Category Archives: Government Spending and Taxation

The Truth About Treasure Coast Classical Academy

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Last week, I visited the campus of Treasure Coast Classical Academy (TCCA) at its temporary site on 34th Street in Palm City.

I was an early supporter of the school, dating back to when it was in its planning stages. There is no doubt in my mind that a school with this curriculum is needed in Martin County. It may not be for every student, but for those parents that believe in this model of education, TCCA is the place to send their children.

A misconception that many have is that it is not a public school. That is not true at all. The way a student gains admission is by filling out an application form online and then the students are selected by a lottery. There are points for siblings of existing students and for those whose parents are working at the school.

I toured several different classrooms, and it appeared the student population was representative of Martin County. There were white kids, black kids, and Hispanic kids. In almost every room, there were special needs children. It wasn’t any different that what you would expect in most school classrooms in the county.

What was not usual was that the kids in the third grade, for example, recited a poem by Maya Angelou and, in another room, the Preamble to the Constitution. They were studying literature and history by learning about the Roman Republic, not from a textbook but by reading original works. Math was tied into reading, even in the earliest grades, by solving word problems.

There is music and art taught every week to every child. P.E. is mandatory for every child in every grade — and they participate. The school is not overly concerned with teaching to state tests though each child will have to take the very same tests as any student in the state.

Like many schools, there is a “uniform” but here it seems the kids are wearing it. Ms. Swearingen, the principal, walks the campus gently asking students to tuck in their polo shirts or thanking them for walking quietly. She has a keen eye as she scans a classroom to see if every student is engaged with the lesson.

In the classroom, there is a desk for every student and the students work together as a class. Since kids are not handpicked, there are classes for those that need extra help just as in any public school. And, that is what the general public needs to understand. Contrary to the propaganda that you may have heard, this is a public school only without the many layers of bureaucracy dictating to the teachers.

Teachers are respected. They have a higher degree of control in preparing their lesson plans than those in the schools controlled by the District. Is this teaching method the best for every kid? No, it isn’t, and that is the point I am trying to convey. Parents and their children should have many different educational formats and options from which to choose.

Perhaps instead of calling these institutions “charters,” they should be known as magnet schools with a specialized curriculum.  Every teacher has the same qualifications as any other Martin County educator. Any Martin County kid can enroll. There is no tuition. Children that attend are not chosen by tests, grades, or geographical area. It is a public school where all are accepted.

As a society, we need to break up the educational monopoly. One size meant to fit every child has not worked. The United States has a broken system that has resulted in some of the worst rankings in the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). Despite Florida’s mania for testing, we continue to have sub-par outcomes.

Education is meant to open the mind to all possibilities. Elementary education doesn’t teach a trade, occupation, or profession. It is to provide the student with the tools to be able to learn those things later. “The purpose of education is to give to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable.” Plato understood that formulaic dictum would not deliver the desired results.

Treasure Coast Classical Academy is one place that Plato will be studied. Not from a textbook but from reading Plato’s works. Whether the students of that school go on to be attorneys, writers, or welders, they will have learned not what to think but how to think for themselves.

Some in the educational establishment would argue that this is not a “true” public school. To me that argument is one that is more about control of educational dollars than public education. As a parent, grandparent, and citizen, I want to make sure that all children have the tools to be productive.

While I disagree with Mao Zedong about most things, he was correct when he said, “Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend is the policy for promoting the progress of the arts and the sciences and a flourishing culture in our land.”

 

From September 29th Friends & Neighbors Newsletter

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THE OLD COURTHOUSE COMES HOME

 

Since 1989, the County has leased the old Courthouse and Gazebo Park to Stuart. The City turned around and then sub-leased the Courthouse to the Arts Council. No money changed hands from Owner to Tenant or Tenant to Sub-Tenant. The only reason the City ever became involved was because the County wanted to tear down the building. With the termination of the old agreement, that all ends.

