Hurricane Shutters Stalled Firefighters at Royal Palm House Fire
Leaving your hurricane shutters up after a storm can be dangerous, such as the problems it caused in this Royal Palm Beach story.
Authorities said the shutters, up a month after Hurricane Dorian, made it hard to find the fire’s source. They want homeowners to take their shutters down.
See: Hurricane Shutters Stalled Firefighters at Royal Palm House
Landscaping Update
Development planned on Allamanda Drive
NOTE: This item has been removed from the Village Council Agenda. See: allamanda-drive-zoning-changes-removed
The North Palm Beach Village Council is expected at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24 to consider final approval of a future land use map amendment and rezoning to add density at the southwest corner of Prosperity Farms Road and Allamanda Drive, one of the two roads leading into Siena Oaks.
The changes are to pave the way for the development of Prosperity Village—a community of 8 townhomes and 12 single-family homes, proposed by New Urban Communities, Delray Beach on 2.33 acres.
The North Palm Beach Planning Commission already approved both changes on Sept. 10. They call for a future land use map amendment that would change the property from low density residential to medium density residential. They also call for the property’s rezoning from an R-1 single family dwelling district to a PUD planned unit development district of four parcels.
The developer says its proposed community would be targeting empty nesters and professionals. Single family homes are slated to run 2,700-3,400 square feet and sell in the $800,000 range, while the townhouses are expected to run some 1,900 square feet and sell for about $500,000 each.
The city of Palm Beach Gardens has notified the North Palm Beach Planning Commission that it will not allow any access to or from the development via Allamanda Drive. The developers say traffic added by the development would tally 174 trips per day.
Summary of our Landscaping Contract
Our landscaper, Precision Landscaping of North Palm Beach, is contracted to perform specific duties on front and backyards. Homeowners are responsible for anything additional.
Precision’s current contract calls for them to:
- Cut lawns weekly April 1-Nov. 15 and two times a month from Nov. 16-March 31.
- During winter months when leaves are more prevalent, additional time will be spent on clean-up and removal during detail/trim days.
- Edge along streets, beds and walkways with each cut, and keep grass and dirt clear of street edges.
- Trim hedges and shrubs up to 8 feet high once per month.
- Weed flower beds once monthly—with hand-weeding where necessary so as not to harm certain plants and flowers that may be affected by a chemical weed killer.
- Trim low palm branches & lower tree branches up to 14 feet to maintain clearance for pedestrian and vehicular traffic. This does not replace the need for yearly tree maintenance!
- Manage pest control 12 times per year, with only infested areas treated as needed. Please note that treatment for whitefly and spiraling whitefly is not included!
- Fertilize all turf palms, shrubs, hedges and ground covers three times per year depending on season.
- Precision Landscaping is responsible for all damages to the sprinkler system due to their work, provided that the sprinkler system is properly installed.
The BOD’s may alter this schedule in the wake of hurricanes or unusual circumstances. Please notify the HOA manager at manager@sienaoakshoa.com if Precision Landscaping misses any covered services.
Homeowners must insure that their sprinklers are in working order, and that vegetation is properly watered. The University of Florida IFAS Extension Office suggests that you water in the early morning or late evening.
Sincerely
Siena Oaks HOA Board of Directors
Schedule for Pressure Cleaning of Sidewalks
New Board Elected at Annual Meeting
The Siena Oaks annual meeting and board election was held on March 27 at Tropical Sands Christian Church.
After a quorum was established, election was held for two seats. On the patio side, Saen Olsen was elected replacing Marian Karwatt, and Lillian Basso defeated Marie Mauceri on the Estate side.
The board held their organizational meeting and the following officers have been named:
| President | Vin Rollo |
|---|---|
| Vice President | Saen Olsen |
| Treasurer | Lillan Basso |
| Secretary | Gail Liberman-Lavine |
| Director | Sandra Mast |
Volunteers Sought for ACC
Attention Siena Oaks Homeowners:
The Board of Directors is seeking two more volunteers for appointment to our association Architectural Control Committee. If you’re interested in serving, please submit a resume or biography to our manager at manager@sienaoakshoa.com or drop it off at the club house.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
Palm Beach Gardens Election – March 13
FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE SIENA OAKS HOA BOARD DOES NOT TAKE A POSITION ON THE BALLOT QUESTIONS!
On March 13, there will be a Palm Beach Gardens Election with four ballot questions related to the city charter. There are no candidates on the ballot this year.
The polling place for Siena Oaks is Allamanda Elementary.
You may have heard there is controversy about misleading wording on some of the questions, and a city resident has filed a lawsuit to throw out some of the questions. If it is successful, voters will be told that the results will not count. It is too late to change the questions and absentee ballots have already been mailed.
It is difficult to tell from the ballot language what a yes or no vote really means, but here is a synopsis:
A YES on question 1 replaces much of the charter language to “clean it up” and bring it into line with state law. It also drops the requirement for city manager annual review, lets him (or her) live outside the city, throws out the votes for a candidate when they drop out of a race late, removes the requirement for charter reviews and many other things that go beyond “fixup”.
A YES on question 2 extends council term limits from the current 2 terms of 3 years (6 total – adopted in 2014) to 3 terms of 3 years (9 total).
A YES on question 3 allows council members to run again after their term limits are reached if they wait three years.
A YES on question 4 drops the requirement for “majority wins” (50% + 1) in council elections. In a race with 3 or more candidates, the candidate with the most votes wins – even if it is only a small percentage of the votes cast.
For the actual ballot language see: SAMPLE BALLOT
With no candidates on the ballot it is expected to be a low turnout – perhaps 1000 voters or so. Keep in mind that when term limits were adopted in November 2014 – 20,000 people voted and over 16,000 voted for 2 terms of 3 years. If you think it is unfair for a handful of people to overturn the will of 16,000, then GET OUT AND VOTE ON MARCH 13.
For more information, see: PBGWatch.com
Fred and Iris Scheibl
1029 Siena Oaks Circle West
