Florida, you get uglier by the dayBy BILL MAXWELL Since moving from Alabama back to Florida 14 months ago, I have traveled to every part of the Sunshine State except to the Florida Keys and Key West, where I lived and worked during the late 1970s. Most recently, I had the dubious pleasure of driving from Amelia Island to St. Petersburg - dubious because I mostly hated what I saw. But I am getting ahead of myself. Because I had driven up to Amelia Island by way of Interstate 75 to Interstate 10, I decided when I returned to take U.S. Highway 17 from Yulee to Palatka, to State Highway 19, to State Highway 50 in Groveland, to I-75 to St. Petersburg. I had not been on this stretch of Highway 17, also known as the Ocean Highway, from Yulee to Palatka since I was a teenager. Then, it was a pleasant trek through a world of hardwood trees, undisturbed river banks and family farms. Now, this stretch is a virtual gateway to the sprawl that reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to regions west of Jacksonville International Airport. The highway itself is nothing more than a frontage road for developers. Doubtless, the slogan "build it and they will come" has been put into action with a vengeance. At Palatka, I wanted to take Highway 19 so that I could see this section of the Ocala National Forest. When I lived in Crescent City as a child, we often camped and fished in the areas around Salt Springs, Juniper Springs, Alexander Springs and Paisley. Thankfully, the national forest is off limits to greedy developers, and it remains one of the gems of old Florida. When I left Putnam County and entered Lake County, I saw the handiwork of developers everywhere. The towns of Eustis, Tavares, Yalaha and Howey-in-the-Hills still hold hints of their old charm, but their environs no longer are blanketed with rolling citrus groves. The groves have been replaced with subdivisions with look-alike houses, strip malls and Wal-Marts that have killed family stores and that stick-whittling ambience that made these places special. As I came to the traffic light in Groveland, where State Highways 19 and 50 intersect, I was on familiar ground. As a child, I often came to Groveland with my grandfather, who was a truck farmer in nearby Mascotte. Downtown Groveland has not changed much, but it, too, has lost its miles and miles of citrus groves to houses and malls. Mascotte has not changed much, but I am certain that developers are ready to bring in the earthmovers and concrete. Highway 50 to I-75 is on track to becoming more of the same, a vast wasteland of modernity. A few large nurseries are holding their own for now, and a handful of cattle people still maintain modest herds. But you can feel the heavy construction machinery rumbling in the background. Five years? Eight years? How much time is left before this section of Highway 50 becomes a bumper-to-bumper strip for seasonal residents and vacationers to get to and from their fancy-named condos? On I-75 heading south, I regretted that I had taken the back roads. I saw Florida's future, and I hated what I saw: Gangs of fools - with public approval - are backfilling our swamps, bulldozing our trees, butchering our mangroves, gouging our shorelines and paving over our grasslands all in the name of development and profit. Every Florida resident should be concerned that we are losing our precious environment. To see the damage being done and what is left to be saved, all of us should get in our cars and drive some of the back roads across and up and down the state. [Last modified September 22, 2007, 22:03:11]
Developers
urge A
former state House speaker is urging voters to use a law that allows people
who sign petitions on constitutional amendments to change their minds. Posted
on Thu, Sep. 20, 2007 BY
MARC CAPUTO The
message comes courtesy of John Thrasher, a lawyer and lobbyist for one of
the state's biggest developers, St. Joe Co. and Associated Industries of
Florida, among others. He's urging people in a letter sent throughout the
state to take advantage of a new business-backed law allowing voters to
revoke their signature on a petition to get a constitutional amendment
before voters. In
this case, the proposed ''Florida Hometown Democracy'' amendment would give
voters the right to veto or approve any growth-plan change made in their
area. And that has developers, the business lobby and local governments
worried. For
starters, the amendment could delay some developments by months, and subject
even minor projects, such as the siting of a gas station, to a citizen vote.