 

The County has received a $125,000 from the state for a new roof because the structure is historical. The Arts Council will receive $60,000 per year from the County to manage programs at the courthouse. The City will retain a lease on Gazebo Park, but the County can maintain the trees around the building without paying the City the tree trimming fee.

 

Commissioner Heard could not understand how the Arts Council qualifies for free rent and to receive $60,000 per year. She equated it to the BOCC picking winners and losers. On the surface it sounds that way, but Martin County has decided to be responsible for the building because it is an historical structure. The Arts Council is named in the Comp Plan as the County’s local arts agency.

 

There is absolutely no doubt that there are too many nonprofits being funded by nonprofits and or the government. Duplications and similar organizations abound. Perhaps the Arts Council should be combined as part of the Elliot, House of Refuge, and the Stuart Feed store. There can be a debate that joining all these organizations with one Executive Director and Board would make sense economically. But that is not the question being asked.

 

Just like government provides golf courses and parks, they should provide art and music. The Arts Council does that! So it isn’t, at least in this instance, the County picking a winner. This gives us a well-rounded community. A motion was made by Jenkins and seconded by Hetherington for the proposal. It passed 4-1 with Heard dissenting.

 

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Why Do We Care About Parking?

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The bane of planning departments across the United States is how to calculate the parking needs for a new development.

A multi-family project has a requirement for so many spaces per unit. Depending on the retail involved, there could be several different parking requirements. Medical offices may have several depending on specialty. Offices, entertainment venues and single-family homes have other requirements. And what is this based on? Is it science or research?

Parking calculations are driven by the political not the scientific. Even practical considerations are put aside when parking is considered. In this country, the average amount of livable square footage per person is 800 sq. feet while each car has 900 sq. feet of parking. Since the 1950s, America has been more concerned about where to park cars than almost any other requirement that goes into erecting new projects.

This preoccupation with parking has resulted in designing our homes, businesses and entertainment venues for the auto instead of people. When you require setting aside a requisite number of parking spaces for each development, you are substituting bureaucratic planning for market forces. This is proven over and over when you witness the vast empty parking lots around malls and office parks.

Before the beginning of modern America (after 1945), parking requirements were not generally considered in cities. In 1946, 12% of cities with a population of 10,000 or more had parking requirements. In 1952, 22.5% of cities did so and by 1972, 96% of cities had such requirements. This obsession with parking and the automobile “drives” people to have a car. Citizens begin to substitute cars for other alternatives in transportation. An example of this was the tearing up of the streetcar lines in Los Angeles. Patterns in where we work, shop and dine are affected.

Population densities are lower because municipalities demand that builders set aside as much space for autos as people. New York City, one of the cities with higher densities in the U.S., had its first comprehensive zoning plan in 1916 but had nothing on the books about parking until 1950. Since 1982, in most of Manhattan, there is no longer any parking requirement for residential development. New York City has further reduced the amount of municipal parking lots in an effort to discourage cars, especially in its core business areas.

Further studies have proven that having free street parking discourages the use of paid parking. As someone who began driving as a resident of Manhattan, I can tell you that several hours a week were spent finding on-street parking instead of paying.  But is free parking actually free? A study by the Milkin Institute stated that there is a definite monetary value to on-street parking that is not charged for. When parking is not charged by municipalities, all citizens absorb the cost.

San Francisco, which is one of the most expensive cities in which to live, has a parking requirement that adds $22.00 per square foot to construction costs. As to that supposed free spot at the mall, for each 1000 sq. feet of retail space, there are 6 to 8 parking spaces required which translates to more than 1000 sq. feet. So, when the price you pay for an item is calculated, the cost to provide that supposed free parking space is in the mix.

In downtown cores, requiring so much parking per residential unit, office space, or retail store is even more absurd. Buying on-street parking or construction of parking spaces within the project only makes the traffic situation worse. If one were to let the developer determine what parking is needed for his project, the market would decide what is necessary.

