The community of Alva may be issuing a collective sigh of relief. Momentary relief. DR Horton’s Forestar backed away from a plan to buy 561 acres to build 737 single-family dwellings. And while Alva takes a breath, they have to know those 561 acres are still there. Awaiting another suitor which will bring another threat to their rural environment which includes a preserve on three sides, home to wildlife − birds, bears and the disappearing Florida panther. Further, there can be found the increasingly rare home with acreage hosting horses, cattle, gardens and − space.
It’s probably not lost on these Alva residents that their slice of paradise is about the only place in Lee County with any real acreage left, all other communities having largely succumbed to rows of roofs. (Despite robust resistance from the locals which Alva residents, no doubt, have watched with anxious anticipation.)
The News-Press has recently published several interesting articles about voters in other counties resisting pro-development incumbents in favor of “slow-growth” candidates. Manatee County has been the number one maverick lately with variances for large-scale communities denied, impact fees raised despite a prohibition by the state, and pro-development incumbents being dismissed. Lee County has even witnessed our own rebellion when two Fort Myers Beach pro-development City Council members were removed in a special election. Other counties have reported some surprising wins for environment over development.
But one thing is clear in Lee County: Cranes, plowing equipment, felled trees, acres of dirt. Not a blade of grass in sight. And signs along roads where native trees provide shade and habitat for wildlife proclaiming, “Available!”
Florida has had these cycles before − in fact it is a ‘rinse and repeat’ issue − growth or slow growth. We never seem to reach a balance although the state has tried. In the ’80s, the Florida Legislature passed the Growth Management Act of 1985. The Act required citizens across the state to draw up a land plan for future growth, taking natural resources into account. I presume that is when the Density Reduction, Groundwater Resource areas were established. Much serious thought by Florida citizens produced growth management plans for their counties. Now we’re back in the ’80s when we’re once again witnessing development ad infinitum. Matt Taylor, candidate for Florida commissioner of agriculture, has addressed overdevelopment at his campaign stops: “People are noticing that their way of life is deteriorating because we just keep recklessly rubber-stamping new apartment homes, new houses.”
An associate professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida, Aubrey Jewett, has been quoted in The News-Press as saying, “The growth management plan remained in place until 2011 when Rick Scott and the Legislature dismantled the Department of Community Affairs in the name of clearing red tape . . . “
More important, perhaps, has been the Bert Harris Act, passed in the ’90s, which prohibited regulations that “unduly burdened” a property owner, presumably from profiting from his/her investment. (I’ve yet to talk to anyone who can explain what the Bert Harris Act actually allows or prohibits). Although the act isn’t well understood, it has been used by developers to threaten cities and counties with a lawsuit. Elected officials hate to explain to constituents why they voted for or against something they had to defend in court. So a mere threat is enough for elected officials to capitulate to developers’ demands.
But the Bert Harris Act was followed in 2010 with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling for Citizens United. The decision gave corporations and wealthy individuals unprecedented permission to pour unlimited funds to candidates and their PACs. Further, contributors could remain anonymous.
The first surprising result from the Citizens United ruling was Lee County’s 2012 re-election campaign of Commissioner Ray Judah. Judah was one of the most engaged and responsive commissioners on the Board, and a defender of the county’s land plan. Most voters expected Judah to be a shoo-in. But a surprising barrage of attack ads against Judah took his supporters by surprise. As flyers and robo calls continuously attacked Judah, it was a mystery where all the money was coming from. Judah, a popular candidate, raised $52,000. Estimates of his opponent’s war chest was between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Judah was quoted as saying, “the tone of the attack ads were to discredit me as a person and a commissioner.” The big donors were never identified but results of Judah’s loss became apparent in just a few years. Corkscrew Road, where our future water resources were to be saved for future generations, is now under acres and acres of roofs. There is no land to be found on the DRGR areas of Corkscrew Road. Just gated communities. The county has now added roads and more are in the works.
Following Judah’s dismissal, pro-development candidates have taken their seats on the Lee County Board of County Commissioners and it is now routine for the rich (or rich-backed) to donate vast sums of money to buy their seats in elected offices everywhere. It’s a heavy ask but the only cure will be for voters who look below the surface. Maybe, at the aquifers?
Patty Duncan, a resident of south Fort Myers, has been active in environmental and other local issues for many years since moving full-time to Southwest Florida in 2008.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Alva gets brief reprieve from relentless development surge | Opinion
Reporting by Patty Duncan / Fort Myers News-Press
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