PROPOSED RESOLUTION NO. 2012-R-03 RESOLUTION NO.

____ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA, OPPOSING THE SITING OF AN IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT(ICE) DETENTION CENTER IN THE TOWN OF SOUTHWEST RANCHES; URGING THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO INTERVENE IN THE SITING OF AN ICE DETENTION CENTER IN THE TOWN OF SOUTHWEST RANCHES OR DIRECT ICE TO CONSIDER THE INPUT OF NEIGHBORING MUNICIPALITIES, INCLUDING THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES; REAFFIRMING THE CITYS COMMITMENT TO COMPLY WITH ANY AND ALL OBLIGATIONS UNDER APPLICABLE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL LAW; PROVIDING FOR CONFLICTS; PROVIDING FOR SEVERABILITY AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City of Pembroke Pines (City) is the eleventh (11th) largest city in the State of Florida, with a population of 154,750 residents according to 2010 United States Census Bureau estimates; and WHEREAS, in 2004, the City was awarded the National Civic Leagues coveted All-America City Award and was a finalist in 2003; and WHEREAS, in 2010, the City was named by Bloomberg BusinessWeek as one of its Best Places to Raise your Kids; and WHEREAS, the City proudly operates the largest municipal charter school system in the United States; and WHEREAS, the median household income in the City is 30% greater than the Florida average and 18.6% greater than the national average; and WHEREAS, the Town of Southwest Ranches (Southwest Ranches)was Page 1 of 9

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incorporated in 2000 and is comprised of three unconnected parcels of land neighboring the City; and WHEREAS, one of said parcels of land incorporated within Southwest Ranches was selected by Southwest Ranches due to the fact that said parcel was owned by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA); and WHEREAS, the CCA parcel located within Southwest Ranches is immediately adjacent to and surrounded by residential neighborhoods of the City, yet distant from Southwest Ranches, and the area which consists mainly of high-end homes in the $250,000 to $500,000 range and compatible commercial and low industrial uses; and WHEREAS, the South Florida region, including Broward County, has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country; and WHEREAS, Coldwell Banker has issued warnings to prospective homeowners that a detention center is coming and they take no liability if property values decrease, and whereas other suburban areas where detention centers have been located reportedly have seen decreases in property values (area in Arizona); and WHEREAS, the City has been working diligently to offset the continued rate of foreclosures in these residential neighborhoods, as well as other parts of the City; and WHEREAS, a 1987 study by Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University on the impact of correctional facilities on property values concluded that there was a twelve percent (12%) drop in home values in higher income areas as a result of such facilities; and WHEREAS, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has Page 2 of 9

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agreed to a plan with the CCA and Southwest Ranches to locate an ICE detention center in Southwest Ranches; and WHEREAS, ICE, CCA and Southwest Ranches now propose to place a 1,500bed Detention Center in Southwest Ranches, which would be the largest facility of its type in the United States; and WHEREAS, the State of Florida has been experiencing a surplus of corrections facilities resulting in many being closed that are currently built and available in proper areas to accept these individuals; and WHEREAS, originally the plans for the Immigration Detention Center called for a 2,500-bed center and the City remains unsure if plans include expansion in the future; and WHEREAS, the proposed facility legally falls within the water/sewer service area of the City, however the City has concerns about the facilitys future expansion and the Citys ability to provide service to a larger capacity; and WHEREAS, the City is very concerned about future water capacity and, in light of such uncertainty, hopes to avoid having to strain in the future to provide residents with sufficient water and sewer service; and WHEREAS, ICE has demonstrated no interest in substantively including or requiring that the City become a party of interest in this matter even though we would bear the burdens and impacts of this facility simply because the parcel they are considering is located within the municipal boundary of Southwest Ranches, effectively depriving the City of any legitimate means to protect itself, its properties and its citizens Page 3 of 9

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from the well-documented negative effects of ICE detention centers; and WHEREAS, the City wrote to ICE copying a letter from an environmental lawyer indicating that they were proceeding in violation of National Environmental Policy Act and the response received from ICE was dismissive, unresponsive and generally expressed lack of concern about the Citys serious environmental worries; and WHEREAS, the City finds those policies insulting because they intentionally exclude the involvement and input of affected municipalities, so much so that the Citys letters to ICE regarding environmental concerns, among other issues, have essentially been dismissed as if the Citys opinions about this matter didn't add up to two cents and the City finds that kind of behavior arrogant and insulting to the citizens of the City; and WHEREAS, ICE should have demanded that the City be made an equal partner in these discussions since the City would bear the traffic, impact and day-to-day connection to this facility while the building itself would unlikely even be visible to any resident of Southwest Ranches; and WHEREAS, ICE has picked a parcel that lies directly next to a pre-existing State of Florida Prison and next to a Broward County owned parcel that is designated for a jail; and WHEREAS, on January12, 2012, the State of Florida Department of Corrections (the Department) announced their intention to close seven (7) prisons and four (4) forestry/work camps by July 1, 2012, including the womens prison that already exists in the subject area; and WHEREAS, the State of Floridas projected closure of the womens prison will Page 4 of 9