Instead of bureaucrats and politicians dictating needs, markets will. This results in the end user, the motorist, paying the cost of the space his auto is occupying. This only works if, in these denser areas, the on-street parking spaces have a cost. By charging for the space, the municipality can use the revenue to help pay for transit or street improvements.

It is not a municipality’s obligation to build garages or other parking amenities. Developers, businesspeople and residents themselves will decide how much parking is needed. This will have the immediate effect of allowing for more density in downtown corridors. It will promote more intermodal use, and, if need be, a private solution to any parking inadequacy by the private sector building parking facilities.

For the past 75 years, our development patterns have been dictated by cars. This has allowed sprawl, less use of mass transit, and a separation of our work, entertainment and residential life. It is imperative that we not have the auto dictate how we function as a society. If we are to have true cities, then we need to have markets decide. If we ignore parking requirements, almost immediately the costs of new projects will be less, allowing more diversity in our housing, retail and office tenancies.

Study after study has proven that there is no such thing as a free parking space. There are unintended, and mostly bad, consequences to our parking obsession. In an effort to foster transparency, let’s make sure everyone knows the facts.

Our Growth Industries

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One more self-storage facility is being proposed to be built in Stuart. It is my understanding that there are three such projects in the development stage in the City with several more being built throughout the County. Along with assisted living facilities, self- storage facilities are our growth industries.

In some ways these facilities are dependent on one another. Americans in general love their stuff. I am no different. The only reason I don’t have a unit, is that I have a guest house that is my office and attic. Just like many, I can’t part with my stuff either.

And, as my wife and I come to the point that we need a little extra help and transition into an assisted living facility, what will happen to my stuff? My kids have already said that they don’t want most of it. Will I then put stuff into a storage unit even though I will by that point no longer ever have those things in my living space again?

Perhaps there is a business opportunity here. A developer can construct a combined self-storage and assisted living facility. You pay one price for both. Your stuff may be only a few feet from your living unit. It could be a Martin County innovation.

Martin County doesn’t have many manufacturing jobs. We are not a center for high tech or low tech…we don’t have much tech. The public and nonprofit sectors are our largest employers. It is nice that we have them and they do contribute to monetary circulation. But they rely on donations and taxes. No new money is entering the County.

If what is being built in our little County are storage facilities for both people and stuff that may be what Martin County will come to be known for. Our governmental policies have not encouraged businesses from locating here. Instead we may become the capital of storage units. We could have the distinction of having the most storage units per capita or the most nursing home beds.

But while both those things are needed, those sectors will not employ all our job seekers nor are they high-paying careers. This can’t be our economic strategy. Could it be because we lack a strategy? Government should not give businesses subsidies for locating within their boundaries.  But a no subsidy policy doesn’t mean government should ignore being business friendly.

Martin County has a level of government services that needs to be maintained. The roads are built, water lines and other utilities are existing, parks, libraries, and first responders already in place. Not spreading out the costs of those services to more people makes them more expensive to those already here. This is where we find ourselves.

If a factory is built and hires 200 people in Stuart or Jensen Beach, will it be required that government hire more people to service those jobs? Probably not since the infrastructure is already in place. However, the taxes that will be paid will go towards lessening the overall tax burden on those already in the County.

What would you rather see being built on that lot? A building employing 200 people or one storing stuff? How we accomplish the former instead of the latter is the question.

 

Taken For A Ride (From May 19th Newsletter)

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How many of us have health insurance for ourselves and our dependents whose premiums are paid entirely by our employer?

I would bet not one of us is that fortunate. This is the new benefit that will be given to the senior employees of the Village of Indiantown, including the Council. No other government employees in Martin County have medical benefits to match. I doubt if anything like this is offered to any elected official.

The stated purpose was to hire and retain employees. Council Member after Council Member said so. So how many employees does the Village have? There are two. Harold Brown and Susan Owen, the Clerk. Mr. Brown’s benefits are pursuant to his contract. That leaves one full-time employee.

