The April 19th BOCC meeting regarding the Rural Lifestyle amendment to the comp plan was one where the outcome was no surprise…at least to a few astute observers.
What made Becker Farms believe they could get this passed in fearful Martin County? Where was the constituency for this change which might have been a good idea with a ridiculous name? More importantly, where was the outreach?
Photo From Conservation Fund
We heard from Becker that they held meetings onsite…a couple of hundred in fact. But were they with regular Martin County citizens? No, they were with the usual suspects including me. They won me over for their specific project, but we never spoke about applying a new land use category countywide.
That was one of the problems. Was Becker Farms speaking for the Discovery Project or for a countywide land classification being created and applied? This confused people more than it should have. What a waste of time and resources this foolishness became.
Of the more than 50 people who spoke at the commission meeting, by an almost 3-1 majority, it was in opposition to the amendment. A distinct minority were in favor of the project even if they opposed the countywide land designation. This was a colossal failure on the part of Becker but much more so on the part of the county’s growth management department.
Perhaps the department was right that doing projects by exception is not the best planning tool. That does not mean you can ram a poorly named new land use classification down the public’s throat. What the county, Becker, and Becker’s consultants did not consider was that this was not about land planning but a vision of what the western county is going to look like.
Their vision was about maps and not open land which is what Martin County wants to see. They spoke about color squares representing tens or hundreds of acres, not the pictures of homes that could go there if it were mishandled. Preachers paint pictures using cadence and words…staff drone on to make sure even those interested lose the ability to care.
The commission voted to table the matter and allow Becker to come back without paying additional fees. I hope Becker comes back with the land use amendment of rural lifestyle changed to the name of rural resort but to be applied only to their project. Having the 800 acres in conservation is a good step. Allowing public access to the Atlantic Ridge Preserve Park is a great public benefit and all the rest outlined in the original proposal for the 313 homes to be built there is a home run.
Once Discovery is approved, there should then be charettes and meetings, etc. to discuss what to do with our western lands. They should be conducted throughout the county by using an organization such as the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council and not the Guardians. If the public’s questions could be answered and consensus achieved, perhaps this Becker land use could be applied to several more properties.
Smith mentioned buying more land to connect and create an environmental flow way which is a great idea. Funding needs to be secured for that, but Ciampi also had another great idea to dedicate a percentage of the increased real estate taxes from Discovery and apply it to buying environmentally sensitive lands. If pledged, it could result in obtaining a loan or bonds.
Government has a proclivity for screwing things up. They certainly did so in this case. Yet there is still time to right the ship. Just don’t believe that elites or the moneyed are always going to do it for you.