development

El Guappo got to hear two proposals last night on the future of a golf course at The Ravines.

The contrast between the two groups was stark. The degree of preparation, quality of presentation, command of the information, ability to clearly and effectively communicate the goals and vision were quite different. One group demonstrated respect, trust and accountability. The other simply did not. One group had a vision of a future albiet with a price tag that was 'sticker shock' realization for the crowd. One group had a vision of a future that was simply what was here before you might have again without significant improvements and no clear price tag.

I am sure a lot of you are aware about the controversy surrounding the St Johns River.  Central Florida which has been highly overdeveloped now wants to use the St Johns to (gasp) water their lawns.  Our river has enough issues ( like sewage and fertilizers free flowing) without compounding the problems by sucking millions of gallons of water a day.  The worst part is that Crist is avoiding comment on the issue.  I think he is loud and clear in his actions.  He is the developers best buddy.  

DISCLAIMER:  Just FYI stuff - not an attempt to hodge in on Mike's excellent BCC meeting reviews.

The Highlands DRI Comprehensive Plan Amendment request was heard at last night's Zoning Meeting.  As a long time resident of Clay Hill and an active member of our Community Association, I am very interested in how this progresses.  Just to get it out of the way, it's no secret I pay my bills by building homes.  It would be naive to think people will not be suspect of my motives, but I've lived in Clay Hill for nearly 25 years, and the good Lord willing, I'll be here another 25 (at least).  My heart is with my community - just like the people who cried for Creighton Road.  I'll be able to build houses all over Northeast Florida, and it would not bother me one bit if not one of them is in Clay Hill.  On to the facts.

A few weeks ago there was an article in the news about Orlando wanting to tap into the St Johns River to further development.  Last night it was the state of Georgia reporting Atlanta could go dry in 90 days. 

Can you imagine what it would be like to have no running water to your home? 

Something I found out last week that I also did not know before is that the aquifer Florida relies upon is shared by multiple states.

Some of the water being drained from Lake Lanier is coming down into Florida to sustain life for mussels and such. 

Stopping development will not solve this crisis, and it's also not the sole culprit but it surely is a major contributor. Allowing things to remain as they are could send it past the point of  no return.  This is no longer a preventative issue, it is damage control. 

An article in the TU online this morning reveals that central florida wants to tap the St Johns River in order to support future development. 

Do the powers that be have a good enough grip on the long term effects of messing with the enviroment to even be considering this?

Is this just another situation where the tax payers are going to foot the bill to line already very full pockets?

When you try to put 10lbs of bs in a 5lb bag will it not burst?  At some point does no one have the common sense when to realize that not everything should be developed? 

Very dangerous undertaking, for no true legitimate reason other then greed. 

To grow or not to grow? That is the question.

With apologies to Shakespeare, that question seems an appropriate one for the Board of County Commissioners to answer.  If you log onto the Clay County web site (www.claycountygov.com) four words scroll across the top of the page - "Growth, Prosperity, Opportunity, Community".  Without any further investigation, one would think Clay County government likes, even encourages growth.  But growth is a contentious subject among people who live in Clay County.

The population in 1980 was 67,000.  Twenty-five years later, 2005, the population had ballooned to 179,000.  In 2015, 8 years from now, the population is projected to be 267,000.  That's 4 times the number of people in 1980.  All I can say is WOW!!!

I think it is incredible that they want to hold off on reviewing the impact fees until AFTER we vote on a sales tax.  If the sales tax passes than they will likely lower the impact fees for development.  That is CRAZY!!  Guess why they want to lower the impact fees?  All the big developers contribute to political campaigns ( including MR Conkey he was backed by a lot of big developers).. The developers don't donate money to campaigns unless they expect something in return.  So watch what happens.  If the sales tax passes they will shift the burden to us (even though we already pay the impact fee when we buy our new homes they add it into the cost of the home), and we pay real estate taxes, and now they want to increase the SALES tax..

My husband and I have been residents of Clay County for almost 5 years. We are transplants from South Florida (relocating after an office closing), I am a native Floridian and hubby might as well be, moving to South Florida from Michigan in the late 1940s. We decided to make Clay our home because of its rural, country environment. Our home is on a wetland preserve and we get deer, turkey, and all kinds of other critters in the back yard. Most are after the feed from the bird feeders, I usually buy a large (50 lb ) bag at a time and it has cracked corn as well as seed. We catch the deer in broad daylight feeding on the seed the squirrels have scattered, or scattering it themselves by tipping the feeders and making the seed spill. There is nothing better then to sit in my recliner by the window and watching all the birds and critters filling their bellys. We had nothing like this in South Florida. It was all concrete and asphalt, as most of the natural areas have long been destroyed by development. I sure hope that those in charge of rezoning and development up here think long and hard before they allow all the natural beauty up here to be destroyed. We need the trees to help absorb water, and to convert carbon monoxide. We need clean water for ourselves as well as the environment. I hope I do not have to move again, because what space I thought I had suddenly disappears because someone sold their property to another developer.