Where Have All The Environmentalist Gone?

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“Where Have All the Flowers Gone” is a folk song by Pete Seeger, written in the 1950s. It reached its height in popularity during the Vietnam War protest movement.

 

The last time I was driving from Trailside back to Stuart, that song became stuck in my head. I was thinking about the plight of the Trailside residents and Pal-Mar being ecologically destroyed by supposed owners of the tiny lots that now make up much of the Pal-Mar property.

 

I began singing the song to myself and substituting Martin County ecologists in place of flowers. Like the soldiers dying in a war mentioned in Seeger’s song, places like Pal-Mar that disappear can never be replaced. So far in this tragic plight, not one environmental organization or so-called environmentalist has said a word about this destruction.

 

Everglades Foundation, don’t you care about wetlands or is it only when some landowner wants to build a project on his property that you pipe up? Sure, there is no massive housing project going in at Pal-Mar, but there are trailers and campers being brought in and shacks being constructed one at time in violation of the rules and the comp plan that you claim to want to uphold and preserve. Dragging a trailer across ecologically sensitive lots not even owned by the miscreant is an egregious violation of our environmental laws.

 

The Guardians and Director Braun Trailside residents would like to ask if the destruction of native species by four wheelers only counts when the rich say it does. Where are the 1000 Friends of Florida complaining about unregulated hunting that goes on out-of-season and for species that should be protected not slaughtered? How about all the usual suspects who call themselves environmentalists and come to commission meetings to bemoan any change in land use even on an old farm site, while earth moving is going on at Pal-Mar without the benefit of any permits.

FWC has jurisdiction but apparently it is too hard to make sure that their own rules are enforced. It is ludicrous that they do not give out gate keys only to legitimate permit holders, but they leave the gate unguarded and unlocked for anyone to call Pal-Mar home. South Florida Water Management District is one of the largest property owners in Pal-Mar yet seems incapable of making sure that the land will be used to clean water headed for the Everglades and Florida Bay as it is intended to do instead of being a race track for four wheelers.

 

Where have all the county commissioners gone? I know they claim they can’t talk about anything because of pending litigation. The litigation concerns dues that should or should not be paid to the Pal-Mar Board. I am tired of listening to that same refrain in the county’s songbook. They simply won’t enforce our building codes because they are afraid of the big bad men defying their rules.

 

Lastly, where is the law? The duly sworn sheriff and deputies who have pledged to enforce all laws. We hear about the helicopters and how they can swoop down and make sure that lawbreakers are caught in the act. Where are the drones paid for by tax dollars patrolling the skies looking for those not obeying the law? Would it be different if the Pal-Mar gunmen belonged to a Broward street gang coming here to do bad?

 

How do you think the landowners of Trailside feel when confronted with the lack of responsibility by all these elected and appointed officials? All of whom are on the government payroll yet won’t lift a finger to do their duty. Just another day in the life of a fool…but that is a different lyric from a different popular song…though it could apply to the governments here.

The Mouse, The Governor, And His Legislative Dwarves

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The governor decided that it was going to show Disney who was in charge!

 

By an act of the legislature and signature of Governor DeSantis, the Reedy Creek Improvement District will cease to exist as of July of next year. Disney has been very measured in its response. If it gets into the courts, Disney’s position is going to be that because the district has debt, it cannot be dissolved until the debt is paid off under Florida statute.

 

There have been statements made by some Florida officials that Disney is not paying its fair share of taxes. Last year, Disney paid $780 million in state and local taxes according to Reuters. Included in that figure are property taxes paid to Orange and Osceola Counties. It also pays for the Orange County Sheriff to provide law enforcement. Reedy Creek provides water, sewer, fire and emergency services which are all functions that local government would have to pick up.

 

The Disney Company is much more than amusement parks. They own ABC, ESPN, Fox Networks Group, Hollywood Records, National Geographic, A&E Networks, Touchstone Pictures, Blue Sky Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios, Lucas Films, Hulu, and dozens of other companies including a cruise ship line. Does this sound like a company that is trembling over Ron DeSantis and his legislative dwarfs?

