In Your Corner

The Martin County Taxpayer's Association is extremely pleased with the recent decision by the County Commission to delay their proposed March referendum on an additional one-cent sales tax. This referendum would, if approved, raise taxes collected in Martin County by more than $400,000,000 over the next twenty-years.
We have been at the forefront of advocates for changing the development pattern outside the Urban Services Area. Our Comprehensive Plan allows 20 acre "ranchettes" throughout the entire agriculture land use area, all the way to Lake Okeechobee. We provided the Board of County Commissioners a report several years ago that identified the problems (sprawl, higher taxes for the rest of us to provide services to very low density development) and a number of potential solutions to the problem.
Since then, the Commission has had a number of experts present a variety of methods to "preserve our agricultural land". Somehow the Commission seems to have reached the conclusion that purchase of development rights on agriculture land use, or outright acquisition, is the only way to deal with the flaws in our Comprehensive Plan. While this is one approach to land preservation and control of development is certainly worthwhile, the devil in this scheme is in the details, or rather the lack of them.
In fact, even with the most optimistic projections, $400,000,000 would purchase only º of the land or development rights now available in the Agriculture area, or about 2500 out of the 10,000 ranchettes allowed in the Comp Plan. Leaving 7500 ranchettes to be subdivided and serviced over the same land area does not solve the problem, and in many respects makes it even worse.
It would appear that the Commission's current plan is to quickly get the public committed to an expensive, long range "solution" - then figure out how to manage and execute it. This is not much of a plan.
Management of this huge pot of money would be extremely challenging and provide numerous opportunities for misuse and/or waste. Just the decision process on what piece of land is worthy of purchase/control, along with the inevitable gaming of the land's "value" will require supervision and a lack of bias not well demonstrated in Martin County's history.
Long time residents will remember the "Lands for You" bonds approved by voters in the late 1980's, and the expensive purchase of the 430 acre Bessemer parcel for a public golf course that later could not be built because of wetlands impacts. We not only paid excessively for the property, it was not usable for its intended purpose. Today it is equestrian trails.
More recently, the "Lands for Healthy Rivers" funds were nearly diverted to a land purchase not approved by the voters, simply because a majority of County Commissioners favored the additional land purchase. Only quick public outcry stopped this illegal diversion of funds.
While we believe that Martin County is unique in all the world, there are few if any new problems or new solutions when it comes to land/resource management. Many Florida Counties as well as other fast growing areas in the US and Europe have aggressively addressed land preservation. Some have been successful, many have not, but all provide lessons worthy of study when it comes to spending vast amounts attempting to achieve a solution.
The "Friends of Martin County" have been holding open town meetings on the issues of protecting Ag lands and preventing the proliferation of 20-acre ranchettes. These meetings have had expert fact presentations and are beginning good debate over potential solutions. We hope these meetings continue, and the public stays involved.
If a tax is eventually found to be part of a planning solution, it must be fully described as to its purpose and management. It must also be proposed within the context of Comprehensive Plan changes carefully designed to achieve the intended objectives.
We have the opportunity to make major improvements to our long-term future in Martin County, but we must proceed carefully and with the full knowledge of the public. We applaud the County Commission for taking a step back, so we may all take a big step forward.