And that could tie the fate of the smallest, least controversial projects to
larger developments. GROUPS
MOBILIZE The
Florida Chamber of Commerce is hitting back with its own group, Floridians
for Smarter Growth, and an amendment that seeks to all but cancel the
Hometown plan. The
rival petitions, Thrasher's letter, a debate Wednesday in Thrasher
said in a Wednesday debate at His
rival, Ross Burnaman with Florida Hometown Democracy, said Thrasher is
misleading people. Burnaman said the amendment would give citizens a final
say over how their community grows, and he pointed out that big developers
oppose this plan. Burnaman
said his group is only 100,000 signatures shy of the 611,000 needed by Feb.
1 to get the measure before voters in November 2008. THRASHER'S
MESSAGE Thrasher,
a former Florida House speaker, hopes to cancel some of those petitions
through his letter, which says people have been ''tricked'' into signing by
''mercenary'' signature gatherers. Thrasher
said he's not affiliated with the chamber's group, which is using paid
signature-gatherers. If
the Hometown amendment makes the ballot and passes, citizens could vote on
growth changes once a year, twice yearly or more often. Said
Thrasher: ``Democracy's not cheap.'' Will
housing bubble rise again? Developer
Cameron Kuhn thinks so. He tells Jerry
W. Jackson Sentinel
Staff Writer September
21, 2007 Downtown
County
delays Impact Fees ordinance County
officials on Thursday passed a motion to continue a public hearing regarding
a proposed Comprehensive Impact Fee ordinance on new construction until Oct.
18. By
ANDREW SKERRITT, Times Columnist The
This
is the "hydrologic heart" of central For
an up-close view of this wild masterpiece, I approached the Southwest Water
Management District, which owns about 120,000 acres of the back woods. We
entered through a gate off Trees
tagged with orange flags mark the As
we drove along miles of former logging roads, cypress trees stood tall along
the "It's
certainly significantly below what we expect this time of year," said
one of my tour guides, Eric Sutton, a land resource manager with Swiftmud. That's
reason to worry. If
the water levels in the "It
just exacerbates the conditions we experienced this year," said Sutton.
The
story is in the numbers. We began this summer with a rainfall deficit - 18.6
inches below normal. Usually we would have regular afternoon showers, but
that didn't happen this year. With a few weeks to go before the end of the
so-called rainy season, we're still 13 inches below normal. The
good news is that we don't have to panic. Where it once depended almost
exclusively on a handful of overused wellfields, the But
not everyone is as prepared for another dry year. The search for water has
towns in Lake and Just
when you thought the water wars were over, along comes a threat from the
opposite direction. Standing
in the Our
politicians are already lining up for the fight. The old water wars taught
them this: Voters love it when you fight for their water. Get
ready. Andrew
Skerritt can be reached at 813 909-4602 or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext.
4602. His e-mail address is askerritt@sptimes.com State
slams waste disposal company with lawsuit A
longtime used-oil and-antifreeze disposal company in Lawyer
downplays developer representation By
TONY The
Brooksville firm is not cozy with developers and its attorneys have the
talent to make up for a lack of municipal experience. “I
don’t think we would in any way let you down or slow you down,” Hogan
said. The
council took Hogan at his word, selecting the firm out of four other
finalists. The
vote was close, however. The
Hogan firm tied with Carole Barice, an attorney with the Fowler &
O’Quinn law firm in Mayor
David Pugh admitted Hogan wasn’t his top pick. “But
I think they’ll do a fantastic job,” Pugh said. The
council decided to bring back the four finalists after its top choice, Jake
Varn of the Hogan
and the other applicants were clearly aware of the concerns council members
had voiced about them during deliberations two weeks ago. “We
haven’t represented a lot of big developers,” Hogan told the council. The
firm has represented “a lot of small guys” who seek, for example, a
zoning change from the city or county. At
a meeting earlier this month, City Attorney David La Croix warned the
council that of all the applicants, the Hogan Firm had the least municipal
experience. The
firm has represented the Hernando County Clerk of Court’s office and other
government entities but never a city or county. “I
realize we don’t have any experience sitting up here,” Hogan said,
referring to the council dais, “but I believe we have the brains to do
it.” Hogan
touted the firm’s stable of lawyers whose respective specialties would
translate to a broad range of legal expertise for the city. Council
member Lara Bradburn asked Hogan how his firm would balance the city’s
desire to grow and also “protect our environmental assets.” “I
see the role of the attorney as legal advisor,” Hogan replied. “My
