Note: It is our goal at One Martin to provide reliable, fact-based information so citizens can be better informed about our government and our community.
We're drowning in misinformation
We see it every time a change to Martin County's growth management plan is proposed. Some call it “the brainwashing” of well-intentioned residents by environmental activists.
We call it fear-mongering by those pretending to care about the environment while actually pushing their no-growth hidden agenda.
We know who they are. The same individuals and organizations, who, time after time, year after year, spew their inflammatory message: If the county commission approves this particular Comp Plan change, it will pave the way to “Browardization” and "destroy the Martin County difference”!
Well, it’s Groundhogs’ Day once again. So, let's make a couple of things crystal clear:
The county's urban services boundary will not be moved in order to approve the proposed Atlantic Fields/Discovery project on Bridge Road in Hobe Sound OR the new Rural Lifestyle Land Use designation.
The “Martin County difference” will not be destroyed. In fact, the proposal will ensure just the opposite: it will help preserve it.
Final public hearings for both proposals before the Martin County Commission will be Tuesday, April 19. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and can be watched as a live stream from the county's website or on Facebook.
Yes, it is a significant Comp Plan change. If approved, it has the potential to move thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive lands adjacent to our urban services districts off the market completely and place them under permanentconservation easements.
That means forever, folks.
The anticipated ad valorem revenue from the completed Atlantic Fields project alone will bring an additional $20 million to $32 million annually to county coffers.
Commissioners have already indicated they want at least half of that revenue dedicated solely to the purchase of the 47,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land in the county's four high-priority areas.
According to a September 2019 report to county commissioners, the total cost then for an outright purchase of that land was $650 to $750 million. Can you imagine the price today?
Yes, many caring residents and genuine environmentalists, as well as the Guardians of Martin County, made insightful comments that resulted in changes to the initial proposals.
The revised language that tightened controls can be found at this link to Tuesday's agenda: here
That's the way public comment is supposed to work.
We recognize that reading governmental documents can be daunting. But if you prefer, you also can watch the most recent informative presentation of the proposals at Jupiter Island Town Hall on April 11. Click here to watch it.
(Please note you will need to enter your name and email to view the presentation.)
Interestingly, we agree with one of the comments in a recent letter to The Stuart News editor opposing the Rural Lifestyle amendment and the Atlantic Fields/Discovery project.
The letter closed with this: “Misinformation is the understatement of the year. We are drowning in a river of it.”
So true, and the only antidote to misinformation is to make the effort on your own to get the facts. You can do just that by going to at least one of those two links below.
Rick Hartman
President, One Martin
If you want your voice to be heard, contact the Martin County Commissioners directly and share your thoughts with them. Their contact info is below.