How many does the Village expect in the future? From what I can see the Development Director, Public Works Director, Financial Director and probably the Parks Director will be outside contractors which fulfills the “Government Lite” philosophy that has been touted. So, the main beneficiaries of 100% paid medical premiums for employee and dependents would be the part-time elected Council.

Whether you are a federal, state, or local elected official, there is no longer any such notion that you want to serve your community and move on. There are two Martin County Commissioners that have now been there for decades. This is their career. City of Stuart has two Commissioners that are approaching a decade in office receiving $18k a year with medical and retirement benefits. Stuart Commissioner Leighton also works for Martin County Courts.

With a population of less than 6,000 residents, the Village of Indiantown has a budget of $55,000 for its 5 Council Members for salaries. Now, they will add to that cost the most generous medical package in at least the County if not the state. This is what is wrong with government. Indiantown is not a rich community. The median household income is $38,000 per year and almost 25% of the population is at or below the poverty line.

I guess the “public servants” aren’t in those numbers anymore.

(To Subscribe To Your Free Newsletter Send Your Email Address To:

thomasfcampenni@gmail.com)

 

Staurt’s CRA Has A Problem

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The area encompassing Stuart’s CRA (Community Redevelopment Area) is large for a city its size.

Not only is it large, it encompasses different neighborhoods with different economic and physical needs.  The CRA was meant to arrest blight and to bring economic development by investing tax funds collected within those areas in improvements such as infrastructure to enhance revitalization. Those are worthy goals and should be supported.

I believe Stuart has become complacent in how those funds are being used. Two agenda items from the last Community Redevelopment Board Meeting (CRB) are illustrative. In both instances, it seemed that staff could not wait to give away tax money for rather superfluous projects. The projects had the added benefit of being easy to administer for staff and requiring no imagination to put into effect.

The first was spending $277,000 to put a median on 3000 feet of Federal Highway from the Roosevelt Bridge to Northwest Baker Road in the northern part of the City. When I read the agenda item, the first thing I noticed was the following:

“The Community Redevelopment Agency allocated funding in the amount of $100,000 for the Federal Highway Gateway Beautification Project in the CRA Budget for FY 2019. The CRA contracted with engineering consultant Kimley-Horn to prepare landscape design for the Federal Highway Gateway Beautification Project.”

This project already exceeds what is in the budget by a substantial amount. It then goes on to state how the expenditure is broken down:

“Funding Source:
Total Project Cost – $277,179

  • Design Cost – $33,440 (under contract)
  • Estimated Construction Cost – $243,739”

Stuart has already spent a third of the budgeted amount of $100,000 on design. Then it will need another $244,000 to complete the medians and landscaping. However, not all funds are coming from the CRA:

“Funds to come from the following funding sources:

  • CRA – $143,739
  • City’s Tree Funds – $100,000”

In the spirit of finding the funds somehow, staff is tapping the Tree Fund which is what developers pay into when mitigation is needed for removing trees and not replacing them on site. If you notice the cost is still at $177,000 more than what was in the budget.

The rationale to do the project is to cut down on supposed accidents and foster a sense of neighborhood. This is a commercial corridor.

I am not saying it isn’t something that should be done. Many things should be done. It is a matter of spending limited tax resources to achieve the best outcomes. But if this is a City priority, then something is wrong. And I mean very wrong.

The second item was allocating funds to businesses within the CRA using the Business Improvement Reimbursement Program. This is where businesses within the CRA can apply for up to $10,000 of matching funds to pay for the costs of exterior improvements. The purpose is to allow business owners in “blighted” areas the funds necessary to improve their facades.

According to the agenda item, the last project was:

“On January 28, 2019, the CRB/CRA approved an application for the replacement of obsolete and deteriorated windows at the Geary Professional Building in the amount of $10,000.  This project was completed.”

This building is on East Ocean across from the Court House.