opinion, if I have one, is not relevant.” Hogan
said he owns property in the city, spent most of his life here and has “a
vested interest” in Brooksville. “I
think my heart’s in the right place, but as attorney my attitude and
beliefs wouldn’t be important,” he said. Barice
said she had the most municipal experience, touting her role as attorney for
the city of Altamonte Springs in which she handled the kinds of issues —
annexations, condemnations, eminent domain — that lie ahead for
Brooksville as the city grows. Barcie,
who worked for the city for some 20 years, is board certified in local
government law. “My
primary practice is in that area, and I’m respected among my peers,”
Barice said. Barice
acknowledged her hourly rate is on the higher side but added, “Someone
with a great deal of experience is going to spend a whole lot less time on
an issue, hit the ground running and bill for a lot less hours. You’ll
save money in the long run.” That
was among several factors for council member Joe Bernardini, who still had
enough concerns about Hogan’s representation of developers and the lack of
municipal experience to rank the firm as his last choice. “If
we were going to pay top dollar, Barice has mostly municipal experience and
has done a lot of things we need to do,” Bernardini said. The
other finalists were Kristie Kroslack, who spent six years as assistant
county attorney in The
Hogan firm has offered to charge the city a rate of $178.30 for the first 14
hours each month and $200 per hour after that. A contract will likely be
ready for the council’s Oct. 1 meeting. La
Croix’s last day is Sept. 30 but he has offered to work beyond that on an
hourly basis until his successor is in place. Reporter
Tony Marrero can be contacted at 352-544-5286. Crisis
hitting home Home
foreclosures are surging in "Housing
in Greening
Found in Fatal
citrus disease has spread to all Kevin
Bouffard The
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has confirmed four
cases of citrus greening in Polk
Is Still on Top In Citrus Production ByKevin
Bouffard & Kyle Kennedy Write
an email to Kevin Bouffard mailto:kevin.bouffard@theledger.com Kyle
Kennedy LAKELAND
| Polk County continued for another season as the state's top
citrus-producing county with almost 22.4 million boxes of oranges,
grapefruit, tangerines and specialty citrus fruit, according to the
preliminary 2006-07 Citrus Summary released Thursday by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture. Negotiations
may end Summerfield development fight By
Jeff Burlew A
bitter fight over the Summerfield development near Lake Jackson could end
with a peaceful settlement. Representatives
of nearby residents, who sued to try and block Summerfield, have been
meeting with the developer, Arbor Properties, as well as former Tallahassee
Mayor Scott Maddox, an attorney for Arbor, and County Commissioner John
Dailey, who represents the northwest district. Arbor
initially planned more than 400 residential units, most of them apartments,
as well as 70,000 square feet of commercial space on the 106-acre site on
North Monroe Street. The
latest proposal, however, calls for about half that many units. All of them
would be single-family homes. Commercial space would be dramatically cut.
And it's possible the development would be built according to national
"green" standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED). "We're
looking at it as a very positive step," said Mike Brezin, president of
the Lake Jackson Protection Alliance. Maddox
said he and developer Will Butler might invest in and develop the site
"if we can bring about a settlement that is acceptable to all parties.
But we're only interested in that if we can reach a compromise." He
added that he wants a development that is environmentally friendly and
aesthetically pleasing. Gordon Thames, Settlement
talks were held Wednesday and last week. Another meeting is set for Monday. Maddox
and Dailey expressed a bit of astonishment that the proposal has gone from
apartment complexes to talk of a "green" development. "That's
fantastic," Dailey said. "That's heading in the right
direction." It
wasn't immediately clear how a possible settlement would affect a dispute
between the county and the Florida Department of Community Affairs over a
proposed growth-policy change affecting Lake Jackson. Maddox said he's
hopeful that will be resolved along with the lawsuits filed by residents. A
hearing in the growth-policy case has been set for Nov. 28. Contact
reporter Jeff Burlew at (850) 599-2180 or jburlew@tallahassee.com. Florida
unemployment continues creeping up as construction slumps TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. (AP) -- Florida's unemployment rate ticked up slightly again in August
to 4 percent, the highest it has been since April 2005, the state's Agency
for Workforce Innovation said Friday. The
increase in joblessness is blamed partly on a slumping housing market. The
construction industry has lost 18,500 jobs in Florida since last year.
