Martin County is again considering placing a referendum for an additional one-cent tax, for an as yet unspecified period of time, on the ballot this fall. The stated purpose would be to purchase more green space, both inside and outside the Urban Services Area. A County-appointed committee, representing business and environmental interests, would administer the proceeds from the County's portion of this new tax.

This proposal is essentially a new version of the $20-million "Lands for You" bond program adopted in 1989, a twenty-year program for which we are still paying. Under that plan, willing sellers would offer their land to the County, and the Committee would make recommendations for purchases to the County Commission.

The "Lands for You" program had both successes and failures. Some coastal scrub land and important wetlands were protected from development. On the other hand, top of the market prices were typically paid, and tracts such as the Bessemer parcel, ostensibly purchased for a second public golf course, were never put to their intended use. Very little of the land purchased ended up with any sort of public access or use, and most of it is not being maintained very well.

Before this actually comes to a vote, we should learn from our own experience and develop a proposal that shows some foresight. We strongly believe this program should be connected to comprehensive planning to protect more land than we can possibly afford to buy. At current prices, several years of the projected revenues would yield only a few thousand acres of land, and having the government enter the market will certainly not lower land values. Also, let us not forget that a significant portion of the proceeds, legally, must be allocated to the City of Stuart and other Martin County municipalities, and can be used for virtually any purpose.

For any such program to be effective, it must be combined with major changes to the Comprehensive Plan. It is essential that the Plan be modified to prevent 20-acre ranchettes, which are rapidly consuming all the private property left outside the Urban Services Area. Martin County cannot afford to provide the basic services to this development type since it allows agricultural tax exemptions for most of the property. Also, this type of development outside the Urban Services Area is a detriment to the environment that would fracture natural habitats and result in loss of wetlands.

At the same time, we have concentrated all our growth and density inside the Urban Services Boundary (USB). It is likely that most of us do not care much for the future that is currently assured by the Comprehensive Plan: a completely built urban area inside the USB with too little open space.

The Board of County Commissioners should be addressing these issues. If they will do so comprehensively, and then propose additional funding as some part of the program, we are all ears. But passing a one-cent tax to buy a thousand acres without a plan is a band aid, not a real solution.