 

When Disney came to Florida, the state was known for oranges and vacations on Miami Beach. In 1965, the population of Florida was less than 6 million and the Orlando metro area’s population was 250,000. A good deal of modern Florida is based on the “Mouse” for good or bad.

 

The reason to establish the district was never to allow Disney to not pay its fair share of taxes. It was to allow it to skip the bureaucracy of dealing with local building permit departments and politics. The company still must comply with the Florida building codes, safety codes, and all other state statutes. It can just knock off the interminable bureaucratic and political delays when building a theme park or hotel.

 

If I had been an adult and living here, I would probably have been against granting the special district. I believe that government should tend to its sector and business its sector. But Disney created their theme parks (and really their theme parks with the hotels are small cities) under the auspices of the Reedy Creek District. It seems the company did nothing more than express an opinion about a law and a politician. It seems to me that is clearly allowed in the American constitution.

 

Perhaps some would like to lock up Democrats for not going along with the governor. Our history has always prided itself in having a loyal opposition thankfully. We shouldn’t penalize free speech because we disagree with the message. The governor should not have businesses or individuals serve as his enemies to rile up his base. This is the stuff of Putin not America.

 

We are becoming very illiberal in our politics (and, no, it has nothing to do with being either right or left). We are not heading to a good place. Once we lose our democracy, it may never come back.

They Should Have Seen This Coming

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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.

 

 

What Is Supposedly A Native Prairie

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Some people believe that when a parcel of land doesn’t have tall buildings on it or other dense uses, it should be pure and pristine and the way that God intended.

 

That is usually not true. And that is particularly untrue of the property known as the Kanner PUD. The Kanner PUD was an old farm where tons of debris were strewn and buried. Perhaps today farmers are good shepherds of their land, but that is a recent phenomenon. For years, farmers would throw their old machinery, garbage, and chemicals in unused sections of their property. They didn’t care that those chemicals would leach into the ground water and pollute. Perhaps, at an earlier time, they didn’t even know about such things.

 

More recently after farming on that parcel ceased, others who owned the property didn’t seem to care about rusting cars with crank cases full of oil, gas tanks with fuel, or other old machinery strewn about that had been improperly dumped there. Some with the loudest voices against building the Costco PUD are those whose relatives made a fortune by selling off the land but felt no compunction at not having cleaned it up to be good shepherds to our birds and animals.

 

This “range” is not full of antelope and deer that play. The Kanner PUD has been used as a dump and, as the pictures show, they even discarded things into the wetlands and supposed ponds. Most of those ponds were dug by the “farmer in the dell” not to attract native species but to drain the land and hold the water for irrigation. There are 130 slides showing the degradation to that property. It will all be cleaned up before the PUD is built but isn’t it a shame that it is not in the pristine state claimed.

 

Let’s not have a holier than thou attitude toward this mess which was created by the past owners and not the present ones. There is no good stewardship by anyone except the current owners. You look at the photos and you decide. Pristine Florida prairie or exotic toxic dump? Don’t be fooled by silly platitudes.

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We need to move on and have actual people living there and businesses operating. This is an urban area, and the land is owned by a responsible party that, rightfully, wants to make a profit. After all the additional money they will have to spend on this “Garden of Eden,” they are entitled to it.

 

Please carefully look at all 130 photos received through a public records request which are attached. It is important that we all understand what is at stake. Don’t be fooled by a group of people who want to prevent a cleanup because they want you to believe that there is only goodness and light on the property now.

 

You can find the photos here. It had to be in four files because of the amount of detail:

HERE

HERE

HERE

HERE

Martin County Taxpayers Association on the BDB

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The MCTA has reviewed the last year’s audit for the Business Development Board which was on the April 19th BOCC meeting.

 

It was not a clean report since the auditors pointed out accounting policies not in line with best practices. Among the discrepancies found by the auditors were that there was not timely reconciling of accounts, and that one person is performing too many accounting functions. We do not believe there is anything being done at the organization that would rise to the level of malfeasance or misfeasance. Perhaps, at worst, there are too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

 

We have for some time believed that the board is much too large to do an effective job in oversight. The board is a political and insider who’s who of Martin County elites. Everyone seems to have a seat, but no one has much responsibility.