The grant requests this time included Luna’s for a new awning and Colorado Inn for new windows. The Inn did not receive the grant because no one was present. This is not a criticism of any business owner that takes advantage of a lawful program. I would do the same thing.

But is that the purpose for the use of tax dollars. You are taking money from neighboring commercial owners and residents to give to other owners and residents? One of the recipients said that he was so glad he had met the CRA administrator on the street so he could be told of the program.

Both these examples show the un-seriousness of how the CRA program is administered. There doesn’t seem to be an objective; but, rather, just people checking boxes. The tram no longer has a funding source. It will be $90,000 short. I would argue that a better way of spending Tax Increment Financing (TIF)dollars is the continuation of the tram using those dollars while a permanent solution to the shortfall is found.

I would argue that TIF should be used to make sure that sewer to septic is advanced within the CRA. Athletic and other projects are advanced at Stuart’s Community Center. That actual infrastructure is built above and below ground. Blighted properties purchased, rehabbed and then sold back to the private sector. I can think of a multitude of uses that would be more important and more within CRA guidelines than giving businesses funds and putting in landscaped medians on state roads.

Implementing these things would require a real plan…not something that is drawn up to check a box. This would take a vision not just lackadaisically going from project to project. Where are the Commission and City Manager in this? Government too often does the easy thing. I believe it does so because it is not their money. The only skin they have in the game is the next election or to hang on until retirement.

Our City deserves better than that!

 

 

 

 

 

The Duties of Citizenship

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Most of us have relatively little interaction with city or county governments. That is until we are in trouble and need police or fire/rescue, need a permit of some sort, or want to make a complaint. In some ways, it is too bad one of those situations will be our introduction to city hall or the county administration building.

We are all responsible for government performance. We cannot treat local government services as we would shopping in a store or as if we were consulting an attorney. For government to be at its best, every citizen should be ready to contribute time and energy to make it work.

We should view being a citizen as an active responsibility. Involvement is key to having good government. If we allow our municipality and county to govern without our input, we are asking for a bad outcome. Citizens need to take advantage of the opportunities afforded for civic involvement such as serving on community boards and other volunteer opportunities.

If citizens are not involved, mistrust begins to develop between government employees and the people they are there to serve. Residents have a civic responsibility to be part of government’s workings. I know that only a few will be able to devote hours to being involved but taking one of the citizen’s academies (see links below) offered will open your eyes to how your government operates.

We can’t have good government without everyone being part of the government. Go to your local council or commission meeting and see how you are being represented. How can you vote to keep someone in a job if you have no idea what they are doing in your name? In the larger governments, that Council Member or Commissioner is being paid a salary and receiving benefits such as medical and pension. Like any employee, they are not anxious to lose their jobs and citizens are the ones those employees report to.

Ask questions of staff and elected officials. Make sure that they understand what is coming before them. From my own experience, I can tell when an elected official or appointed board member has not looked at the agenda package that they are supposedly voting upon at that meeting. The public should not let those acting in our name off the hook for this inattention.

But, when staff, elected officials, or appointed board members are not prepared and do not take their positions seriously, our governments run much less efficiently and our taxes increase. It is the citizens that allow the carelessness and inattention to detail to continue, and then those same citizens whine about the result. In order to hold people accountable, you must have some understanding about how and what those people are supposed to accomplish. That takes involvement and knowledge.

It is incumbent on all citizens to spend an hour or two monitoring and understanding government. If you have more time, you can volunteer. Meet with your elected officials and question their decisions and understand their motives. It probably is a bad sign if a Commissioner doesn’t want to schedule an appointment with you, the constituent. The more you know, the less you will be fooled.

 

 

Here are links to two citizen academies. Stuart Police Department also has one.

https://www.martin.fl.us/CARES

http://www.sheriff.martin.fl.us/citizens-academy.html

 

And So It Begins (From The Martin County Taxpayers Association

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Here is a piece I wrote for the Taxpayers Association. To read more go to:  https://mctaxpayers.org/articles-2/

The governments of Martin County are beginning their budget processes for the upcoming fiscal year.

