A victory for property owners in the Town of Southwest Ranches

Last night the residents at Landmark Ranch Estates won a battle for their rights to protect themselves and their property. It has been a position for many years among some residents of the town of Southwest Ranches, Florida that the rural character of a town is defined an open access policy. One resident put it “I have lived here for 30 years and the ability to drive on any road in our town is what separates us from towns with gated communities like Weston and Pembroke Pines.”

While “open access” for all is a wonderful concept, the reality is more nefarious. We live in a world where not all people have good intentions. Most of us are honest and trustworthy, but there are sometimes bad apples in the barrel. The question is does the ability for everyone to freely access all homes in a town outweigh the property owner’s rights to protect themselves and their families. This is an emotional decision and both sides have merits.

Yesterday, this question was answered. The Homeowner’s Association of Landmark Ranch Estates had put this issue before the town council of Southwest Ranches, Florida. For seven years the community of Landmark Ranch Estates has allowed open access to anyone who desired to come inside, even though all of the roads are private and maintained by the residents. However, for many reasons, the safety and security of the residents has become a concern and they requested to restrict access by gating this beautiful community.

This was not an easy task, but certainly a mandate by an overwhelming majority of the property owners motivated by a unified effort to protect their property rights. The issue of whether or not to permit these gates was presented by the association’s attorney, Neil Kalis, who did an outstanding job informing the town council as to the facts allowing for this gate to be approved. The town council who has historically been opposed to gating communities spent more time on this issue than perhaps any other single plat amendment in the history of the town. The debate raged on for over three hours. Residents from the entire town expressed their views, some for and some against. Emotions were charged and everyone had an opinion, but the majority of those present supported the owner’s rights for protection.

Once the residents had their say, the council members debated this conundrum amongst themselves. They were torn between the long-standing position of allowing open access and the protection of property rights and safety for homeowner’s. Clearly, there was no decision that would satisfy everyone in the room. After all of the council members had their say, they ultimately believed that protecting the town’s citizens was more important than allowing open access. However, they also felt strongly that equestrian use be permitted in the community by any who chose to enter. Although some private property rights were sacrificed, the homeowners that were present at the meeting believed that the compromise was worth the exchange. A private gate for an equestrian easement was a fair trade off.

In the end, the council voted in favor of the gates by a unanimous decision with the provision that riders on horses would have the right to enter the community. This is a clear victory for property rights and the homeowner’s of Landmark Ranch Estates, a victory that the residents of this great community fought hard to achieve. I congratulate them, the town council for their courage and the residents of the town of Southwest Ranches for doing what is right, what is just and what is fair.

The next item is construction the gate at Landmark Ranch Estates in Southwest Ranches, Florida.