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Hello friends,



I want to express my gratitude once again to all of you who joined us at the recent meet and greet at the Four Points Sheraton. It was an incredible event, and I am truly thankful for the overwhelming support you gave me. I want to do a huge shout out to four points Sheraton for generously donating the room and appetizers for the event.

For the upcoming election, the choice is straightforward: our residents can opt for a councilperson who prioritizes and represents the interests of developers, or they can choose me, someone who will always put the residents' voices first when making decisions about our beloved city.

I have some serious concerns about the recent vote to approve the Comprehensive Plan last Wednesday. The process was deeply flawed as the staff gave only an overview of roughly four sections at a time of the 12 elements of the comprehensive plan within approximately 15 minutes during a council meeting.

Regrettably, no one on council engaged in any meaningful discussions or debates about any section. How could all 5 council members have been in agreement with no discussion, especially under the constraints of the Sunshine law that prohibits council members from speaking to each other unless in public? It's truly baffling how something as crucial as our city's master plan had absolutely no discussion during a council meeting.

With the exception of the 2019 Dover Kohl report, I have yet to come across any examples of community involvement, unless the city considers attending meetings with a mere 3-minute slot for citizen input, devoid of substantive two-way communication with the council, as adequate engagement.

You decide whether the City truly followed the intent of the Florida Statutes.

Florida statute 163.3181. It states: Public participation in the comprehensive planning process; intent; alternative dispute resolution.—(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that the public participate in the comprehensive planning process to the fullest extent possible.



Florida Statute 163.3177 states: Appropriate data must be provided and made available to the public. It must also be clearly based on appropriate data by a professionally accepted source. (1)(f)(1).

City Council & the Comprehensive Plan

*Items marked in red are from the City’s comprehensive plan that was approved last Wednesday the 18th.

Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use: Page 5/87

The City hired town planning firm to lead this new community engagement and planning process, along with economists from Partners for Economic Solutions (PES) and transportation engineer Richard Hall, from Hall Planning & Engineering (HPE).

Based on findings from PES’s Budgetary & Economic Analysis, however, the 2019 Citywide Master Plan put greater emphasis on updating the city’s existing comprehensive plan, zoning, and land development regulations to encourage realistic redevelopment, especially in the Downtown and in other areas already served by City infrastructure and services.

PES’s report also highlighted additional economic challenges, including the nationwide decline in brick-and-mortar retail and Punta Gorda’s highly seasonal population and its economic reliance on the tourism and service industries.

These challenges, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 and its impact on leisure travel, hospitality, ecommerce, and overall employment, underscore the importance of focusing on existing City assets, diversifying housing types, and taking a measured and fiscally responsible approach to annexation, all of which were key recommendations of the 2019 Citywide Master Plan.

The mention of Partners for Economic Solutions (PES) based out of D.C. on the city's website was in connection with the Dover Kohl study of Gilchrist Park in 2019, in a “work in progress study” of the Citywide Master Plan 2019.

The City’s Comprehensive Plan’s studies included data from various sources, ranging from the city of Punta Gorda to Punta Gorda itself, Charlotte County, surrounding areas in Southwest Florida, even referencing national data.

It also presented a mix of outdated information, and often combined statistics from different regions, which resulted in inaccurate representations of our City, which is quite unique and different from other areas of even Charlotte County itself.

Furthermore, the City’s Comprehensive Plan discussed the impact of COVID-19, but overlooked the true effects of two hurricanes that impacted our city. It did state Fishermen’s village, which we must remember is no longer publically owned, was “destroyed by hurricane Ian” – Was it truly destroyed? And why are other businesses not mentioned?

Below in red is what is stated in the City’s Comprehensive Plan.

Comprehensive Plan: Future Land Use: Page 17/87

More than before, Punta Gorda will have to concentrate on protecting its existing assets, such as during the pandemic recovery, including the historic downtown and restoring Fishermen’s Village, once a colorful, vibrant artist colony and highly popular tourist destination, but now destroyed by hurricane Ian.

Per Florida statute 163.3177 located in part

1(f)(3): “If there are physical limitations on the populations growth, it must be identified.” i didn't come across any mention in the proposed city’s comprehensive plan referring to our city's unique geographical situation, where it's situated on a peninsula surrounded by water, thus the name “fat point”, which inherently constrains any potential for expansion.

The Florida statute also states: “The plan must define the population densities and the building structure intensities”. 3(a)(6)(a)(1)

Below is the downtown rendering from the Dover Kohl report.