As they begin to put together their operating, capital improvement plan, and enterprise fund budgets, the public will see that there will be increases in various taxes and fees.  It is a bit early to tell where and how these increases will manifest themselves. Given the state of the various governments finances and the services they will need to provide, it is hard not to believe that taxes will be higher in the coming year.

The Martin County Taxpayers Association has begun analyzing and gathering information regarding the upcoming budget year for the various governments of the County. It is important that the individual taxpayer understands why increases will be proposed and whether they are justified. The Taxpayers Association can analyze the numbers, but it isn’t always easy to know whether a proposed project is necessary. Further, many times, we do not have the expertise to know whether a less expensive alternative exists.

That is why having more citizen volunteers that can delve into the minutia of a subject is necessary.  For example, if you currently or in a former life worked for a road construction company, perhaps you could look at a proposed road improvement and help us point out a less expensive alternative. As in the private sector, government needs to evolve and improve the way it provides services to their clients, the taxpayers.

The Martin County Taxpayers Association is a volunteer organization that can only be as good as the members willing to help in this work. While we have a dedicated board, the association can always use more help in our legislative, observation and membership committees.

Each resident and citizen is a consumer of government services. Some may take advantage of one service more than other residents (e.g., the library system).  If that library user thinks there is a way to provide all or part of the library services in a more cost-effective way, we would welcome an opportunity to partner with him/her to help determine where potential savings or efficiencies exist. If need be, we could show an interested volunteer where in the budget that item is listed. Our organization is an entirely volunteer group, so our strength comes from having a diversity of expertise and a willingness to use that expertise for the benefit of all taxpayers.

This organization believes that we are a partner with elected officials and their staffs to help provide better government for as low a cost as possible. We are not an anti-tax organization but rather a smart tax organization. Every dollar collected from the taxpayers should be used to buy the best level of service. This is what the citizens of the County deserve.

 

All Laws & Regulation Are Not Needed

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When someone is in government as an elected official, the official develops a tendency to believe that every problem can be solved by passing a law or ordinance. These actions make everyone feel as if they have accomplished something. Have they really done so?

This tendency of elected officials to solve every problem through legislation is natural for them. That is their tool and, therefore, using it is what they come to know. Looking in hindsight, I don’t believe I was any different when I was an elected official.

Every societal problem cannot be solved this way.

I see this attitude by elected officials over and over: The inability of a commissioner to accept his or her very limited practical scope of authority. By this I mean that, yes, commissioners have the legal authority to pass or change ordinances, but should it be exercised in this way and to such an extent?

Can local government pass an ordinance mandating that no tree can be cut down in a person’s yard without a permit? In Florida today, the answer is yes. However, ordinances such as that have led to the Legislature trying to pass bills to pre-empt that authority from local governments.

There are times that local governments should pass ordinances to curtail egregious behavior within their jurisdictions. If your town is in a resort area, there may be a justifiable reason to regulate short-term rentals within your community.

Often local regulation does not hinge on a need as much as a complaint over a single incident. In Stuart, the entire Commission and City staff have been thrown into a tizzy over a duplex owner that erected a front yard 6-foot fence. To my knowledge, there has never been another incident regarding front yard fences.

There have been complaints from other neighbors on this block of duplexes. Having seen the fence, I don’t blame the residents for their anger. But, because of this one incident, a “Zoning in Progress” has been passed by the Commission. This means that any new front yard fence permits in the entire City will be decided at the discretion of the Development Director until a new ordinance is passed.

Now, thousands of tax dollars are being spent on countless hours of staff time to rewrite the code because of this one incident. The original culprit will still be there because it was grandfathered under the old code. What the Board should do is prohibit front yard fences in this two-block neighborhood of attached homes and leave the rest of Stuart under the existing regulations.

