Originally Published September 18, 2009
It is time to speak up about the two gigantic developments our local politicians want to approve in our drainage basin and Aquifer recharge area. The first, Restoration, is an annexation that doubles the size of Edgewater with 10,000 more homes on what looks like swamp land. The second, Farmton GreenKey, creates another 29,000 homes still farther out in the swamp. The County Council has prepared their rubber stamp, but state regulators want solutions to Volusia's dwindling drinking water supply first.
So now our politicians want to rape the river too. Large sheets of toxic algae swarm in the St Johns River, but they want to pump it anyway so their campaign contributors can clear the state water review. This pumping will only increase the river's pollution concentration killing more estuaries, plants and fish. Once it flows to the ocean it creates low oxygen dead zones, red tide, and beach closures.
Some say Farmton will never be built and all this is just to artificially run up the property value before another triple price conservation purchase. But what if they do build? Our current life of water restrictions changes to one where we all have another zero added to our water bill to pay for their alternative water processing. Property taxes are nothing compared to that.
Once you get you head around our water problem it is something you can't unlearn. I am not an environmentalist, but I am becoming an economic survivalist since our politicians can't say no to an obvious fleecing of our future. The rest of Volusia property owners can't escape supply and demand so if these plans pass it's bye-bye real estate recovery and hello to more tax subsidies for urban redevelopment.
Aren't you ready to make a change yet? More than 600,000 of your fellow Floridians have secured your right to have local voter approval of land use changes starting next year through amendment four. Considering our water shortage and the resulting effects on property values, shouldn't any further changes have to stand up to a vote of the people? Sustainability can be more than just another developer buzzword, but it only happens if you act now. E-mail your politicians today and tell them all to "Stop all the land use changes and other development giveaways throughout Volusia until we vote on amendment four, the Florida Hometown Democracy Amendment.
Greg Gimbert
Daytona Beach
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