Urbanization

The statute also states: ”The need for redevelopment, including the renewal of blighted areas and the elimination of nonconforming uses which are inconsistent with the character of the community”. 3(a)(6)(a)(2)(e). The recently approved Land development regulations are clearly inconsistent with the character of the community with their new height and densities.

Blight is a shorthand term many people use to refer to properties they perceive as problematic in some way: appearing unsafe, visually unpleasant, or a threat to neighborhood property values. They might also describe those blighted properties as “eyesores,” “dilapidated,” “ruined,” or “derelict.” It’s a pervasive word in community revitalization, urban planning, and housing policy.

Now keep in mind that property owners have the right to keep their land vacant. So is their property then classified as "blighted"?

The state Statute also addresses how future land use should discourage urban sprawl.(3)(a)(9) As I have said many times: We are not urban. Wikipedia Definition of Urban sprawl is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city"/

^[2] Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning.

^[3] In addition to describing a special form of urbanization, the term also relates to the social and environmental consequences associated with this development”.

Pay close attention to this definition from Wikipedia continuing the definition of urban sprawl: “The cost of building urban infrastructure for new developments is hardly ever recouped through property taxes, amounting to a subsidy for the developers and new residents at the expense of existing property taxpayers”.

NOT Urban & More

Our small population doesn't perceive our city as urban. There is NO public transportation, and our current infrastructure cannot support the classification of our city as urban. Nor do we want to be identified as urban.

We do not want pollution, infrastructure failures, crime or anything else that defines urbanism. Moreover, we do not want the property tax burden of becoming urban.

The City of Punta Gorda comprehensive plan addressed the issue of our aging potable water and sewer systems, highlighting that the potable water has reached the end of its service life, with the sewer system projected to reach this point by 2027.

This is a substantial concern, particularly in light of the recent council decision to expand residential zoning at a significant scale along with allowing more residential apartments/condos per acre with the newly proposed land development regulations. This intensification further strains our already struggling infrastructure and confirms our city should NOT be urban.

If you've been reading the letters to the editor in the newspapers, you may have noticed the opponent’s campaign attempting to tarnish my reputation. It's unfortunate that they have to resort to blatant falsehoods in an attempt to gain support. I appreciate all of you for doing your due diligence and recognizing that these are false statements, and the letters are primarily coming from non-residential voters in the city.

On a lighter note: As we've previously talked about the vandalism of our business signs within the city, I've mentioned two of them. The one with the blacked-out front teeth (ironically, being a dentist) has now been transformed into a Halloween-themed sign.

It was not worth being upset; So I decided to have some fun with it.

Join us for sign waving this Saturday! It's been a blast, and the enthusiastic honks and waves from cars and people passing by us showing that our residents' voices are resonating, sharing the same vision for our community as we do. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has dedicated their valuable time to wave signs and support my campaign.

We still have more signs and are happy to bring them to you. Please sign up for one on the website. www.dluxcouncil.com.

16 days until November 7th. Your support and engagement are vital as we work together to make the right decisions for the future of our beautiful city.

I kindly request that you share my newsletters and help spread the word encouraging everyone, ALL the residents in all of the districts of the city, to go out and vote for me.

Don't forget, early voting is already underway, with 1969 voters having cast their ballots. Early voting is at the old courthouse located on Taylor Street.

We're on the brink of an important moment in our campaign. It's not just about securing one more vote than my opponent; it's about making a resounding statement. With the incredible support I'm witnessing from all of you, it's clear that we can't settle for just a narrow margin. Let's push the boundaries and ensure that every single voice in our community is heard loud and clear through OUR votes.

Vote Deborah Lux!

Together, we can create an undeniable message that residents' voices are what truly matter in our beloved Harborside Hometown city.

Thank you!

Debi

Inform your neighbors about my candidacy and my commitment to listening to residents and small businesses. Encourage them to meet me, share our newsletters and click to LIKE our Facebook page.

I Need Your Help to WIN!

Vote by Mail?

VERY IMPORTANT! If you vote by mail, please note that Vote-By-Mail ballots made prior to November 8, 2022 have expired. Be sure to renew in time to receive the ballot mailing for November 7th election. See below.

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Vote Early in Person: Oct 9th - Nov 6th Charlotte County Historic Courthouse 226 Taylor Street Punta Gorda 33950

Monday-Friday 8am - 5pm

Contact: Charlotte County Supervisor of Elections: 941-833-5400

Find Your Polling Location: SOECharlotteCountyFL.gov

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