Volusia Soil and Water Conservation District refuses to let lack of funds hamper efforts

Published 3-20-2008

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

Members of the Volusia Soil and Water Conservation District aren't letting a problem like the lack of funding stop their work.

The Volusia County Council ended funding this year for the Soil and Water Conservation District, saying county departments could do the job, instead.

The Soil and Water District had asked for a $157,500 slice of the county's $597.8 million budget. The answer was no. As of October 2007, funding stopped.

But the work did not. District Chairman Don Spence is continuing to run the agency, Vice Chairwoman Michele Moen said.

"He's a terrific chairman," she added.

Members of the Soil and Water Conservation District are elected. Spence and Moen, along with fellow board members Tony Cole, Dennis Elster, David Strawn and Lindsey Morris, are working out of their homes. They have no office.

When it had money, the Soil and Water Conservation District shared an office with U.S. Department of Agriculture Agent George Johnson at 1342 S. Woodland Blvd. in DeLand. That was blown away by the February 2007 tornado, and there's no money for a replacement.

"It's really difficult to get things done without a staff," Moen said. "We were asking for such a small amount of funding, to have a manager, a secretary and a part-time agriculturalist."

Without a staffed office, everything moves slowly, Moen said. Members must wait until a board meeting to bring up anything, because they are prohibited by the Sunshine Law from talking district business to one another, and they have no staff to talk with.

Moen said she's not about to give up the district's work.

"The Soil and Water District was created to connect the environment and agriculture, and make sure they both survive," she said. "I think most of the farmers have the same goal."

Soil and Water Conservation Districts were formed after drought and poor farming practices led to soil erosion and the dust storms of the 1930s. To participate in federal-assistance programs to restore the abused land, states were required to establish Soil and Water Conservation Districts to oversee the spending of federal funds. Volusia County's Soil and Water District was established by the Florida Legislature in 1943.


Still seeking to protect the land and water


Working with Citizens for Ormond Beach, Moen has conducted the Soil and Water District's first workshop on low-impact development.

"With no funding, we're reaching out to the environmental interest groups to partner with us," she said.

The West Volusia Audubon Society wants to set up a similar workshop in DeLand.

Moen hopes to bring the workshop to all Volusia County cities.

"Low-impact development is all about water quality and quantity," she said.

It includes:

• Permeable surfaces in parking lots, and smaller parking lots.

• Maintaining the tree canopy. "Keep those trees up," Moen said. They provide cooling shade, reduce water evaporation, and help hold soil in place.

• Maintaining soil health. In traditional development practices, soil on the entire site is packed down by enormous equipment, and soil that wouldn't normally be there is put in place. Pollution and runoff are the result.

"We take healthy soil, and kill it and bury it," Moen said. Many of the trees taken out during construction wouldn't survive if they were replanted, because of the soil. "So, don't destroy the habitat."

• Clustering, "but not for density." Clustering means grouping houses and buildings together in a smaller area, instead of spreading them out, and leaving larger green spaces. "Even with clustering, if the density's too high, you can do a lot of damage. You're going to have runoff. You're going to need lights and highways," Moen said.

• Getting water back to watersheds and recharge areas as quickly and cleanly as possible. For example, the creation of vegetative swales — elongated depressions in the earth to capture excess rainwater — copies nature.

"What's there is working," Moen said. "We come in and completely change it, so it's no longer working for us or for wildlife." She wants to reverse this trend.


Plants and flood plains


The Volusia Soil and Water Conservation District is also working with its Seminole and Lake county counterparts to write a native-plant ordinance.

"Once it's written, we could do so many positive things," Moen said.

Along with conserving water with drought-resistant native plants, the measure would provide economic opportunities for agriculture, help Central Florida maintain its identity, and support its natural wildlife.

Another project is working to protect the 100-year flood plain. The district is awaiting an opinion from the Florida attorney general, but believes land-use regulations can be created to protect the flood plain from harm caused by overdevelopment.

The most effective approach to flood protection is prevention — not building in or altering flood-plain areas.

Moen said it will be important to get support of the cities and the county.

"Of course, we're also working on funding," she said.

She said the budget cut seemed politically motivated.

For years, the Soil and Water Conservation District had a low profile. Then, candidates ran for seats on the district board as environmentalists, and funding was slashed.

Without the district, Moen fears Volusia County agriculture will get less money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"Right now, the political support for agriculture is not there," she said.


Looking into agriculture's future


"Agriculture needs to move into organics and alternative fuels," Moen said, but won't be able to do it without local support. Do away with agricultural lands, and there's no agriculture.

