Key West Commissioners Considering A Ban On Future Gated Communities

What do the redevelopment of Peary Court and Trayvon Martin’s tragic death have in common?  With the soul searching shockwaves that the Zimmerman trial has sent though our world, both raise the question of the social impacts of gated communities.

“One of the many pitfalls of adding more gated communities that want to separate themselves from “those people”, says Commissioner Clayton Lopez, “ is that they ripen the situation for something like the Trayvon Martin tragedy to happen.”

In spite of public declarations about “fully integrating” Peary Court into the surrounding neighborhoods, White Street Partners, the developers of Peary Court, have presented plans which in effect would create a new gated community.

At the public meeting on June 27th, at the Harvey Government Center, White Street Partners’ architect, Bernard Zyscovich revealed a blueprint showing plans to close the existing entrance on Palm Avenue and to erect an uninterrupted fence beginning on Eaton Street, running the length of Palm Avenue, down Eisenhower and [after discussion] also along Angela Street.

Plans to “integrate” Peary Court do not include continuation of the existing street grid either.  The plans showed the only road open to vehicular traffic would simply loop Fleming Street back into Southard.

“Nobody would take that street,” said Zyscovich, “If they get in by accident, they’re never going to do it again because they are going to end up exactly where they started.”

“If there were one ingress and egress – a road to nowhere, “ says Commissioner Tony Yaniz,

“that to me, would be a defacto gated community even if there were no gates… I would like to see Peary Court with through streets, and no gates.”

Gates and checkpoints have not been officially mentioned by developers at this point, but when Key West The Newspaper asked whether Peary Court ‘s future Homeowners’ Association would have the power to vote to close the street entrances, Zyscovich admitted, ” Well, I cannot deny that.”

Past Battles

Security gates and Homeowners’ Associations are a particularly touchy subject in the City of Key West.  Commissioner Lopez vividly remembers the protracted lawsuit waged against the City by TAMPOA (Truman Annex’s HOA) that began in 2006.  TAMPOA had decided to erect enormous 16-foot tall ‘presidential gates’ at its Southard Street entrance that would block entry to non-residents.  What began as a simple disagreement between TAMPOA and City government turned into a nasty divisive battle that ultimately ended up pitching Truman Annex residents against other Key West residents.

Back in early 2007 when Commissioner Lopez decided to try to walk though the security gate at  Southard, he knocked a clipboard from a “guard’s” hands while they were “discussing” the legality of the Southard Street “checkpoint”.   The guard claimed the annex was under attack and called the police.

Key West bloggers combed through TAMPOA’s homeowner regulations at the time reporting sarcastically about the crazy rules they found:

• children are not permitted to play on sidewalks or common areas
• pet leashes are to be no longer than six (6) feet in length
• approved Christmas decorations include conservatively installed non-blinking small white lights
• no barbecues
• the association may retain a pass-key to all units

While Thomas Tukey, TAMPOA’s then president, was fighting to also keep a fence in place which could “affect our community security perimeter from the back of Southard Street,” Key Westers were snickering and making allusions to the “Truman Show”, and the “Stepford Wives”.  The issue was only fully resolved after the Navy insisted Southard Street remain open at all times for unfettered access to the Navy base.

Homeowners’ Associations (HOA’s)

Gated communities often fail to deliver on their promise of harmony and security as Trayvon Martin’s father discovered when he realized his son was dead because someone in the gated community where he lived thought Trayvon didn’t belong there.    Homeowners’ Associations can operate as tyrannical authorities arbitrarily discriminating against unpopular residents and they possess many tools to obtain total compliance from the homeowner.

The Huntersville Herald in North Carolina reported that one resident got into trouble with his HOA because he “planted some pansies in a community common area.”  He “felt the flowers would spruce up the park.”  The Gilead Ridge Homeowners Association fined him. Then, when he refused to pay, the HOA placed a lien on his house.  To avoid foreclosure, he paid the fine.  Yes, the homestead protection which normally prevents creditors from seizing your house is typically cancelled by clever clauses in the HOA agreements.

An HOA in Odessa, Florida ended up spending $300,000 in attorney fees trying to prevent one resident from parking a pick-up truck in his own driveway.

The case of Army Captain Michael Clauer in 2010 got national attention.  The Heritage Lakes Homeowner’s Association in Frisco, Texas foreclosed on and sold his house while he was en route to Iraq because he was $800 behind in his HOA dues payment.

Here in Key West, being under the control and authority of the Truman Annex HOA created a sense of disillusionment in some homeowners.  At the time of the lawsuit against the City over control of Southard Street, one resident wrote in an online blog:  “The rules [in Truman Annex] are long standing examples of the circle the wagons mentality that currently pervades Truman Annex.  Many Annex residents give a great deal of their time and energy in their volunteer and work activities to help to make Key West the live-and-let-live diverse place we like to think of.  Many of us are embarrassed […] by the seeming inability of the TAMPOA leadership to connect with the larger Key West community.”

The future HOA at Peary Court may be a totally new type of animal.  Peary Court developers told those gathered at the Harvey Government Center that they would not be selling lots.    Typically in such developments the homeowners own their house but the land belongs to the developer who leases it to the residents.  The selling price for the houses are comparatively lower since buyers are not purchasing the land and the land then becomes a ‘cash cow’ for the developer who collects rents on land secured by the house.

That type of real estate model also enhances the “conformity control” over residents since “eviction” procedures are far easier to prosecute than foreclosures.  A large problem for homeowners is that their house is a ticking time bomb that loses value as the expiration of the lease draws nearer.  Some residents in “leased land ownership” developments report having financing issues with banks even decades before the lease term expires.

Commissioners’ Views On Gated Communities in Key West

“No, we don’t want more gated communities in Key West,” says Commissioner Teri Johnston, “I would be in favor of an ordinance that would prohibit new gated communities in Key West.”

Commissioner Lopez says he plans to discuss the drafting of such an ordinance with the city attorney and the planning director.

Commissioner Mark Rossi sees things the same way:

“I am against gates.  Just look at Truman Annex and all the issues we’ve had with that.  It separates people from the larger community.  Gated communities don’t belong in Key West.  This isn’t Miami. We are a small little island.  That’s the beauty of living here.  That’s why we live here.”

Commissioner Johnston is no fan of the ‘road to nowhere’ either,

“If there were to be just one roadway that loops around, to me that would create a gated community in and of itself.  Full access from neighborhood to neighborhood, that is what it is all about.”

Angela Street Fence

All City Commissioners however said they were very sensitive to the pleas of Angela Street residents who want to keep a fence between them and Peary Court.  A fence overgrown with flowering trees now closes off the Angela Street side of Peary Court.  “Those Hibiscus were all planted by me,” said an emotional resident at the June 27th meeting.

“I have always wanted the Peary Court development agreement to contain a provision that it would not be a gated community,” says Commisioner Weekley, but I support Angela Street residents who want to keep their fence.  A fence on one side of the property doesn’t create a gated community.”

“I am in support of leaving Angela Street alone,” says Commissioner Billy Wardlow.

One Human Family

“In a gated community,” says Wardlow, “there are rules – they want it to be quiet 24 hours.  If there are kids playing in the street, they’ll say the kids are too loud and call the association.  If you don’t cut your grass often enough you might get a letter.  I would like Peary Court to be a nice place to live where neighbors feel free to move around, talk to each other, and relax.”

This “One Human Family” concept brings to mind the final words of wisdom at the end of the movie, “Chocolate” [with Johnny Depp]:

“We can’t measure goodness by what we resist and who we exclude.  We measure it by what we embrace, what we create and who we INclude.”