Over here in Indian River County we have a little struggle going on, and htere is some question if any one can win the battle, muc less the war. The struggle is over who in the county is actually going to decide what is the best development track for the area. This is being handled through a campaign with the intent of having a charter county government, or a charter city government as it exists today.
Through all of the rhetoric it appears that a group of people, primarily from the Vero Beach area; want to have what they describe has limited authority over the development of any project through out the county. Basically they are concerned about maximum building heights and residential densities.
The reason for all of this is the City of Fellsmere, which has been a quick agricultural community for many years, though at one time was the biggest town in the area back in the days of Florida sugar. The elected Representatives out in Fellsmere have recently decided that they need to develop a better tax base, and encourage economic growth by annexing land and then rezoning it to suit their needs. All this is well and good, and the officials should be applauded for taking action to ensure the viability of the community.
However, their recent announcement of a planned PUD, along with an eight story hotel on the easy side of I-95 caught the attention of some of the County Commissioners, who believe the citizens of the county don't want any more construction anywhere in the county to be more than 35 feet in height. And there is a large number of people who feel that way, but there are many, many more who want to have a place to work and a place to call home. Keeping in mind that the most of the area is zoned to allow 1 home on 5, 10 or 20 acres with very little affordable housing on smaller lots.
Another announcement from Fellsmere is that they are now planning on annexing some 20,000 acres stretching along both sides of I-95 almost to Route 60, which is pretty darn close to the city limits of Vero Beach. This naturally has people in Vero Beach just a little excited, and out on the campaign trail to get the charter amendment passed.
They assure us that they charter will never allow the county commissioners to take over planning, zoning, emergency powers or anything else that the five cities do now by charters they hold. Then they throw in a polite caution that this could change in the future, as the county charter would be a living document with the possibility of major changes and revisions by future commissioners. Makes it sound pretty scary to a lot of people here.
But that's okay, because even if the voters don't approve of the charter, a small group of people has actually asked for and has legislation introduced at the state level that would do much the same thing. I would guess it is a question of how big of stick they want to hit us with.
Indian River county has always been a mixed bag, but primarily a place where some 30% of the homes are vacation or retirement homes, and most of the money comes from pensions or other government sources, We have had a strong citrus industry here, and our citrus is world famous. But the demographics are changing.
We see younger families moving into the area, and those home owners need a place to make a living. With the anti-growth anti-development attitude so prevalent in our local officials; this may never happen. These new comers need to become active in their communities, to run for office, attend meetings and make sure that their voices are heard so their needs can be met.
I don't know any one here who wants to see the unbridled growth that happened to the south of us. The congestion, traffic, noise and crime rates have made the cities there almost uninhabitable to some who call my office looking for a place to escape to. Controlled growth is needed here, but the primary driving force behind it should be te edevelopment of the economy.
I don't think our elected officials understand that.
Stop by my web site at www.indianriverhomesales.com to see all the beautiful homes we have on the market today. This is a great place to live, and you should come by to see it!
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