When Martin County passed a comp plan that tightened its four-story height limits in 2013, I applauded the action. Along with the clear majority of county residents, I support that height restriction in the county — and in Stuart. Do I think the recent change passed by the Board of County Commissioners will result in the limit going away? I don’t! In fact, what I have come to understand is that the actions taken may strengthen the four-story maximum height limit by removing the possibility of legal challenges to it.

What I now appreciate as a City Commissioner is how one action can have the opposite effect from what was intended. Trying to apply a universal rule is quite difficult, especially when it comes to land use or zoning. I believe it is much better to approach each application individually. Unfortunately, there needs to be some “as-of-right” development and zoning so that there is not a bottleneck every time a house is to be built or a business is to be opened. “As-of-right” development is development which is in compliance with all regulations and, therefore, does not need any discretionary action for approval.

We can shape zoning and neighborhoods by the liberal use of neighborhood overlays. I have been working with the new City Manager regarding having neighborhood meetings so that the City can narrowly focus on what residents want within distinct boundaries. In the immediate, and I would say long term future, it is important that we preserve our residential home areas and for the City to concentrate on commercial and multi-family development within our economic corridors such as Federal Highway and Kanner Highway.

We do need to grow larger and more diverse to maintain our vibrancy as a City. Our population ratio in comparison to Martin County’s will continue to diminish, which will make our long-term viability less and less sustainable. So much of the revenue the City receives is based on the percentage of Stuart’s population as compared with Martin County’s overall population. Our political clout as a City becomes less and less as the percentage of voters continues to decrease as a ratio of total voters in the County.

We can continue to enjoy our status as the most livable city on the Treasure Coast and thrive economically and politically. But nothing is done within isolation. Stuart, Martin County and our nation are going through a great period of technological change. Many people just want to return to the “good old days.” While much about the past should be remembered and revered, we should not be in fear of the future. If we want to actually maintain the best that we have, we will only ultimately do so by looking ahead.