August was the sixth straight month in which Florida has seen a year-to-year
drop in construction jobs, the first time that has happened since 1992, the
agency said. The
rate of people who could not find a job inched up from 3.9 percent in July,
but at 4 percent was still below the national rate of 4.6 percent. Out
of a civilian labor force of 9.2 million in On
the Net: AWI's
labor information page: http://www.labormarketinfo.com A
new front in Florida's water wars
A
plan would pipe 43-million gallons from Hernando and Citrus to fast-growing
Central Florida.
By
DAN DeWITT, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE
- After decades of fending off threats to pump their water south, Hernando and
Citrus counties now find themselves fighting a plan to ship water east. The
St. John's River Water Management District is backing a proposal to pipe
43-million gallons of water from the Withlacoochee River and Lake Rousseau, in
northern Citrus County, to fast-growing Central Florida regions such as
Clermont, Leesburg and Marion County. It
reminded some Hernando residents of the idea, abandoned more than a decade
ago, to withdraw water from Lake Rousseau for cities in the Tampa Bay area,
and the more recent Council of 100 plan to pump water from northern Florida to
South Florida. As
with those ideas, this one inspired fighting words. "This
will happen over my cold, dead corpse," said Hernando County Commissioner
David Russell. "We
need to let them know real quick and real soon that we oppose this plan,"
said Commissioner Chris Kingsley, who is also a board member of the
Withlacoochee Regional Water Supply Authority, which covers Hernando, Citrus
and Sumter counties. At
a meeting on Wednesday, the council voted to do as Kingsley suggested and to
direct its attorney to research whether the proposal is legal. That
question could turn on whether surface water -- the water in lakes and rivers
-- is protected under the 11-year-old law that requires local governments to
tap their own sources before seeking water elsewhere. It
clearly is, said Dave Moore, executive director of the Southwest Florida Water
Management District, who attended Wednesday's meeting. Russell,
a former state representative, agreed: "In my mind, they would have to
change state law to get this done." St.
John's officials have argued that surface water is not covered, said Jack
Sullivan, executive director of the water supply authority. He believes it is,
he said at the meeting on Wednesday, though some of the state's water use
policy is unclear, especially if surface water is considered an alternate
source. That
is exactly how it is viewed by local governments in Central Florida, said Hal
Wilkening, St. John's director of resource management. The
district has directed these communities to find alternate supplies because not
enough water remains in the aquifer to feed future development. St.
John's "anticipates that the development of future groundwater projects
will be minimal because of stresses on groundwater availability," said a
report prepared earlier this year for the Lake County Water Alliance, a
collection of cities in the county. The
same report, which was partly paid for by St. John's, estimated demand for
water by alliance members would double by 2030. Wilkening
said plans to tap surface water -- still in their early stages -- include the
massive Villages project, most of which is in Sumter County and the Southwest
Florida Water Management District, commonly known as Swiftmud. One
proposal was presented at a meeting of utilities and local governments in
Orlando on July 18. It anticipated pumping water from the lower Ocklawaha and
St. John's rivers to the Villages, meaning his district is taking a regional
approach. "There's
no back room plan that somebody is going to ship water from the Withlacoochee
across Sumter to Lake County," Wilkening said. Except
development patterns almost ensure that will happen, said Joe Murphy,
conservation chairman of the Hernando Audubon Society. "There's
no way we're going to say, 'Come on over, harvest some water for
Clermont.'" Dan
DeWitt can be reached at dewitt@sptimes.com
or (352) 754-6116. Group
questions biz helping to set water rules Rachael
Anne Ryals A
local environmental group is concerned that there may be a conflict of
interest with a company that is helping to set the rules on how much water can
be taken from local springs and rivers. "Our
Santa Fe" is questioning the Suwannee Water Management District's recent
contract renewal with Water Resource Associates (WRA), a company that has been
hired to analyze how much water can safely be taken from local springs and
rivers. That's
because WRA also specializes in helping landowners sell water rights -- a
controversial practice that has not historically been allowed in Florida. Selling
water rights is a gray area in Florida law that is used in areas of the state
where there is no water left to permit. To
sell water rights, a person with a water use permit agrees to use less of