 

Further, their budget is composed of $450,000 from Martin County taxpayers with another $35,000 from Martin County municipalities. Government handouts make up $485,000 of the nearly $519,000 in total income. In effect, it is a creature of government without the oversight that the taxpayers deserve. This is nothing new and has been going on for years. It just appears that the BOCC does not have the political will to bring this function in-house.

 

The audit uncovered improper bookkeeping procedures. Another area of concern was that the employees lacked an understanding of accounting. A direct quote from the audit: “We strongly suggest that a better understanding of not-for-profit accounting principles and QuickBooks would significantly benefit the Organization not only in terms of internal controls and related processes but also with regard to financial reporting and the accuracy of related financial statements. In our opinion, this is a significant part of the basic foundation of knowledge that must exist within the Organization in order to overcome many of the issues cited in this correspondence.”

 

If the financial responsibilities of the BDB were brought under the county’s finance department, it would be a step in the right direction. But that is not the real problem with this organization. Unlike the St. Lucie County EDC, the BDB suffers from a lack of focus and dynamism. St. Lucie County knows where it wants to go. Martin County doesn’t want too much business to disrupt the nature of the county and then only want what the elites consider the right types of business.

 

Because there is no strategic vision, we are wasting the taxpayers’ money on halfway measures. A review of what businesses the BDB played a key role in bringing to Martin County, would be the same ones that several other organizations would also take credit for.

 

When we had an independent tourism board, it too was a waste of taxpayer dollars. Once the BOCC brought that function in house, there was a concentrated effort to determine how we should go after tourism dollars. It is time to stop spending our tax dollars so that the political and current business elites can have a place to call home.

 

With nearly a half a million dollars of government money, the results should be measurable and quantifiable…not what the BOCC currently receives in the form of Rah-Rah pep rally speak. Every taxpayer should demand accountability which is sadly lacking in this situation.

 

“Olde Time Florida”

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I have faint memories of being in my grandparents’ house in Hollywood, FL from 65 years ago. When you are barely more than a toddler, you don’t have fully formed remembrances but just snippets of memories. Then the night was so quiet that you heard the crunching sound of crab shells when cars drove over them in the dark.

 

I remember the beehives my grandfather kept and the stings when I stuck my hand in the hive one day. I think I ended up in the emergency room. Broward was then rural except for a small part of downtown Fort Lauderdale. There were plenty of cows and horses, farms, and ranches.

 

My grandfather was the kind of guy that worked when he had to, fished daily, and hunted when the larder was low. I remember he would have boats on numerous creeks, canals, and rivers buried in the bushes always ready to go. For the most part, he would allow us to fish using a bamboo rod with a line attached.

Photo From Conservation Fund

That Broward is long gone. But this week when I took a tour of the Trailside development, some of that “Olde Time Florida” made a comeback. That was especially true when I drove down the bridal path hugging the Pal-Mar property.  The people that live in Trailside are well-off. If there is anything having to do with ranching being done on their 20-acre ranchettes, it is to qualify for Ag exemptions, but their livelihood isn’t in the cows or the horses.

 

My grandfather’s roots would be more attuned to the people who have owned property in the Pal-Mar region in the past, and they are very different from those that are buying quarter acre lots there now. Granddad didn’t indiscriminately shoot off semiautomatic guns to be a man. He only killed what he needed and that was usually with a single shot rifle.

 

I have a photo of my grandfather, his father, and his father-in-law (another of my great-grandfathers) hunting in the Florida woods somewhere. It could even be in Pal-Mar. They looked like serious men doing the serious business of providing for their families. The photo was taken in the early 1930s. They are not a bunch of Yahoos shooting indiscriminately at anything that moves.

 

The Trailside residents tell me things are getting worse. I have heard that the wetlands are being destroyed and animals are being killed out of season and without a permit. That is bad enough, but do we wait for loss of human life to occur before law enforcement becomes serious?

 

The residents of Trailside just want to be able to ride their horses without being shot. They don’t want to face bullets whizzing by their heads. What is law enforcement going to do? Right now, it looks like nothing.