In government, this is not an isolated incident. This is an example of regulation which is not “smart.” You couldn’t call it over regulation because a problem in a narrow section of Stuart does exist. But what the Commission is doing by using this one incident is changing a regulation that has worked for the past half-century. Many people in neighborhoods such as mine have or will want a fence to make sure their dog or kid can’t leave the front yard. They may find they can’t or will be limited to how high or of what material the fence can be.

This unneeded regulation is what gives the Legislature the plausible argument of pre-empting local governments from passing other regulations which are actually needed.

The Legislature is not immune to using the same rationale, only on a statewide basis. It occurs when the Legislator, a friend or one constituent runs into a local ordinance that prevents him or her from doing something. The one thing all politicians have in common, whether on a state or local level, is their ability to believe that all problems have a legislative solution.

Every elected official should not jump to the conclusion that a law passed will equate to a problem solved. In most cases, a smart lawyer or wily citizen will find a way to get around that prohibition. The answer to every problem, or even most problems, cannot be solved by legislation or regulation.

The Future of East Stuart

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The East Stuart Neighborhood is uniquely positioned in the City of Stuart.

It is the historic home of the African-American community. As such, it has a rich and storied past that should be remembered and cherished. But the past may be getting in the way of its future. Like many such neighborhoods throughout the United States, most people have refused to see and accept what has changed in the past half-century.

During legal and enforced racial segregation, African-Americans had no choice but to live, work, shop, and play within very confined geography. Doctors, lawyers, teachers, and business owners were the pillars that lived within these communities. No matter how much money, education, or business acumen you had, you were forced to live your life within the confines of that segregated world.

With the end of legal segregation, the need to live in racial isolation is no longer necessary. More and more, economic standing dictates what neighborhood one calls home. African-Americans can now shop and eat wherever they can afford. College-bound students can attend any higher learning institution, not just traditionally black universities.

However, racism has not disappeared…far from it. It rears its ugly head all too easily and often. Slavery, which is America’s original sin, is still a stain upon our collective souls. But that is a moral, ethical, and religious discussion, not an economic one.

The continued hope of a rebirth of African-American businesses in the East Stuart neighborhood is very unlikely under current conditions. Simply put, there are not enough current residents with enough income to support anything more than the few existing stores. The few times that new venues have opened, they have been under-capitalized and under-patronized. Revitalization will only occur when there is an increase of residents who have more income.

There are currently 62 vacant lots within the roughly one square mile of East Stuart. What is also true is that there are substantially more buildings that need repair. Under the direction of Manager Dyess, the City has tried to address that issue with a revamping of the zoning and building code to allow for more flexible development. Unfortunately, he has met with community and political opposition.

Those in the community that believe that change is bad or, conversely, that somehow the government is going to fund some imaginary rebirth are simply dreaming. The City of Stuart has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on infrastructure to allow the private sector to have the bones of redevelopment. With the proposed code changes, those in the private sector will be able to build a much more flexible product.

In order to be successful, a couple of other things must happen. One is that the Commission must stop pandering to a few and sacrificing the many. No matter what the good intentions are, setting a policy of isolation will only fail. Setting a policy of isolation will only accelerate the decline of East Stuart.

There is a place for low- to moderate-income housing. However, that doesn’t preclude more expensive-style construction. It would be a mistake to target building only for one economic class. If you are hoping for a renaissance of population and businesses, you need to have a more economically diverse neighborhood.

What no one should expect is for the neighborhood to remain exclusively African-American. Like other neighborhoods that began as ethnic enclaves, such as a Little Italy, Chinatown, or even Little Havana, over time other groups take up residence. East Stuart can be known for its African-American vibe. In fact, it can be an economic driver for new businesses and jobs. A restaurant, music, and art scene can be encouraged to enhance the African-American culture to the benefit of all.

Now is the time, with the new code, to build an exciting new future for East Stuart which honors the past but is created for a more wide-ranging future.