If St. Lucie County commissioners are concerned with any aspects of a proposed new land preservation and development policy, they should seek amendments until everyone is satisfied.
The Rural Lands Stewardship program, if adopted, would be the first on the Treasure Coast and one of the first in Florida.
On Monday, commissioners will consider changing the county's comprehensive plan and land-use regulations that would set the stage for the innovative program. County staff members have recommended approval of the changes and the county's planning board has recommended the comprehensive plan change.
But this is too important an issue to approve unless everyone understands the complicated program — so complicated that three weeks ago Commissioner Doug Coward, a land planner, said he still didn't understand it all. Commissioners, led by expert Coward, must be assured that developers are not getting a sweetheart deal with increased allowances for homes in what is now the middle of nowhere.
The program initially would require project officials to preserve parts of the the 16,466-acre Adams Ranch west of Fort Pierce in exchange for the right to build a new town on the St. Lucie-Indian River County line. But similar projects may occur within the county and serve as a model throughout the Treasure Coast and Florida.
Under the program, the Alto "Bud" Adams Jr. family would receive credits for setting aside parts of the ranch, barring the land from ever being developed. Those credits would be sold to Lennar Corp. and Centex, major national builders. They would create the town of Cloud Grove on a 6,000-acre tract in northern St. Lucie.
The problem is that developers would be able to build as many as 12,000 homes or more, serving a population of about 25,000, on land currently designated for only 1,200 homes.
The policy changes being considered by commissioners include complex formulas for determining the size of credits that the developers may acquire. County officials, however, say the total credits would represent a maximum and the county would still have the option of restricting the number of units in the project.
In addition to preserving portions of the land in Cloud Grove, the developers would have to make the new town self-sufficient — thus far a subjective measure and unlikely occurrence — requiring the expenditure of no county funds. Infrastructure and maintenance needs might be financed by a special tax within the town, another potential pitfall.
Some general observations:
• The new preservation and development policy was largely drafted by the developers themselves and their representatives.
• There has been little public input on the policy. Meetings with the public have been held, but they have been largely seeking input on how the town should be developed rather than on the policy itself. There has also been little input from Indian River County, which is likely to be impacted if the new town is built.
In fact, developers own adjacent land in Indian River County. What would they do with it?
• The developers have yet to present a detailed plan for Cloud Grove showing that it can meet requirements of the program, including the town's self-sufficiency. They have not been required to do so, but that plan would be helpful in determining the feasibility of the program.
Still, County Administrator Doug Anderson said this week that he is comfortable with the comprehensive plan changes and the land-use regulations being considered by commissioners, noting, "There are going to be a lot of checks and balances along the way."
Don't be so sure. The goal of the program — to preserve agricultural land in Florida in exchange for giving leeway to developers — is admirable. Ensuring that it works for the benefit of the community in addition to those directly involved, however, is another matter.
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