STUART COMMISSION KEPT ITS WORD!

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Last week the Stuart Commission kept its word to city residents.

 

When they voted down the Silverthorne project which needed a land use change to construct 77 town homes, the commission indeed kept its word. If this project had come before the commission last year, it would have been approved in a heartbeat. This is not last year.

 

Each member of the board (except for Meier) had made a solemn pledge to not approve any new residential development outside the CRA until some of the existing approved projects come online this year. By doing so, the city can see whether we need more future residential projects or not. I would suspect that we do but a short break should not matter.

 

This does not, however, mean that the commission is now anti-growth. They are pausing residential development outside the CRA for a year so that the impacts that these new projects bring may be evaluated.

Many residents are afraid of a population influx that will change the character of Stuart. While Stuart will see an increase in population, it will not be so great that it cannot be absorbed. The key to keeping population within acceptable limits is to understand the impact our building height restrictions have. With a four-story maximum, you cannot cram enough units into any project to increase the population to Broward, Miami or even St. Lucie County standards.

 

Most Stuart residents realize that owners of vacant and under-utilized property have a right to develop their land. Within the city boundaries is where this more intense use should occur. I have a real problem with what may be going on with the rural lifestyle amendment to the county’s comp plan for western Martin County.

 

The one that has not yet fully been explained to the residents yet. There may be unintended consequences that are not being adequately explored. That is where our worries should lie.

 

There is a small minority of residents that believe no development should ever happen. That is not rational. Nor will their approach of “never” lead to good development practices occurring.

 

This is best illustrated from the hysteria by a few because of the Kanner CPUD (Costco). It is mostly non-city residents who are trying to stop the mixed-use development from being built. While they have admittedly slowed things down, the likeliness of stopping the project from completion is very low. And why should it be stopped?

 

It is a 50-acre parcel that was annexed into the city specifically for development. And contrary to what some of the NIMBY group suggest, the annexation did not occur so that single family homes could be built there as it was originally zoned by the county. This was always going to be some sort of mixed used development, and it is proceeding according to plan.

 

You may have also heard that the property was full of native habitat. In truth, it was an abandoned farm with cars and machinery buried and discarded on site. Unpermitted ponds were dug, and overgrowth had a sprinkling of endangered native plants. Those plants must be protected by the development order.

 

The owners and developers have a right to seek to develop the land to the highest and best use within the code. They are seeking to do this. Those who would try to prevent it should instead be looking at what is occurring in the county with the rural lifestyle amendment.

 

Stuart and its commissioners are taking the right approach for now. This is a brief respite before new residential projects are approved outside the CRA. It is inevitable that new projects will come before the commission. They will and should be approved.

 

For now, I think that it is probably a good idea for residential developers outside the CRA to heed the mindset of the commission. The residents want a break to see what happens. The commission majority has agreed with that. At some point next year, we will see new applications and the commission can look at them with the knowledge of what has come before and their true impacts.

 

 

 

 

It’s A Secret

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Remember the promise from the BOCC that the citizens of Martin County would have one information meeting regarding the “Rural Lifestyle” amendment. It has not happened yet.

 

As of March 12th, (when I am writing this), nothing is on the county website advertising the meeting. The supposed facilitator, the Guardians of Martin County, have nothing on their website. The commission meeting when the rural lifestyle was approved for transmittal to the state was on Feb 22nd and included the plan for just one information meeting. At that time, staff said the state would have the approval back to the county within 50 days. The BOCC can vote to add the rural lifestyle amendment section to the comp plan once it is returned.

 

This may be the most significant change to the comp plan since its inception. What I am hearing from the majority of the commission and county government is “trust us.” Well, I would trust you if you were transparent and you have been anything but that.

 

Perhaps by the time you read this, the meeting date, time, and place will be on Martin County’s website. Perhaps a press release will go out soon. Members of the public get only one bite at the apple to have their questions answered and their fears either confirmed or alleviated.

