Monday, November 19, 2012

Lake Worth, a dumping ground

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The question of the day is--How would you like your neighborhood to be screwed in this fashion? How would you like someone to come into your neighborhood and build a monstrosity just because he can? This is an attractive neighborhood with well kept houses until this was allowed to happen. It looks more like a commercial structure that should be in an industrial setting, not a residential neighborhood.

According to a third party who spoke with the owner,
this cement block atrocity was built for Mr. Sprague's boats.
Two entries to the garage:  one on D Street
 and the other on 17th Ave N.

Is this a joke, or what?

We have a code Department; We have a Building Department; We have a Planning and Zoning Department. Someone suggested that the reason this was allowed to happen was more than likely  City Manager Bornstein's decision to end the Zoning in Progress right after he was hired. Should we then blame this on that commission majority led by Mayor Pam Triolo that did not listen to the Planning and Zoning board or anyone else for that matter?

The neighboring residents invested their life savings in their homes and look what happens. It is no wonder Lake Worth continues to go to slum and blight. Developers and moochers know they can come here and get away with just about anything...think a $1.6  million legal settlement.  When asked, Mr. Sprague says he is going to live in that little tiny wreck of a building behind this humongous garage he just built.  Neighbors are furious and can you blame them? Single family residential neighborhoods are no longer sacrosanct in Lake Worth. Anything goes it seems. Just "get it off our plate."

Michael Bornstein said his main mission as city manager was to clean up the slum and blight and get rid of the lawsuits. He got rid of one lawsuit, blaming all the wrong people, that has cost us dearly but what about this? As far as contracts are concerned, can we please begin to do our due diligence before we sign with anyone. Next, get our Code tightened up. 


STEVEN A. SPRAGUE, identified himself as Steven Sprague Insurance company to my source. He sells health and life insurance, homeowners and renters, auto insurance and more. Sprague bought this property in August 2011 for $26,750. There is a little house on the property consisting of 1,100 sq feet that had code violations up the kazoo. Mr. Sprague said he paid the violation fees but nothing on the little structure has been corrected from what I have been told. He says he has done everything by the book. If our "book" allows this sort of thing, it needs to be re-written.


The garage that was built is twice the size of the little house that no one in his right mind would occupy. The attraction for this buyer was the 50 x 150 foot lot. The windows are boarded up and the front door is hanging by a thread. You could literally blow the entire structure over with a feather.



According to the same source who spoke to Mr. Sprague, as well as public records, (unless there are two Steven A. Spragues) this is his "real world" and where he resides in West Palm Beach although the records in Lake Worth show his only address as North D and 17th but no one lives there. I would bet anything West Palm Beach would not allow a garage to be built such as this in a residential neighborhood.

One of the property owners across the street on N D Street who has lived there for over 30 years, recently placed her property on the market for sale and will be getting the heck out of town. She is totally appalled at what happened in her immediate neighborhood not to mention what is going on all over the City of Lake Worth. She wonders why Lake Worth is not protecting homeowners from this sort of thing.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good question. How can this happen?

Anonymous said...

another question.Why aren't all those dogooders upset about this?all those who got rid of our P&Z board and compromised the sustainability guy.

Anonymous said...

You'll be hearing from Mr. Spragues' attorney soon.
What's the difference between that garage and some ugly looking concrete dump overlooking a lake?

Lynn Anderson said...

Thanks Jim Stafford--this is HE, right?

Anonymous said...

Sued for what, Stafford? Maybe someone should sue you for your hateful freedom of expression. Oh that's right, the First Amendment and all.

Carrie said...

The city allowed this to be built? Are they out of their minds? OMG. No I can't imagine if this happened in my neighborhood what I would do.

Anonymous said...

This is the same highly paid Lake Worth staff that issued a permit for a house on Wright Drive to sell mattresses out of their house!!!Oh, the employee will be "disciplined". Big whoop!

Anonymous said...

Ya know, I've driving by that a couple of times and wondered, what the hell is that. Now I know, thanks for keeping us informed. Hope the owner will open it up to the neighborhood for a hurricane shelter.

John Rinaldi said...

I have been on the P & Z board since the summer when the new board came in and this project has never come before our board.

Lynn Anderson said...

From what I was told they didn't go before any board as they were allowed to build it.

Anonymous said...

"according to a third party",
"from what I was told"
you really got them facts locked down, huh?
you can't install a window without a permit in Lake Worth, yet we are supposed to believe that this building was built without any approvals?
A little research is going to reveal your famous best P&Z board are responsible for the building.

Lynn Anderson said...

Get back to us.

Anonymous said...

Anony at 11:26. What was said is that it did not go before any board. It would have needed a permit and I am rather sure it got one. Thanks for your confrontational post. A little research will prove that this owner was allowed to build this piece of crap.