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provide much-needed relief to the residents of the area, yet residents remain under the threat of the development of the proposed ICE facility; and WHEREAS, in light of the announcement by the Department, it makes more economic and practical sense for ICE to site its detention center at an existing location elsewhere rather than expend the funds to build an unnecessary new facility adjacent to a residential community; and WHEREAS, the real estate community agrees and some real estate agencies have begun issuing warnings to prospective homebuyers that they take no responsibility for future property values resulting from the proposed detention center; and WHEREAS, the residents of the City are overwhelmingly opposed to the siting of this facility, finding it incompatible with our community standards and with the widely held view that comprehensive immigration reform is the better approach for our nation to embrace; and WHEREAS, the City has previously resolved to oppose Arizona-style immigration laws and to support the Dream Act and any measure that would humanely treat immigrants while properly protecting our borders from unauthorized intrusion; and WHEREAS, the City opposes privately run corrections facilities, believing that good public policy dictates that any person deprived of their liberty should be so deprived by and held by a sworn government employee ultimately subject to the direction of executives, under the oversight of elected legislators; and WHEREAS, the City believes that detention services should be a non-delegable governmental duty and objects to the privatization of correctional facilities on the basis Page 5 of 9

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of good public policy; and WHEREAS, in the event that this facility should open, we have provided CCA with a ten (10) point list of concerns that residents themselves have generated and we have no assurance that those points will be incorporated into the design and operations of the facility, or that the City would be given any legal rights at all to help enforce community standards not followed as a federally funded facility; and WHEREAS, the City finds the manner in which this ICE detention center matter has proceeded to be intentionally insulting and intentionally excluding the City so that Southwest Ranches could derive some revenue, for the convenience of ICE employees who could more effectively operate out of other facilities, and the profit benefit of CCA; and WHEREAS, there are other cities in Florida that would actually welcome this facility, including Florida City and Palm Bay, while the City of Pembroke Pines does not welcome this facility; and WHEREAS, in addition to the facilities that are slated to close, there are numerous other structures in the area capable of handling at least 1,200 people or more that require no expenditure of construction funds during this fiscally challenged time in the federal government, yet these facilities stand vacant instead of being put to use to meet ICE needs; and WHEREAS, the City finds it incomprehensible that such waste would occur at a time when the United States Administration is seeking to find funds to offset a horrible deficit; and Page 6 of 9

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WHEREAS, a number of the neighboring property owners associations and homeowners associations (collectively, the Associations) which will be directly affected by the proposed facility have expressed their staunch opposition to the development of the same, including, but not limited to, the following Associations: Grand Palms, Estancia, Pembroke Shores, Silver Lakes, Encantada, Alhambra, Walden Lakes, Chapel Trail, Keystone Lakes, Laguna Isles, Lido Isles, Century Village, Durango, The Trails, Malibu Bay, Pembroke Isles, Spring Valley, Towngate and Park Crossing; and WHEREAS, the aforementioned Associations are comprised of approximately 90,000 residents; and WHEREAS, there are approximately 15,000 school children residing and attending schools within the general vicinity of the proposed facility, and the City has a particular interest in ensuring the safety and protection of these individuals; and WHEREAS, the City Commission finds it in the best interest of the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and citizens of the City of Pembroke Pines to oppose the siting of an ICE detention facility in Southwest Ranches and urges the President of the United States of America to intervene in the siting of an ICE detention facility in Southwest Ranches or direct the appropriate federal agencies to consider the suggestions of neighboring municipalities, including the City of Pembroke Pines. NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Commission of the City of Pembroke Pines, Florida: Section 1. The foregoing "WHEREAS" clauses are hereby ratified and

confirmed as being true and correct and are hereby made a specific part of this Page 7 of 9

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Resolution. Section 2. The City opposes the siting of a detention center in the Town of

Southwest Ranches or at any other location in the vicinity of the City. Section 3. The City urges the President of the United States to intervene in the

siting of an ICE detention facility in Southwest Ranches. Section 4. The City reaffirms its commitment to comprehensive immigration

reform which should exclude the need for detention facilities such as that planned to be sited in Southwest Ranches. Section 5. The City demands that ICE no longer exclude neighboring

municipalities from their siting protocol and offer them some legal standing when it is clear that they will be impacted negatively by location of their planned facility. Section 6. In the event that the Citys requests are ignored, which would be

deeply disappointing to the Citys residents, the City asks that, minimally, the ten point plan presented by the City to CCA be insisted upon and implemented by ICE in a contractual manner which would give the City the legal ability to enforce those provisions. Section 7. Notwithstanding the Citys objections, as set forth herein, the City

Commission hereby reaffirms the Citys commitment to comply with any and all applicable provisions of local, state and federal law. Section 8. All resolutions or parts of resolutions in conflict herewith are hereby

repealed to the extent of such conflict. Section 9. If any clause, section, other part or application of this Resolution is Page 8 of 9

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held by any court of competent jurisdiction to be unconstitutional or invalid, in part or application, it shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions or applications of this Resolution. Section 10. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA, THIS ___ DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2012. CITY OF PEMBROKE PINES, FLORIDA ATTEST: ______________________________ JUDITH A. NEUGENT, CITY CLERK _____________ CASTILLO McCLUSKEY APPROVED AS TO FORM: SHECHTER _____________________________ OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY SIPLE _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ By: ____________________________ MAYOR FRANK C. ORTIS ORTIS

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