My Word: Farmton's changing the rules

By Lesley Blackner

February 23, 2010

Are Volusia and Brevard county commissioners Stepford wives or Stockholm-syndrome victims? They seem to be manifesting symptoms of both as they rush to rubberstamp unneeded new cities in the 50,000-acre tract of old Florida called Farmton.

Commissioners claim they need more than 23,000 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space to save what appears to be already saved, at least on the books. About half of Farmton property is already conserved as the biggest wetlands mitigation bank in the U.S. But with a magic wand, commissioners say goodbye to all of that.

And at least in Volusia, the entire tract has been designated a Natural Resource Management Area, which means one house per 25 acres, and the houses must be clustered. That gives Farmton about 2,400 homes under the old rules. But they want more, so the commissioners just wave their magic wand.

Yes, Farmton has been loaded with conservation designations for decades that allowed its owners to make good profits from low taxes, hunting, timber and lucrative mitigation banking. But they want more. So presto, the commission is changing the rules.

Farmton currently promises not to build the new "stuff" until the need comes back. Well, we already have enough "stuff" on the books to build right now and for decades. But it isn't getting built now because of a giant oversupply of construction, both residential and commercial, not to mention foreclosures.

And as for their promises…well…did you hear the one about how the developers promised Farmton would be the biggest wetlands mitigation bank in the U.S. because it is unsuitable for urban development? That promise worked until it became more profitable to morph Farmton into towns that will bankrupt Volusia and Brevard when the taxpayers have to supply schools, police, roads, etc. The additional huge overhang of oversupply will just continue to depress home values for years to come.

You see, land use in Florida is all about politics, much more than it is about law. Too often, the bulk of commissioner campaign contributions come from the development machine. That is why these big land-use changes get approved by your elected officials, despite howls of opposition.

Even in the face of the biggest real-estate collapse in history, most commissioners still just can't say no to paving over the state. Some are pre-programmed like Stepford wives, and others morph into rubberstamping zombies after election.

This is why voters must approve Hometown Democracy, on the ballot as Amendment 4 this November. Voters will get the last word on whether they want to keep paving over the state.

Nothing is really protected or conserved in Florida under the current regime when it just takes a majority of commissioners to wave their magic wand and approve whatever the money and the political influence want.

Lesley Blackner of Palm Beach is president of Florida Hometown Democracy, the sponsor of Amendment 4.