At their last meeting, the Stuart City Commission voted “no” to the annexation of the Baker Road property. Earlier in the week, when the annexation came before the LPA, I also voted no for the reasons I expressed in an earlier post. It was heartening to see that the commissioners believed, as did I, that there were many more questions needing to be answered by the Wynne Corporation, who is the developer of the project.
Putting aside this particular vote, I would urge both the City of Stuart and Martin County to formulate an annexation plan for the present and future. Under current Florida law, cities do have the right to annex land if certain criteria are met. About a decade ago Stuart and Martin County went through a very litigious period regarding this very issue for which legal fees were paid with tax payer dollars. As the economy improves and development resumes, it is extremely important that these two government entities work together to insure that there is an agreement on the future boundaries of the city.
County Commissioner Smith was quoted in the Stuart News as being against all annexation. I believe this is not a sustainable or defensible position. As population grows, it will be more desirable from a financial, economic and ecological perspective to have greater density in a portion of our county. Stuart, because of its definition as a city, is defined as an urban area. In the future as social and demographic changes occur, more and more of our residents will want, need and prefer a more cosmopolitan lifestyle.
This does not mean that the city does away with the 4 story height limit or becomes Delray North. It does, however, mean that its planned development encompasses more multi-family housing, office and retail buildings located not in strip malls but built as integral parts of existing neighborhoods with street presence to encourage and facilitate more foot traffic.
I love the fact that I can walk to downtown Stuart from my home within a matter of a few minutes. Walking in my immediate neighborhood is pleasant. However, in order for me to reach downtown, I must walk along Federal Highway for several blocks and then attempt to cross. There is nothing pleasant about that part of the journey. Better planning should encourage those practices that would lead me and others to leave our cars at home. A few trees, more street friendly architecture, and a safer way of crossing Federal Highway would lead to more city pedestrians.
If there is a place that does allow for a more cosmopolitan life style, such as the city, then the county’s designated urban service area can provide a lifestyle allowing for less density. This more suburban area will give those residents and businesses that want that lifestyle a place to live and work. In this way, we will still continue to allow for a rural western Martin. This more holistic planning approach will preserve our current lifestyle for our future residents. We do not need to succumb to the South Florida disease of sprawl in the misguided hope of economic development. That will only serve a few developers and their high paid consultants. The building industry is not the way to sustain jobs and growth. Sustainable growth is achieved through residents, companies and industries that either move or remain here because it is the best place to work and raise a family.
At the LPA meeting, one of the representatives of the Wynne Corporation said this piece of property was going to be developed and it couldn’t be stopped, so it might as well be them. That argument or statement completely misses the point. Economic development of vacant parcels will happen. The question is not stopping it but allowing it to occur within a framework that will be beneficial to the community as a whole. If the city and the county can work in tandem on issues such as annexation, then all the residents of the county will gain.
