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Pembroke Pines, Florida

Pembroke Pines, Florida owes its name to its founding location on Pembroke Road in the midst of a large grove of ” Pinus clausa ” Sand Pine trees. Pembroke Road was named for an early landowner from Britain known as the Earl of Pembroke. Pembroke Pines has grown into a 33 square mile parcel since its inception as the Village of Pembroke Pines in 1959 on a parcel of land less than a square mile in size.

The City motto is “Come Grow with Us” and it has done just that in leaps and bounds. Officially becoming a city in 1960, the growth started and hasn’t stopped. When the city couldn’t expand north due to the boundaries of the North Perry Airport developer, Joseph La Croix, annexed his 320-acre parcel to the city for its northern expansion. In 1977, part of this parcel became the new home of the Broward Correctional Institution. It provided employment and resident expansion with the 250 new jobs it created in the city of Pembroke Pines.

Additional land was annexed in 1980 that doubled the size of the city. Interstate 75 also came along about this time and Pembroke Pine, FL was soaring. Pembroke Pines saw such a surge in new residents and housing starts that by 1990 the City of Pembroke Pines was third in a list of Fastest Growing Cities in the U.S. After Hurricane Andrew made landfall in 1992, destroying millions of dollars in coastal housing, Pembroke Pines again surged with displaced coastal residents looking for a new home.

The City of Pembroke Pines, FL has a well-earned reputation as an innovative and responsive municipal government organization. Pembroke Pines was the winner of the National Civic League‘s coveted “All-America City Award” in 2004 as well as the 2003 runner up. The U.S. Conference of Mayors awarded the city the “Outstanding Achievement Award” in the “2005 City Livability Awards” Program.

Located in Broward County, Pembroke Pines is the county’s second largest city, and the 11th largest in the state, with an estimated 2006 Census opulation of 150,000 residents. Pembroke Pines‘ growth has meant a surge in school-aged residents as well. In addition to services provided by Broward County Board of Education, Pembroke Pines created a large number of Charter Schools to service the city’s educational needs. The Judson A. Samuels South Campus of the Broward College is located in the city of Pembroke Pines and confers Associate in Arts, Associate in Science, and Associate in Applied Science degrees. Additionally, the college offers a dual-enrollment programs for motivated high school juniors and seniors that allows them to graduate with an A.A. degree simultaneously with their high school diploma. Keiser University campus at Pembroke Pines provides the opportunity to obtain a career-focused education in a growing field, such as business, criminal justice or nursing, rounding out the educational offerings in Pembroke Pines.

Social activities for residents’ entertainment is an on-going calendar of events. The Focal Point Senior Center runs an annual and quite successful Antique & Collectibles show. And then there’s the Art Festival in the Pines and the Fall Arts and Craft Show. The Arts Park not only presents shows by the Susan B. Katz Theater of the Performing Arts but it hosts the City of Pembroke Pines’ “ River of Grass Arts Park ” and holds art, music, and drama classes in support of aspiring local talent. And don’t overlook one of the area’s finer golf courses. The Pembroke Lakes Golf and Racquet Club just reopened after a $7 million dollar renovation.

Pembroke Pines, Florida is part of Broward County ‘s 17th Judicial Circuit of Florida. The 17th Judicial Circuit serves a community encompassing 1,197 square miles in South Florida and containing a population of 1.8 million. Florida currently operates under a two-tier trial court system of circuit and county courts, established in 1972. In the circuit and county trial courts, disputes are resolved by jury trials or by non-jury trials. County Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction where misdemeanor and civil cases are heard. In the Circuit Courts, which are the highest state trial courts in Florida, felony, civil, family, juvenile and probate matters are heard.

There are four area courthouses: the Broward County Judicial Complex, 201 Southeast 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301; the North Regional Courthouse, 1600 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442; the South Regional Courthouse, 3550 Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, FL 33021; and the West Regional Courthouse, 100 North Pine Island Road, Plantation, FL 33324.