 dogs every day.
Fight for the better. Don’t allow our Deerfield Beach to become like New Boca and New Pompano. Help save Deerfield Beach!
traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning
Send tips to us: TIP LINE Observations now live!
TIP LINE for Observations. Click to send a note.
So many people saw so many different things wrong with Tuesday’s hearing (12/3/2024). See video link above. If you have information or observed something notable, send us a note here (if possible, include the start time on the video). traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning
NE 2nd St and Federal Highway, Deerfield Beach
Current Situation, Ahead of Chick-fil-A Opening
When CFA is complete, you’ll be getting your chicken by making a U-turn >right here< on Federal Highway at NE 2nd St, to immediately dart across all 3 lanes to enter the drive through. We don’t need 400 rush-hour cars added to this mix.
As the locals know, we have daily gridlock at this intersection. The re-zoning issue is about safety, not about an ugly vacant lot. The most recent neighborhood traffic fatality was earlier this year when our neighbor Dana was crossing US1 by NE 2nd St. Dana Blanton was killed on Federal Highway when he went through the windshield of a Cadillac walking home. May he rest in peace.
We don’t need re-zoning that would allow 400 rush-hour cars added to this mix. deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger
Existing Eller/4th St. NB US1 drivers will U-turn at that green light. We can’t add 470 cars here!
Blocking NE 4th St: Same area, farther north.
Traffic is backed up on SB Federal Highway past NE 4th St. on a normal, non-holiday Wednesday evening. Deerfield Beach deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger
See that green light at NE 2nd St? That’s where Chick-fil-A diners will be making their U-turn.
The County Land Use Change
Commissioner Parness had a legitimate question when he asked the people in attendance at the 11/6/24 commission meeting, “Who bothered to even attend the Broward County Land Use Amendment meetings?” It’s a very fair question. There are two reasons nobody in the audience raised a hand.
Broward County COVID-19 lockdowns began March 19, 2020 when the county issued a stay-at-home order shortly after Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency in Florida on March 13, 2020. Travel outside the home was prohibited.
- Nobody attended because nobody knew about it. We weren't notified, and no one saw a single sign.
- Even if people had known about it, attendance by the public was prohibited, not just by the state, but also by the county.
At some point in mid 2021, a developer stapled this paper to an invitation to help plan their new apartment building and mailed it to residents.
That is how everyone learned about the zoning change.
FDOT traffic studies occurred during Covid lockdown too.
Let’s not forget that there is video of the developers’ attorney confirming the fact that this Broward County Land Use Change did not consider Chick-fil-A when determining approval. Deerfield Beach deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger
Broward County Land Use changed during Covid lockdowns when travel was prohibited.
Open Letter to Commissioner Ben Preston
Thank you, Commissioner Preston for your support
Dear Commissioner Preston,
I want to thank you very much for your support and your kind advice. Even though we were never able to connect and meet, we had what I thought was a very good conversation over the phone. You recommended to stay in closer contact with my district commissioner. We will continue to take that advice.
Your vote alone was extremely encouraging, and made us all feel like we were heard. Our districts should communicate and work together.
Our roots here in Deerfield Beach go very very deep. Our neighbors here have parents who are buried in the cemetery next to our neighbors’ grandparents, and as our kids age and buy property right here, their future babies will be neighbors too. Our ancestors were neighbors in life and neighbors in eternity. If you grew up in Deerfield in the 70s, my stepmother probably taught you in school. If you attended Deerfield Beach Elementary school in the early 2000’s she probably subbed for your class as Janet Lewis.
You don’t find Community like this often. Deerfield Beach is unique that way and when you get pissed off and move away, you can’t find that ever again. When you get to be part of it, it’s very special. We care and we’re not going anywhere, and we are definitely not done here.
This morning, my phone is absolutely blowing up. My email list contains 111 people (who are BCC’d on this) and I think they all texted or called. Everyone’s upset, but I’ve taken your advice to remain courteous and professional, recognizing that we do still need Commissioner Hudak’s cooperation in the near future.
Our roots in our neighborhood run very deep, and we are not done yet.
Thank you very much once again for really hearing us, and for standing by your community.
Kindest Regards,
~April Bolowich deerfield beach overdevelopment and rezoning traffic pedestrian safety risk reduction danger
COMPATIBILITY
Compatibility factors are not limited to this list! If you see something missing, please let me know.
- Safety: US1, Eller, NE 9th & NE 4th, auto, pedestrian, and no mitigation for other textures when Axis entrance proves to be extremely dangerous.
- Traffic/Gridlock
- Parking: There are two on-street guest spots, and 16 off-street. Sizes are abnormally small and won’t fit trucks.
- Property Value
- Dog park
If you have any other observations, technicalities, and video examples you may have, please let me know; we are expecting to meet with our attorney, Robert Sweetapple next week, and will be starting a go fund me after that.
A dead stop or hard swerve in a 45 mph highway will cause accidents.
It wasn’t safe in the 90’s, and it wouldn’t be safe now.
Death Trap?
- Look at that tiny, single file gated entrance.
NE 4th St width is wildly inaccurate. - Back in the 90's, Boca Bayou had to close their SB US1 access point bc of all the accidents. How is a smaller, gated, single-file entrance, with *much* more traffic than in the 90s, going to be safer? This is a 45 mph highway.
- That proposed building, on the downhill, less visible side of the southbound Federal Highway bridge over Hillsboro River, has a gated entry in an active lane of 45 mph highway traffic, a block before a Chick-fil-A driveway that doesn’t appear to have been considered by the Broward County planning council.
- UPDATE! A neighbor reached out to Boca Bayou and learned that their Dixie Highway exit is now also permanently closed because of accidents. It also was at the foot of a downhill slope.
Yes. Its a death trap.
Boca Bayou had two alternative exits available to use, and one of them was also a failure. Now they have one exit on Royal Palm.
This compound doesn’t have those alternatives.
This exit has been closed since the 90s.
