Tag Archives: Steve Geller

Broward County Commission Considers Two New Locations Near Plantation For Permanent Homeless Camp

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On Tuesday, the Broward County Commission discussed building permanent homeless encampments at two new locations near the City of Plantation. The Commission workshop considered plans to build “pallet homes” on six locations in Broward. The County believes pallet home encampments will help them comply with a new State law which prohibits homeless camping.

Broadview Park location for homeless encampment
Planned Homeless Encampment Near Plantation
Homeless encampment location behind Pine Ridge school

Of the six locations, three properties are owned by Broward County and three are owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale. Two of the County properties are located in far-southwestern Broward near Stirling Road and Sheridan Street. Mayor Nan Rich said both locations are too far away from homeless services.

The third County location is a group of parcels between Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades. The parcels are heavily wooded and prone to flooding. Mayor Rich said it would take to long to make the “Shaw parcels” viable for an encampment.

One property owned by the City of Fort Lauderdale would take even longer to make viable. A location near Cypress Creek Road and Prospect Road is currently a lake. County officials said the lake could be filled and then used for pallet homes.

The two other Fort Lauderdale properties are in the unincorporated Broadview Park neighborhood.

One property is a heavily wooded field behind the Pine Ridge School near State Road 7 and Peters Road.

The most shovel-ready property is a cleared field in Broadview Park across the street from Meadowbrook Elementary School.

On the other side of Meadowbrook is an overgrown property that Fort Lauderdale officials suggested as a location for a homeless encampment.

Last month, REDBROWARD broke the news about the City of Fort Lauderdale’s plan to build 100 pallet homes for the homeless on this Broadview Park site. This plan would place a homeless encampment across the street from Plantation.

Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller, who represents Broadview Park and parts of Plantation, voiced his disapproval of this plan. “Hell no,” Geller said.

On Tuesday, Geller objected to the two new locations in Broadview Park.

Even Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal spoke out last month about the plan. “While the City of Plantation is sensitive to the plight of the homeless individuals in Broward County and willing to work collaboratively on effective strategies to deal with the issue, the Broadview Park effort discussed by the City of Fort Lauderdale is unacceptable,” Sortal wrote. “We find the concept to be in violation of the relevant state statutes and I have directed the City Attorney and our planning staff to monitor this issue moving forward.”

Now, Broadview Park could be home to three pallet home encampments.

Will Plantation City officials allow hundreds of pallet home shelter to be build across the street from City neighborhoods?

H. Wayne Clark, a Republican running for Plantation City Council Group 5, made opposition to homeless encampments a key component of his campaign.

His opponent, Democrat Louis Reinstein did not respond to requests for comment on the Broadview Park plans.

Will Broward Mayor Nan Rich get her way on homeless encampments near Plantation?

Will Louis Reinstein tell Nan Rich “Hell no?”

Stay tuned.

Location for proposed homeless encampment in heart of Broadview Park.

Plantation Mayor: Broadview Park Homeless Camp Proposal “Unacceptable”

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Plantation Mayor Nick Sortal says the proposal to build a homless encampment in Broadview Park is “unacceptable.” On Tuesday, REDBROWARD broke the news about the City of Fort Lauderdale’s plan to build 100 pallet homes for the homeless on land it owns in unincorporated Broward. The camp would be in the middle of a residential neighborhood across the street from Plantation.

Fort Lauderdale submitted its proposal to Broward County Mayor Nan Rich and the County Administrator several weeks ago. According to Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, the County has not responded to the proposal.

The County and municipalities are seeking ways to shelter homeless individuals ahead of the new anti-public camping and sleeping State law which goes into effect next month.

Yesterday, Broward County Commissioner Steve Geller told REDBROWARD he opposes the Broadview Park plan. “ I do not support placing the homeless palette shelters in Broadview Park,” Geller said.

On Wednesday, Mayor Nick Sortal finally responded in a special update on the city’s website. While the City was open to plans to help the homeless, Sortal said the pallet home plan was “unacceptable.”

Sortal said the City was not aware of the plan until Tuesday.

Here is Sortal’s complete statement:

The City of Plantation recently became aware of a discussion that the City of Fort Lauderdale had on Sept. 17 about the establishment of a pallet home project for the homeless at a parcel they own in unincorporated Broward County. The property is located at 4590 Peters Road, just south of the City of Plantation and nestled between two single-family neighborhoods in the municipal services district.

At no point was the City of Plantation engaged in any conversation regarding this matter prior to the issue being raised at Fort Lauderdale’s Conference Meeting on Sept. 17. While Mayor Dean Trantalis indicated that this concept was communicated to the County, it is important to note that when I reached out to County Commissioner Steve Geller, he emailed the following response while out of the country:

“I’ve heard nothing about a proposal from the City of Fort Lauderdale to place Homeless Palette Shelters in Broadview Park. Broadview Park is entirely in my district. I do not support placing palette shelters in Broadview Park. I am out of town. When I get back into town, I’ll discuss this further. For now, I do not support placing the homeless palette shelters in Broadview Park and my office has not received any communications about this from the City of Fort Lauderdale or any Broward County Agency.”

Subsequent phone calls to other leaders indicated that there may be similar plans in their infancy throughout the county. While the City of Plantation is sensitive to the plight of the homeless individuals in Broward County and willing to work collaboratively on effective strategies to deal with the issue, the Broadview Park effort discussed by the City of Fort Lauderdale is unacceptable. We find the concept to be in violation of the relevant state statutes and I have directed the City Attorney and our planning staff to monitor this issue moving forward. The City of Fort Lauderdale’s attempt to mitigate this issue outside of its boundaries in the middle of a single-family community will be vigorously opposed. 


The City of Plantation recently became aware of a discussion that the City of Fort Lauderdale had on Sept. 17 about the establishment of a pallet home project for the homeless at a parcel they own in unincorporated Broward County. The property is located at 4590 Peters Road, just south of the City of Plantation and nestled between two single-family neighborhoods in the municipal services district.
At no point was the City of Plantation engaged in any conversation regarding this matter prior to the issue being raised at Fort Lauderdale’s Conference Meeting on Sept. 17. While Mayor Dean Trantalis indicated that this concept was communicated to the County, it is important to note that when I reached out to County Commissioner Steve Geller, he emailed the following response while out of the country:
“I’ve heard nothing about a proposal from the City of Fort Lauderdale to place Homeless Palette Shelters in Broadview Park. Broadview Park is entirely in my district. I do not support placing palette shelters in Broadview Park. I am out of town. When I get back into town, I’ll discuss this further. For now, I do not support placing the homeless palette shelters in Broadview Park and my office has not received any communications about this from the City of Fort Lauderdale or any Broward County Agency.”
Subsequent phone calls to other leaders indicated that there may be similar plans in their infancy throughout the county. While the City of Plantation is sensitive to the plight of the homeless individuals in Broward County and willing to work collaboratively on effective strategies to deal with the issue, the Broadview Park effort discussed by the City of Fort Lauderdale is unacceptable. We find the concept to be in violation of the relevant state statutes and I have directed the City Attorney and our planning staff to monitor this issue moving forward. The City of Fort Lauderdale’s attempt to mitigate this issue outside of its boundaries in the middle of a single-family community will be vigorously opposed. 

Nick Sortal