their allowed, permitted water and sells the right to use some of the
remaining water to another party that is interested in obtaining water. Our
Santa Fe President Russ Augspurg said that the group feels there is a conflict
of interest with the Suwannee River Water Management District hiring a company
involved in that type of business. "We
think that with someone that is helping to set the levels of water, there is a
possibility that they may set those levels of water low with the thought that
later on down the road, that may be water to broker," Augspurg said. But
Kirk Webster, deputy executive director of water resources for the district,
said he does not think there is a conflict of interest with the company that
has been doing Minimum Flows and Levels (MFL) research for the district for
four years. Minimum
Flows and Levels are established to determine how much water can safely be
removed from a river or spring before the environment is harmed. "We
hired a firm to do a good, strong technical job for us, and that is exactly
what they are doing," Webster said. The
reports from the company are also peer-evaluated by scientists from outside
the company. The peer review is a voluntary step that the district has chosen
to do to ensure the science is accurate, Webster said. And
District Board Member David Flagg also said that he trusts what the staff
recommends because they are knowledgeable and educated on the matters. "I
can understand why some people can perceive that there is a conflict of
interest," Flagg said, adding that there is no proof of wrongdoing and
that the company has done good, scientific work for the district. Flagg
said he has not received any phone calls saying that the contract should not
be renewed. If someone has a concern, however, Flagg said he would like to
hear from them. "I
respect their opinions," he said. "And if they indeed have what they
think is valid proof to their opinion, please let us know. Let the executive
director know." Peter
Hubbell and Mark Farrell, two former Southwest Florida Water Management
District executives, founded WRA in 1997. The
company has a wide variety of specialties from conducting in-depth
environmental studies to helping clients find water and sell water rights. And
that's where the perceived conflict comes in. Kirk
Hatfield, the director of Water Resources Research at the University of
Florida, said he could see a potential problem with a company that does
studies that are used to determine the amount of water that can be taken and
also helps people find and sell water. "It
would seem like you could have a conflict of interest," Hatfield said.
"I would be concerned." But
Webster said the company was selected through a competitive process. Webster
said that the company was one of five to six companies that submitted
proposals in response to the bid that occurred a few years ago. The
process for selecting a company to conduct the MFL research is similar to the
process that the district does whenever they hire any company, Webster said. First
an advertisement is placed in Florida Administrative Weekly stating what the
scope of work is that the district needs. Then the district reviews the
proposals, which commonly outline a company's experience, number of staff
members, skills, price and a summary of how they would approach the work. Staff
members then shorten the list of proposals and invite the companies to give a
live presentation to a selection committee that is made up of district deputy
directors. The
selection committee then ranks the applicants and submits their ranking to the
board that then votes on what company to select. The
process is similar to what a city or county does when work is needed And
so far, the district has been happy with the work that WRA has done, Webster
said. The
district staff believes that the same company should be used to complete all
the Suwannee River and Santa Fe River MFLs both to speed up the process of
setting the MFLs and to keep continuity with the results, Webster said. The
Suwannee and Santa Fe rivers' MFLs are scheduled to be complete by 2008. A
new proposal for bids from companies can be placed at any time, Webster said,
but most likely will be re-bid after the rivers' MFLs are completed. Webster
is quick to point out that the contract also has a conflict of interest clause
that could allow the contract to be terminated at any time if there was a
concern, Webster said. "After
the first year, if we had been unhappy, that would be the end of it,"
Webster said. Augspurg,
who voiced his concerns at the recent governing board meeting to renew the
contract with WPA, said that he is still concerned with the possible conflict
of interest. "To
us, someone that is not brokering water would be a better choice," he
said. Speakers
Predict Heartland's Growth Environmentalists,
planners, officials and developers outline visions. By
Tom Palmer AVON
PARK | The key to successfully planning the future of Florida's Heartland is
to look generations - not just years - ahead, a panel of experts said
Wednesday. |