Yesterday, the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners met for their regular meeting. As you know, we have two new commissioners--David Kerner, who was elected to the former seat of Shelley Vana who was term limited and Mack Bernard who defeated Priscilla Taylor. Paulette Burdick was previously voted in as the new mayor.
The important item on the agenda was the SFWMD and its desire to sell off its interest in 571 acres it owns in the Ag Reserve. The District has a 61% interest in the property acquired with proceeds from the $150 million bond that was passed by PB County voters in 1999 with Palm Beach County owning the remainder. It seems to me that the residents of Palm Beach County are the owners of this land and what they say must have weight.
SFWMD says this acreage no longer fits its plan and they want to sell it and say if the county does not go along with their desire to sell, they will sue. Drew Martin, Chair of the Sierra Club Loxahatchee equated this to "blackmail." It's definitely a strong armed tactic. This land needs to remain in the hands of the County, not some potential developer down the road in spite of easements that could be attached to the property. We all know through experience that easements and land use can be changed from the dais.
Read about it... and the County's refusal to give an up or down vote on the sale of this land. Mary Lou Berger, Paulette Burdick and Mack Bernard voted against postponing a decision. They voted correctly.
The best thing to do is for the County to buy out SFWMD's interest in the land and let this acreage stay protected as agriculture as the voters wanted.
7 comments:
David Kerner- Wiffle-waffle mamby-pamby man. Certainly not a voice for the people of Palm Beach County.Can the people of Palm Beach County sue to get back our 100 million dollars????????
I'd like Drew to be more vocal on this issue. It's not exactly a straightforward issue.
Lots of people spoke in front of the County commission--Drew was one of them. Their environmental attorney spoke as well. She was excellent.
So, are you optimistic?
I do not trust the four commissioners who voted to postpone this. I don't trust elected officials as a norm. They should have voted NO on the sale originally and then made a motion to find a way to buy the acreage from SFWMD. Now the games will begin.
We need to pressure the county to purchase the land if the district insists on selling and to pressure the district not to sell. Anyone who purchases the land as a private owner will ultimately seek to develop it.
You got that one right. Perhaps a letter campaign and Letters to the Editor.
Post a Comment