She would like to see local farms feed the cities in Volusia County, instead of food being imported from South America.

"Organic foods are the future," Moen said. She recently looked at organic persimmons in the grocery store, and they were going for $2 each. Moen has a persimmon tree full of edible fruit in her yard.

"Greens grow fantastic here — all kinds of greens," she said.

"I want someone to sell persimmon wine. We could be the organic capital of Florida," Moen said. She cautioned, "They have to be products people want to buy, and want to buy locally."

But she questions local elected officials' commitment to farming.

"If the County Council's not willing to support agriculture, and the local cities are not, where does that leave us?" she asked.

The Soil and Water Conservation District wants to start working with communities and political groups, to make them realize agriculture is important and feasible.

Moen said we must plan for the future of young farmers, and make it possible for them to make a living.

"We'd like to work with the county," she said. "In a very respectful way, we'll remind them we're still here."

She added, "We are determined to carry on."

- pat@beacononlinenews.com

Finally: a trial

By John Johnston
Managing Editor

Originally slated to begin in January, the long-awaited Palm Beach County versus Mizner Trail Golf Course trial finally gets underway today before Judge Kenneth Stern in the 15th District Court in West Palm Beach.

A discussion of scheduling matters, the setting of a trial date, and a status conference are on today’s agenda, according to Assistant County Attorney Amy Petrick.

And despite Judge Stern being the third judge since January to be involved in the case, the matter until this week had been stalled with scheduling problems on the part of the first judge, and a second judge recusing himself.  The case is now moving forward, however, because all of the items in the original litigation have been withdrawn -- except for the “claims,” Petrick said.

The claims center on county denial of a zoning change for the Mizner Trail Golf Course, effectively denying development there.

Compson Development Corp of Boca Raton has the Mizner Trail Golf Course as one of its developments, and its Compson that’s now seeking in excess of $30 million over the county’s denial of a zoning change that would, in turn, have permitted the building of 200-plus luxury town homes on part of the Mizner Trail Golf Course in west Boca Raton.

Reached by the Boca Raton News, Compson CEO Robert Comparto, and on the advice of counsel, declined comment.

The Boca Raton News has also learned that Compson has not withdrawn a separate defamation lawsuit against Mizner Trail development opponent, County Commissioner Mary McCarty. The suit alleges that McCarty made defamatory statements about Compson to third parties.  A motion by the county for dismissal of that case is slated for April 9.

McCarty told the Boca Raton News Tuesday that the defamation case is without merit because all of her actions involving Mizner Trail were in her capacity as county commissioner. As such, she believes that those actions are not subject to litigation under the fairly broad blanket of immunity granted to public officials against -- not only liability, but litigation itself -- for actions taken and statements made while performing official duties.

Three lawsuits were filed in April 2006 with the 15th District Circuit court, alleging that in denial of Mizner’s application to build luxury town homes on the Mizner Trail Golf Course, the county acted “in an unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious manner against Mizner Trail.”

The first of those lawsuits was dismissed in September 2006, and interim settlement meetings on the remaining allegations did not bear fruit.

The case began when the county zoning commission voted 4-3 in January 2006 that Mizner’s application should move forward to the County Commission -- but with a recommendation for denial.

County commissioners unanimously agreed on Feb. 23, 2006, rejecting plans for 202 luxury townhouses on holes three through eight of the southern Mizner Trail Golf Course in Boca Del Mar, a 35-year old and 30,000 plus household development that straddles the Florida Turnpike west of Boca Raton. Boca Del Mar is the single largest unincorporated area land development in Palm Beach County. In fact, the Boca Del Mar Planned Unit Development (PUD) in 1971 was the first such PUD ever approved in the county.

And the remaining litigation alleges that the county’s denial amounts to “a regulatory taking of Mizner’s property and vested rights.”

Opponents of Mizner’s development proposal convinced the county that the Mizner Trail Golf Course was part of the “general development characteristics” of the overall Boca Del Mar development – and therefore should not be built upon.

Further, and in the words of the then county Senior Site Planner Eric McClellan, the golf course was a  "a firm and wholistic part of the community,” and therefore development as other than a golf course could be denied under the county code on that basis. (McClellan has since left county employ and is working in the private sector).

The Mizner lawsuit in turn countered that Mizner Trail had an inherent right to build the luxury town homes because the property was properly zoned for that purpose, that more than a sufficient number of residential units approved in the original development plan remained unbuilt, and that the golf course itself was never established in perpetuity as a golf course.

The suit also says that Mizner “purchased the property in 1998, with the expectation that it would be used as a golf course temporarily and that the property ultimately would be developed residentially.”

