Written by Virginia Sherlock
April 19, 2022
The County Commission — faced with overwhelming public opposition to the proposed Rural Lifestyle
Rural Lifestyle Amendments considered by Commissioners at the April 19, 2022 meeting.
amendments to the Martin County Comprehensive Growth Management Plan — voted today to table the amendments to give the applicant (Becker Farms) an opportunity to amend the text amendment to make it site-specific to the 1,400 acres where the Discovery Project is planned.
Commissioner Heard, who expressed objections to both the concept and the language of the Rural Lifestyle amendments, was the dissenting vote in the 4-1 decision to table the amendments for further consideration at a later date that will be scheduled after the applicant decides how to proceed.
The applicant can return with the amendments in the same form as they currently exist — a text amendment that makes the new Rural Lifestyle land use designation available for most agricultural land throughout the County — or in a modified form that limits applicability of the new land use designation to the specific property that is to be developed as an exclusive “self-sustained” community of multimillion-dollars homes and golf courses for the super-rich. (One change to the initial proposal was to limit retail/commercial use within a Rural Lifestyle development to 6,000 square feet that could be used only by property owners within the community and their guests, not available to the general public. A farmer on adjacent property, for instance, would not be allowed to eat at a restaurant or shop in a convenience store constructed within a Rural Lifestyle community.)
Commissioners Heard, Stacey Hetherington and Ed Ciampi made it clear they would not support an amendment to allow the new Rural Lifestyle land use designation to be applicable county-wide.
Commissioners Doug Smith and Harold Jenkins appeared committed to the county-wide text amendment as well as the specific Discovery project.
The applicant apparently initially suggested a site-specific amendment to create the new land use designation for the Becker property to be developed by Discovery. But staff decided it would be better to make the new land use designation apply throughout the county and persuaded the applicant to submit a separate application for the broad county-wide text amendment as well as an amendment to apply the Rural Lifestyle designation to to the specific property on the Future Land Use Map.
After the vote to table the amendments, no deadline was set to bring the matter back to the Commission. The applicant will have to decide how to proceed. If the text amendment is amended to limit application of the new land use designation to the Discovery property — similar to the Pineland Prairie (Newfield) and the AgTEC amendments — there are notice requirements and new hearings that will have to be scheduled.
There was no discussion as to how the Three Lakes Golf Club project will be impacted by today’s BOCC decision. Three Lakes is a proposed community of golf courses further west of the planned Discovery project off Bridge Road. Three Lakes has had intial staff review and is in the pipeline for approval by the Local Planning Agency and the BOCC. Like Discovery, the project would require a land use change to Rural Lifestyle and cannot move forward without adoption of a text amendment to create the new land use designation.
The bottom line is that while the urban-boundary-busting Rural Lifestyle amendments have not been rejected, the public’s voice was heard by at least three commissioners who refused to move the amendments forward as advocated by staff.
Dozens of residents showed up to speak against the amendments at today’s meeting, and scores more submitted written comments and e-mails opposing the amendments. The Martin County Conservation Alliance, the Sierra Club, the Martin County Democratic Environmental Caucus, 1000 Friends of Florida, Friends of the Everglades, and the Guardians of Martin County all expressed opposition along with many, many residents who spoke eloquently and passionately about preserving Martin County’s water quality, environmental resources and unique character.
The vote today confirms that when the public speaks — LOUDLY — some Commissioners listen.
Ginny Sherlock
LITTMAN, SHERLOCK & HEIMS, P.A.
P.O. Box 1197
Stuart, FL 34995
Telephone: (772) 287-0200
Read the story from Tcpalm.com HERE