The Recession and your county government, by gimleteye

A national recession, lead by the implosion of the housing bubble, has been rippling through the US economy for most of 2007.

It is like a cold that doesn't get better. For a good glimpse of what is going on, on the west coast of Florida, see the article below.

But certain sectors of the economy and daily life appear to be immune from trouble. One of them is local government zoning by elected officials. In bad times and good times, local zoning is fully funded by developers and lobbyists no matter what is happening in the outside world.

That is what is shaping up, in the November 27th meeting of the Miami Dade County Commission to hold a public hearing in advance of deciding whether or not to "transmit" four applications to move the Urban Development Boundary to Tallahassee. The hearing is required as part of the growth "management" laws that are supposed to protect Florida, its quality of life, and environment from over-development.

In the 2005 period, more than 100 civic, community and conservation groups--coalesced around a campaign called Hold The Line--were insulted and treated with disrespect by the dysfunctional majority of county commissioners in Miami-Dade.

The building boom was still on, full force. Sleek lobbyists in expensive suits showed powerpoint presentations of how growth was inevitable, how the demand was far outpacing supply of existing homes, and the majority of county commissioners nodded their heads dully in agreement.

There were nearly one dozen applications by developers to move the Urban Development Boundary. If not for disagreement by the state over the county's water policies, the commissioners would have approved most if not all of the applications.

In fact, little has changed at county hall. Lobbyists roam the place like they own it. Their grip is even tighter as their speculative land ventures accumulate carrying costs and interest expense. Commissioners are still insulated in feudal kingdoms their districts represent.

De facto chair Natacha Seijas, whose entire career has navigated the currents of development interests and what they need, was single-handedly responsible for pressuring county agencies and managers, so that the county's water policies would always be cheap and always ignore what might be done to protect water quality.

In an odd editorial today, The Miami Herald struggles to find good news in the agreement between Miami Dade County and the state, over water supply issues. The paper speaks optimistically to the hope that the new agreement will lead to more responsible governance and policies.

But watch what happens at the November 27th hearing on the applications to move the Urban Development Boundary.

The lobbyists will say that everything is fine. Let's move forward. More Lowe's Home Improvement stores to stimulate more growth beyond the UDB.

In fact, where is the evidence that the state should trust Miami Dade County in matters relating to growth and the law?

The state should have but didn't require the county to complete all of its science and testing of pilot plants--for the new water reuse facility that will handle "45 percent" of the wastewater stream, a kind of stepped approval approach before signing off on the plans to invest a billion and a half taxpayer dollars in more defense of unsustainable growth.

In other words, growth management in Miami Dade is likely to go forward from the county commissioners' decisions as it has in the past: on a wing and a prayer. The same wing and a prayer that brought Miami Dade County and the rest of Florida the housing crash.

Just in case you don't believe this point of view, watch what Miami Dade county commissioners will do with the permit request by FPL for two new nuclear reactors at Turkey Point. In a micromanaged gamble, the company expects the county to look past the water requirements of 30 to 60 million gallons per day and that county commissioners will make a conditional approval based on the future availability of that water... just like it is doing with growth, in the November hearing for the Urban Development Boundary.

The lack of leadership is breath-taking, really. But these are, after all, county commissioners "fairly" elected to office and protected from recall, as Natacha Seijas was, by threats and intimidation of the power elite.

It is for such real considerations that Floridians will vote for Florida Hometown Democracy if they are given a chance in November 2008. BE SURE TO SIGN THE PETITION AND GET A DOZEN OF YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS TO DO THE SAME: it is downloadable through the website linked to ours, at the right.



St. Petersberg Times

Glitter under the gavel

You know the market's bad when a Sotheby's auction can't sell a mansion for half price.

By JAMES THORNER, Times Staff Writer
Published November 17, 2007

SARASOTA - Selling a home these days is tough. Some people try warm cookies and helium balloons. Others give away free washers and dryers.

But what if you own million-dollar properties? The kind where you don't ask about a mortgage because there is no mortgage?

Here's the answer from a luxury real estate auction held in Sarasota Friday by SKY Sotheby's International Realty: If you want to move waterfront mansions in a hurry, it's best to settle for 40 cents to 70 cents on the dollar.

"The current market has been dysfunctional," said SKY president Chad Roffers, whose company offered up 79 homes worth about $200-million in a giant lawn tent at the private Long Boat Key Club.

"Homeowners learned what fair market value is. We had 400 buyers from four countries and 18 states. The market was here."

Homeowners also learned the limits of auctions, a method gaining favor this year to provide an amphetamine rush to a slumbering market.

About 30 of the 79 properties sold on Friday. Some were auctioned, but required a minimum bid, while others were sold "absolute" - best offer takes the property.

While Roffers proclaimed the day a triumph, none of the three Pinellas and Hillsborough County properties on the block ever passed Go. One 5,200-square-foot waterfront house at 6161 51st St. in Bayway Isles in St. Petersburg, originally listed for sale at $2.4-million, couldn't rustle up a minimum $800,000 bid.

Another of the higher-end waterfront properties, listed at $11.9-million on Longboat Key's Gulf of Mexico Drive, also failed to sell.

Considering their ability to toss around tens of millions of dollars, many of the buyers were a secretive lot. Participants paid a $10,000 deposit just to win use of a blue bidder's paddle. If they won, they had to write a check for 10 percent of the purchase price on the spot.

"It's the aftermath of irrational exuberance," said one anonymous millionaire with a British accent from Southeast Asia who - no doubt enjoying the weak U.S. dollar bargain effect for foreign buyers - scooped up four properties for about half their recent value.

His son chimed in: "This is a market wake-up call. Forty to 50 cents on the dollar: I think this is the new reality."

Despite the bargains, the auction set a record for a single home sale in Sarasota. It was the $14-million sale of an estate called Sugar Bay on Casey Key. The castle-like mansion was built of imported South American coral stone and came with a guest house and 200 feet of beach. But even that was originally listed for $20-million.

Trophy homes like Sugar Bay, those with special locations and attributes, outperformed. Another such winner was a three-story Georgian mansion of 11,000 square feet in Osprey. A bidding war erupted over the house, which sold for $6-million.

The losing bidder had been eyeing the house for two years, but never pulled the trigger on a deal.

"That one I really wanted. It's just bad luck," he said, hugged his friends goodbye and tossed his bidder's paddle in the trash.

Auctioneer Daniel DeCaro, who's done 40 luxury real estate auctions so far this year, mostly in Florida's hard-pressed market, spent most of the four-hour auction trying to flog interest in the properties that didn't sell.

A house in Apollo Beach's MiraBay was one such no-sell. It was originally listed for $1.25-million but couldn't attract an acceptable opening bid.

"Five hundred!" DeCaro bellowed from the stage in the auction tent, seeking half-a-million dollars for the MiraBay. "Four hundred to get it started? Four hundred, anybody?"

By the end of the auction, interest had waned to a trickle. No-sale followed no-sale. Blue bottles of Saratoga spring water littered the floor along with glossy auction booklets.

"Looks like there's a lot of money in this auditorium," DeCaro told a dwindling crowd. "But you guys aren't spending it."

Millionaires who didn't land the home of their dreams could have snagged a consolation prize outside the auction tent. Actor Nicholas Cage's black Ferrari convertible was up for charity auction. Anyone for a minimum opening bid of $315,000?

James Thorner can be reached at thorner@sptimes.com or 813 226-3313. Read his (Un)Real Estate blog at blogs.tampabay.com/realestate/

© 2007 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times