The suit also claimed that “using the property as a golf course is no longer an economically viable use or an economically reasonable use, and has not been for several years, at least since 2002.”

For the better part of three years, the proposed development of, initially, nearly 500, whittled down to 390, then down to 236, and finally down to 202 luxury homes ($500,000 and up) at the Mizner Trail Golf Course was an on-going battle between some residents who opposed the development, and later both the County Zoning Commission and the Board of County Commissioners.

Acting on what the lawsuit alleges, the failure to get the luxury home development approved eventually resulted in Mizner saying it was losing too much money operating the golf course, and the course was closed Oct. 1 2005. 

Mizner’s original plan was to sell one third of the southern golf course.  Upon that land --- six holes of the now closed course --- the plan called for construction of 202 luxury town houses. The remaining 12 holes would then have been reconfigured into an executive 18-hole course.  The plan also included a new deed covenant that for all practical purposes Mizner said prevented the remaining 67 percent of the land from ever being developed.

In a show cause order following the original suit 15th Circuit Court Judge Edward Fine said he believed the county’s denial “shows a preliminary basis” for being overturned.

Mizner’s litigation seeking monetary damages was subsequently filed and was later said to total in excess of $30 million.

Homebuilders bemoan business climate
Industry official tells MTI students that 'overregulation,' stiff impact fees and negative media stifle construction.

BY KEVIN CARTER
SPECIAL TO THE STAR-BANNER


OCALA - Boosting home building in Florida means fighting impact fees and an atmosphere of fear, according to one industry leader.

"Things are tough out there," Florida Homebuilders Association CEO Emmett Reed said of the current homebuilding market.

Reed told local builders and students in a construction program Tuesday at Marion Technical Institute his 20,000-member group is lobbying state lawmakers for changes intended to improve the state's building climate.

"It's going to get better when government seriously looks at overregulation of the industry," he said.

Fees tied to new home building that proponents say help to offset corresponding increases in municipal and county services are hurting construction, Reed said.

"Impact fees throttle growth," Reed said. "It's an unfair tax on new construction."

Reed notes that, as a sixth-generation Floridian, if he built a new home on land he owns and sold his old home to a family with children from Michigan, he'd be the one to pay an impact fee.

Impact fees brought in a lot of money for government officials to spend during the construction boom, Reed said. "The boom was so hard and so fast and so high they were able to live high on the hog."

It took a downturn in the construction industry for lawmakers to consider the fees' possible negative impact, Reed said. "Now they're looking at it."

He also sees the media as partly to blame for a lack in homebuilding.

Coverage of foreclosures and negative economic forecasts helped create a panicked atmosphere, blinding potential homebuyers to some great opportunities, Reed said.

"The attitude of the country is people are afraid," Reed said. "Now is the time to buy. There'll never be a better time."

Hope is readily apparent in the face of MTI senior Jonathan Gonzalez. He sees a big future for himself in construction despite the industry's current state.

"It drops and gets slow, but it picks right back up," he said.

Gonzalez was among 21 students receiving a certificate Tuesday for completing a core section of MTI's construction technology program, which encompasses carpentry plumbing, electrical and HVAC.

He recently won a local Skills USA competition in carpentry and will compete at the state level in April. He has the next few years of his life mapped out.

Gonzalez plans to go to Central Florida Community College for architectural drafting, work two years for his father in framing and general construction and take the test for a general contractor's license.

Once Gonzalez gets his license, he wants to build homes with his dad, Jorge Gonzalez of JLG Installation Inc. in Ocala.

That's the kind of dream MTI power/construction instructor Tony Vasquez is happy to play a part in.

"The construction industry itself has its ups and downs," Vasquez said. "You can overcome that by having good skills."

As Gonzalez gains critical experience on the job, he'll make a reputation he'll bank heavily on later.

Word-of-mouth referrals are the most important credential anyone in construction carries, Vasquez said: "You're only as good as your last job."

Tavares: Water pressure fix will have to wait
City wants to weigh options before placing pump in Royal Barbor area

Benjamin Roode

Thursday, March 20, 2008


TAVARES - Residents of a Tavares subdivision will have to wait a bit longer for water pressure aid.

Showers and other spigots in some higher elevation houses in the Royal Harbor development on State Road 19 are trickling due to a lack of water pressure, said some residents and analysts from Jones Edmunds, a state-based consulting firm.

A new pump station - at a cost of about $640,000 - in the development would make sure water got uphill to those houses affected, according to a report Jones Edmunds completed.

