Q: I recently saw an article about the anti-growth sentiment that has occurred in many South Florida cities. Let me quote from the March 19, 2004, Daily Business Review.

"The residents of the seaside town south of Bal Harbour are hardly alone. Throughout the tri-county area, from Miami Beach to Jupiter, voters in recent municipal elections claimed a greater role in zoning decision-making or sent a clear signal to their elected officials that they wanted to slow down development. In several cities, incumbents viewed as developer friendly were either tossed from office or faced serious opposition."

There have been claims made by concerned citizens that the cities have been given too many waivers on height, setbacks and parking for development projects.

Now here's my question. I am considering a condo hotel in Ft. Lauderdale. What do you think this anti-growth sentiment could mean specifically for Ft. Lauderdale?

A: Ft. Lauderdale is one of the cities where there has been much anti-growth sentiment. It means that future developments will have a more difficult time in becoming a reality, if at all.

Those developments that already exist or are in the process of being developed should enjoy future business without the threat of future nearby competition. Future developments will be costly which will make existing developments cheap by comparison.

The above question was submitted via e-mail by a visitor to www.condohotelcenter.com. The answer was prepared by Joel Greene, a licensed real estate broker with Condo Hotel Center which specializes in the sale of condo hotel units and fractional ownerships in private residence clubs.