Maggy Hurchalla has died at age 81 after a full and storied life. She had for many become as close to a saint as any mortal can. For others, Hurchalla was the devil incarnate.
She was actually neither one. Hurchalla was a dedicated environmentalist with sharp elbows that sometimes her opponents didn’t see coming. A five-time county commissioner, she was no stranger to the art of politics and knew how to line up her supporters when necessary.
Like many of us, she came to Martin County and fell in love with the place. A true believer of Everglades restoration and the “mother” of Martin County’s slow growth movement. She was equally at home paddling our rivers as speaking before groups of both admirers and detractors. She could be dogmatic, and her refusal to apologize for her actions regarding Lakepoint and its judgement against her proved that.
Photo From Conservation Fund
She was the architect of Martin County’s original comp plan. Many believe that it is what sets us apart from our southern and northern neighbors, and it is no doubt a big contributor to how we see ourselves. She was thought of as a link to our pioneer past and bulwark to the encroaching future.
Martin County is a place that has development battles on a regular basis. There may be another one brewing with the change in the comp plan being proposed. I know where Maggy would be on the issue. And I know where some of the development community is.
What I don’t know is where I stand on the proposed changes for adding a rural lifestyle land use designation. I doubt many members of the public know either…if they even know there is a change being proposed. There has been no outreach to everyday citizens. Sure, presentations have been made to the elite Guardians but not to the “Smith” or “Jones” families.
Recently, the county rewrote the CRA codes. There was extensive outreach to the people. It took some time, and the result was that our residents did not protest the adoption. No such outreach here. In fact, it is almost as if this is a hidden proposal.
Courtesy of Florida Politics
Whether you thought Maggy was a saint or a devil, Martin County owes the same level of scrutiny to this change to our comp plan as we had for the CRAs. Hurchalla is part of our history and so is her environmental and land use advocacy.
The best way to honor her would be to have a series of workshops and outreach when introducing any new land use so that it can be reviewed in the open. Without that level of outreach and transparency, it seems as if county government is trying to get one over on everyday Martin County residents. And that is something Maggy fought against, and we should too.