Development in the Ag reserve

(Suzanne) Mulvehill Nursery, west of Delray Beach, is one of the many plant nurseries in the Palm Beach County Agricultural Reserve. (Bruce R. Bennett / The Palm Beach Post)

Read about it.... Palm Beach County rules have restricted development in the Ag Reserve by requiring builders to set aside 60 acres for every 40 acres they want to develop. Land set aside for preservation must be in the Ag Reserve.

But along comes the greedy developer, GL Homes, that wants to change that rule. "After getting approval to build 3,900 homes on 4,900 acres it owns in the Loxahatchee area, the developer has floated a plan to preserve that acreage in exchange for permission to build on land it owns in the Ag Reserve.

Environmentalists and residents fear the proposal could put an end to a unique area in South Florida intended to limit suburban sprawl and preserve one of the nation’s most productive farming areas east of the Mississippi River." The biggest opponents to restricting development are the nurseries.