 

Through detective work this is what I have learned. The meeting will take place on March 23rd at the Wolf Technology Center at IRSC Chastain Campus between 4-8 pm. This is apparently your only chance to know more. If you can’t attend, then too bad. If you live in Palm City Farms, Jensen Beach, or western Martin put aside time for the commute. If need be, the county believes, you should take off from your job, your business, and your kid’s ballgame. You won’t get another opportunity.

 

Discovery, which precipitated the comp plan amendment, is a good project. It could have been approved without the rural lifestyle change. They do believe in transparency because they have a sound project.

 

They will be having a second meeting to explain their project at 7:45 am, March 24th at the Polo Club off Bridge Road on the site of the proposed development. Because it is a good project, I am hoping that Discovery will have more informational meetings throughout the county and speak about the rural lifestyle amendment. Yet this is no substitute for the county making sure that the public is informed. The county idea of one meeting in one place just won’t suffice.

 

Martin County government makes it impossible to trust them because they are not working to gain the citizens’ trust. If this amendment to the comp plan is so good, then they should be anxious to educate us so that citizens have the information to have an informed opinion. A little openness goes a long way.

 

The county is the one with an artificial time limit on approval not the people. Let us have 20 meetings. Go to each part of the county and educate the citizens.

 

Citizens, you are treated this way because some commissioners may feel you are irrelevant. You should stop voting for commissioners if they are not listening to what you want. If you have been a commissioner term after term for years and years because there is no (or only token) opposition, then why bother to listen to the people. Re-election is a certainty since so many of us have no memory of how we are treated between elections.

 

A Bad Decision That Will Be Remembered

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How do you take a couple of very good land use projects and then allow them to metamorphosize into a bad outcome? Just look at the actions of the BOCC, senior county staff, Growth Management, the applicants, and assorted others.

Courtesy of Pinterest

At the commission meeting on February 22nd a proposal was brought forward that would introduce an entirely new land use classification known as rural lifestyle. It will allow for housing developments to occur on western lands in a clustered format outside the urban service boundary. I should add that this designation could apply anywhere in the county, but because it must have a minimum of 1000 acres, it would not likely happen in Jensen Beach.

 

The “procuring cause” was the Discovery project on Bridge Road. I have written extensively on why I believed this was a good project from day one. And it still is! In fact, the applicant said repeatedly at the transmittal hearing for the comp plan amendment that the new designation was not needed for his project. They would have come in under the exception process.

 

When dealing with staff, the applicant and more importantly his myriad of consultants began to think about not a plan amendment just for this project but to create an entirely new section of the plan that would apply countywide. That way, the consultants could bring other projects without going through all the steps that would be required under the special exception process every time.

 

There is another project on Bridge Road that goes over to Kanner Highway called Three Lakes. They presented their plan to Jupiter Island as a courtesy. It would have four golf courses and no residences. The development would contain golf cottages for members to use. These would not be for rent. In an earlier piece, I mistakenly wrote that members would rent these cottages. It is not allowed under the LDRs. And since they are for members, I don’t know what difference it would make if they were rented if one of the conditions was a time limit for use.

 

With 95% permeable and open space, it is another good project. No residents equate to needing no services. Ag land pays very little in taxes…golf courses pay a lot more. According to the plan the runoff is contained on site and irrigation will come directly from the St. Lucie Canal.

 

When I asked the developer’s rep if a new designation was needed for his project, the answer was no. They would go through the individual plan process. So how did we get this “rural lifestyle” classification?

 

I would imagine that ears perked up with the possibility of having all kinds of development outside the Urban Services Boundary if they played their cards right. The cards they had to play were a few compliant commissioners, staff members who saw an opportunity to play nice with their land consultant friends, senior staff who wanted to placate some of the commissioners, and an elite that couldn’t care less about what the everyday residents of the county wanted.

 

So, after hearing from many, many residents at the commission meeting who wanted the county to give more time for more explanation and outreach, the majority on the commission voted to transmit the plan amendment to Tallahassee. Nothing was going to prevent them from moving forward even without any demonstrated reason for the rush.

 

The very idea that after its transmittal and return in about 50 days, the commission will not vote to approve this is not to be believed. The sop to the public craving more information was that under the auspices of the Guardians, there will be a public hearing.

