Second try to annex Goshen land to Florida fails

Florida — A second attempt to annex two parcels of Goshen land to the Village of Florida failed last week. The Goshen Town Board rejected the first attempt by the applicant, El Karpo Ltd., in October 2004. El Karpo and its chief executive officer, Elias Muhlrad, prepared plans for a 105-unit housing development for senior citizens — known in zoning codes as a planned adult community — that would use Florida’s water and sewer systems. The town gave three reasons for rejecting the 2004 petition. The annexation would have isolated seven other Goshen parcels of land from the rest of the town, potentially causing problems for Goshen’s police and other emergency services. Lost property tax revenue was another factor. There was also a legal technicality, in that there was no corporate notification to guarantee that the person who signed the petition for El Karpo had the authority to do so. The new petition includes an additional five-acre parcel on the Goshen-Florida border owned by Katharine and Gary Randall. The remaining Goshen properties will be still be isolated except for a connection via Route 17A. Town officials now say the lost tax revenue issue is a “wash” because the annexed properties will still have to pay Goshen town tax. Those properties will no longer pay Goshen taxes for highway work or police protection because the town won’t be providing those services. In addition, the petitioner said he will issue a check for $1,000 for each housing unit completed, for a total of $105,000. At its meeting on Feb. 9, the town board agreed to the annexation on three conditions. First, El Karpo must agree to pay Goshen the $1,000 per unit before the building inspector will issue a certificate of occupancy for that unit. The entire $105,000 must be paid in full within five years of the contract date even if all the units have not been completed. Second, if the property is sold before the five-year date, the $105,000 must be paid in full to the town at the closing. Third, El Karpo must add a deed restriction to limit the property to residential use only. The town at first asked that the property be limited to planned adult communities to ensure that the petitioner builds what he says he will. But Florida’s attorney said the request was too restrictive. Councilman George Lyons voted against the annexation because he wanted the applicant to agree to the deed restriction on planned adult communities. Councilman Phil Canterino also objected because of an apparent contradiction in the town board’s resolution on the annexation. The resolution says the annexation must not affect the Florida school system. But if houses are built instead of a senior citizens complex, he said, there will be an influx of children in the Florida school system. The two requirements contradict each other, he said. The town has an additional 45 days to work on the resolution and expects to come to an agreement before that deadline.