The Sentinel's editorial Sunday ("How to beat Amend. 4") is thought-provoking, indeed.
The first suggestion, "Stop approving the very type of development that residents hate," is certainly in keeping with the feelings of this lifelong resident of east Orange County. The boondoggle created during the past 10 to 15 years at the southeast corner of Econlockhatchee Trail and University Boulevard is a prime example.
This 10-acre parcel in an established residential area was rezoned for office space. The developer clear-cut almost 10 acres of a heavily wooded and supposedly protected wetland area. He then built one of several buildings that were proposed, black-topped and lighted at least two-thirds of the parcel, and installed a retention pond where the wetland had been.
The residents were not pleased. The upshot is that in the past three years, the building has had only two tenants and the bank has taken over the property. I say, let this happen in neighborhoods all over the county. This will assure the passage of Amendment 4, and perhaps the taxpaying, voting residents will secure a voice, however small, in what transpires in their communities.
