Fl Homegrown Democrcacy

Go to http://floridahometowndemocracy.com/ and sign the online petition to give citizens more say in how we build and develop in the state of Florida.

We all know people want to move to FL (shhhh, don't tell Yankees about our weather this week), but we ought to develop and build in reasonable and sustainable ways for future generations, for me particularly my nieces and nephews.

For a recent example of irrational growth, please read the article below on massive development planned for rural areas straddling the Brevard/Volusia county lines. This fails the sustainable growth test on logical and geological grounds. How can building mega developments protect already protected environmentally sensitive lands?

Also. the geology of the Floridian Aquifer, which supplies much of our drinking water relies on rainwater which filters through sandy soil and then limestone. Development of any sort requires asphalt and concrete which then directs rainfall into the watershed which runs off rather than filters down.

So for the future of Fl and your descendants, sign the petition to give citizens more say in planing of development. Otherwise, the political system as usual, dominated by a seamless web of developer's and their cohorts' cash, documented at http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/, will determine your children's future.

[50,000 homes could land on rural tract

The owner of the parcel in Brevard and Volusia is weighing development options.

Etan HorowitzSentinel Staff Writer March 23, 2007

As Central Florida officials and residents try to figure out how they want the region to grow, plans are taking shape for two massive developments in Volusia and Brevard counties that could add 50,000 homes.

One of them, a 10,000-home development on more than 6,000 acres straddling Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach, is going through a review by regional planners.

Plans for Miami Corp.'s 57,000 acres in Volusia and Brevard counties are less definite, but representatives for the company recently told county officials that they might want to build roughly 20,000 to 40,000 homes.

Together the projects signal intense new development pressures facing a rural area in southeast Volusia County.

A regional planning council is reviewing the details of a large development called Restoration, which was formerly known as Hammock Creek, just west of Interstate 95. Last year, the 6,281-acre property sold for $97 million in the largest private land deal in county history.

If approved, Restoration will have nearly 10,000 homes by the time it is finished in 2018, and its developer has said that about 62 percent of the property will be preserved.

South of that proposed development, Miami Corp.'s enormous parcel has been the subject of speculation for years. But until last year, representatives of the intensely private Chicago-based company insisted they would never build on the property, which is used for hunting and tree farming.

They confirmed for the first time that they were exploring development options for the property, which is about twice the size of Walt Disney World.

Since then, local, regional and state officials have toured the property and met with representatives for the company. County officials said representatives for Miami Corp. have suggested building about 20,000 to 40,000 homes on the property over nearly 70 years.

The current zoning on the property, which stretches from near Deltona in Volusia to northern Brevard, allows 4,280 homes.

"It's just another proposed mega-development, and hopefully it will be done through good, green practices," said Fred Milch, a planner with the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council who toured the Miami Corp. property. "They were talking about this as a city."

But Glenn Storch, Miami Corp.'s local attorney, said the company has not decided how many homes to build on its property -- or if the company wants to develop it at all.

Storch said he wants to use a new state program called "rural land stewardship," which allows higher density in exchange for preserving large areas of environmental land. The company's board of directors may decide next month how it wants to proceed, Storch said.

Storch said that while some residents may be concerned about higher density, it's a much better option than what's allowed now -- homes spread out on large lots without any environmental protection. Michele Moen, an environmentalist who is a member of the Volusia Soil & Water Conservation District, is concerned about the ripple effects of development on the Miami Corp. property.

"When people think rural stewardship, they think all the growth will go into this one spot," Moen said. "It doesn't stop growth anywhere else." Etan Horowitz can be reached at ehorowitz@orlandosentinel.com or 386-851-7915. Copyright (c) 2007, Orlando Sentinel]

Used without permission under fair use exception to copyright law