City council members wanted to make sure they considered all options, including putting the pump station where it could help more residents in the area, before either the city or Royal Harbor committed to pay such a bill.

The city is working to develop a water master plan; that plan would include a solution to the water pressure problem.

Land conservationists keep faith

By NATHAN CRABBE
Sun staff writer
ROCHELLE - Twenty years after its inception, Alachua Conservation Trust has added another jewel to its emerald necklace near the place where the concept was born.


The land-conservation group closed last week on its purchase of a 50-acre property near the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. The land is just north of the trust's first major auisition, Hickory Ranch, which is now part of Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, and it will be the location of an awards ceremony Friday celebrating the group's work.

Executive director Robert "Hutch" Hutchinson said both properties are part of efforts to protect land around Prairie Creek, which runs between Newnan's Lake and Paynes Prairie. The land also adds to the undeveloped buffer around Gainesville known as the emerald necklace, he said.

"This is the area that will separate one city from the next when we're all grown up," he said. "We're getting closer to that vision that was first created 20 years ago."

An Alachua County task force initially promoted the idea of a band of green space around cities and led to the creation of the nonprofit conservation trust in 1988. The trust has since worked to protect about 14,000 acres through public land purchases and private conservation easements.

A 55-year-old former county commissioner, Hutchinson said that over time, the trust has built the relationships and resources needed to buy large tracts of ecologically significant land. He used the most recent purchase as an example, saying the group first made contact with the land owner two decades ago.

"Now people know who we are, and the major landowners in this county have all heard from us," he said.

The group will be honoring three people as conservation stewards at the awards ceremony: Harold Nugent, known to area public school students as the Alligator Man for his class presentations involving the reptiles, as well as Kate Barnes and Bruce Delaney. Barnes is a former county commissioner and Delaney is a former Gainesville city commissioner; both worked to protect land in Cross Creek and the Lochloosa Forest.

"To this day, Cross Creek is the way it is because these folks stepped up and did what needed to be done," Hutchinson said.

Delaney was a co-owner of a fish camp in Cross Creek when he helped stop a massive development effort in that area. In the conservation trust's early days, it helped the St. Johns River Water Management District protect about 28,000 acres in the area that became known as the Lochloosa Wildlife Management Area.

Delaney recalled a meeting in the 1980s in which residents fighting to prevent development were met with the rejoinder that they should just buy the land if they wanted to protect it so badly. He said the trust - with help from government programs providing money for land purchases - enabled exactly that to happen.

"That made it possible to succeed," he said. "You can't do this without money."

Hutchinson said the trust started with the idea that it would be doing a lot of conservation easements, the arrangements in which private landowners agree not to develop land. But he said the state's land-buying programs, Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever, and the local version, Alachua County Forever, provided funding for the group to instead make major land purchases.

"In the land trust world, most of the work is private conservation easements," he said. "In Florida, because there's been a significant local and state commitment . . . land trusts have concentrated on outright purchase."

Ramesh Buch, director of Alachua County Forever, said the conservation trust has worked both as a partner and a seller of land to the program. In some cases they have auired land together, he said, while in others the trust has bought land on its own that it later sold to the county. Now both the county and state land-buying programs are nearing the point when they run out of money. Hutchinson said the future of those programs will be critical in determining whether the trust moves toward more easements, which he said can be a good tool to ensure land is managed to ensure its environmental value.

"When you have a strongly motivated owner, they're the best managers you can have," he said.

Hutchinson served as the trust's first executive director, a role he resumed in January. He said JulieAnne Tabone, who ran public education efforts at Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park as a park services specialist, will work as assistant director in preparation to eventually take the trust's top job.

The organization is going through other changes, such as a shift from buying land to managing forests through controlled burns and opening some land for public access. In November, trails in the Prairie Creek Preserve off County Road 2082 were opened and dedicated to the late land-conservation advocates Jane Walker and Susan Wright.

The group's latest purchase fills a "doughnut hole" of unprotected land in the 368-acre preserve, Hutchinson said, while allowing for another trail connecting to the Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail. The property is now flatwoods, but will be restored to longleaf pine habitat, he said. He said the protection of land in the area is both environmentally and personally important. Ecologically, the land protects a wildlife corridor for migrating birds and large mammals such as the Florida black bear. Prairie Creek links Newnan's Lake and Paynes Prairie and consequently is important to water quality there.

Personally, Hutchinson grew up on the lake and played in the creek as a child. He said it's satisfying to work to protect the beauty of land he grew up enjoying.

"There's a lot of Prairie Creek water running through my veins," he said.

Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 352-338-3176 or crabben@gville sun.com.


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