 

I have a couple of problems with this approach. One or possibly two informational meetings where citizens can ask questions is clearly not only the wrong format, but the Guardians are not experts in running these types of public meetings. They have their own agenda.

 

My second problem is that when the county went ahead and rewrote the CRA plan, they hired the Treasure Coast Planning Council to work with staff. But the important part of what occurred was that they had over 70 public meetings to iron out questions and concerns that residents and others had. This resulted in broad buy-in and agreement.

 

Opening our western lands to development is as important as the CRA project. Yet unless you were one of Martin County’s elites, you never saw this coming. A wink and a nod and some fast footwork by the dynamic duo of Smith and Ciampi with the silent encouragement of Jenkins has resulted in far less than what the people of Martin County deserve.

 

Regarding the plan itself, I have many questions about sewer and water being provided outside the urban service boundary (USB). I am not keen on package plants. Yet they have supposedly come a long way in the past few years. We need to hear from an unbiased expert on this matter. But running new utility lines outside the USB is something I don’t like either.

 

It would also seem to me that clustering homes makes sense instead of 20-acre ranchettes. That is the very definition of sprawl and bad planning. Isolated homes without amenities are not something any planner today can embrace.

Courtesy of Pinterest

That type of development has been available for decades, and it has not led to 20 acre-ranchette developments. The wealthy are generally not interested in being in the middle of nowhere without a place to have a drink or a round of golf. Besides if they desire the wide-open spaces, they probably have a 1000-acre Montana spread to call one of their homes. At the same time, most of the rest of us can’t afford the ranchette lifestyle. I guess that is why the county called it rural lifestyle instead of ranchette lifestyle.

 

For there will be sufficient open space under the proposed land use at least 70% including golf courses. And if they want to have more homes, the developer will need to set a minimum of 500 acres in conservation deeded to either a government or nonprofit. Another question arose about that which had some suggestive changes but the three commissioners are probably figuring it can be worked out during the informational meeting.

 

About a year ago, it was explained to me that there were several developers who just wanted to have golf clubhouses with no homes. I saw it then and still do as a way of preserving open space. Currently, most of that land is failed agricultural farms and ranches. There is probably no chance given today’s economics that it ever will again be used for that purpose. Golf clubhouses with no homes seemed like a great way to preserve property rights and keep Martin green. I thought one of the conditions could be to have a public trail or nature preserve as part of the deal for approval.

 

Now it is still open season and the only new or existing residents we will be accommodating in their golf course homes will be the rich and famous. The wealthy have no compunction about buying a home worth millions on a golf course with a clubhouse and other amenities in much smaller lots than 20, 5 or 1 acre, if it is elite enough and of course has a fence and guards to keep most people out.

 

All the double speak from the dais was just that. It reminded me of “You have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.” Commissioners Ciampi, Smith, and Jenkins, that is no way to vote on any legislation. It was nice of you to arrange for a session after your affirmative vote to give your constituents a chance to become educated. (As long as they can meet at your one or two appointed times at an appointed place.)

 

I thought Commissioner Heard would always be a no. It is so contrary to anything she believes that to think anything else would be foolish. With development issues, I disagree with her most of the time, but I respect her point of view and she gives a different perspective than my own.

 

In my mind Commissioner Hetherington was the standout. There is not anyone more business friendly and believing in property rights than her. Yet she cares about important items not being rushed and that constituents have the information. Hetherington would have been a yes vote on Discovery if it were a stand-alone project. She may still vote in favor with the adoption hearing after the public informational hearing.

 

The only thing all commissioners should remember is that the Guardians, developers, consultants, and the wealthy are not most of their constituents. Commissioners also need to consider the property rights of landowners. The bogus fear of 20-acre ranchettes popping up after years of not happening should not be a reason to change land use in a hurry.

 

Get the buy in of the everyday residents of Martin County. We know it can be done if the right steps are taken. It was proven with the CRA re-write. As my friend Tom Pine would say the “Good Ole Boys” win one more. Too bad for the county.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What We Owe Maggy…And All Of Martin County

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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.