e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e all right welcome welcome to our uh a ail 30th uh Board of County Commission meeting um our invocation will be a moment of silence and followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Jeff Norwood of our veteran service officer thank you yes sir I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all morning morning oh I'm sorry all to ask sorry good morning Commissioners good morning staff are you done uh my name is Jeff Norwood uh I uh am local to Martin County here uh After High School I tried a couple things before joining the Army uh and I served from 09 to 13 I served as an infantryman and for those of you that don't know what an infantryman is um look at the movie Saving Private ran that's that's what all infantry men are right there um I was boots on ground in Afghanistan in 2010 and uh I realized that I didn't want to do that twice so when I came home from the Army I uh started interning at a veteran service office uh for St Lucy County So eventually eight years later seven years later here I am uh I'm replacing Dan McHenry for those you don't know he retired uh last week so uh I'll be filling his boots for the time being um uh this is my way of giving back to our country I I really appreciate this opportunity that you guys have given me and um I uh I like to tell folks that this is not a job for me it's a lifestyle so uh I plan on sticking around for a long time and uh I appreciate you guys giving me a chance and uh look forward to working with all yall thank you [Applause] welcome okay see presets we have a 505 uh public comment I mean a 905 public comment uh we have a preset of 930 request for concurrence of the appointment of the administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Martin County which is department number three then we have 505 uh public comment additional items uh consent 18 a local planning agency school um District appointment uh consent 19 interlocal agreement between Martin County and the village of Indiantown to provide temporary building uh uh a temporary building official inspections and plan review we have one consent poll which is consent 15 adoption um adopting a resolution approving the acceptance of Southwest Earl Avenue into the county road inventory for ownership and maintenance that was pulled by commissioner herd uh we also have a request to withdraw an item which is um uh Department quasi judicial number three ride of way with variance request for Southeast mango Terrace Northeast mango Terrace thank you and um with that before we approve the um agenda we have a let's describe it as a boatload of a public um speaking forms and we have an agenda that is absolutely packed with with CIP um I would like to request that we actually push CIP off till FR uh till um our next meeting which is the four 14th 14th um there rather than trying to rush through the day and pack in stuff that will take us to midnight to get to um I would like to push that off if my you have the chair you can well I'm asking for I don't this isn't a dictatorship move that we move the CIP to May 14 second okay sure all right we have a motion by commissioner herd seconded by commissioner campy all in favor I I all opposed motion carries unanimously now we can do the uh agenda agenda Mr chairman thank you good morning uh I would move approval of the agenda uh with the additional items of uh consent item number 18 19 with the request to poll item uh consent item 15 and also the requests to withdraw item uh quasi judicial hearing item number three I'll second okay we have a motion by commissioner Smith seconded by commissioner heatherington all in favor all right all opposed motion carries unanimously okay moving on to we do proclamations before the public right mhm okay Proclamation so more oh my gosh um Proclamation uh number one services and statistics regarding our veteran service office Miss Michelle Miller good morning Commissioners Michelle Miller Human Services director excuse me I'm here this morning just to give you a brief report on veteran services and what they have accomplished over the past few years so the mission of veteran services to assist former members of the US armed forces and their dependence in obtaining federal and state benefits that are available to them as a result of their active military service this is uh put in statute which governs it floor statute 4 2921 gives the authority to the board of County Commissioners to employ our veteran services officers and prescribe them their duties their compensation and their terms of employment so here are some statistics I just wanted to show you over the past 3 years um primarily like I said their main job is to help veterans file claims and as you can see the numbers are not there they have increased but then in 2022 we had a very big spike that was because of the pack act that was um enacted in 2022 that allowed a lot of veterans that were denied benefits to come back and reapply so we had a lot more claims filed in 2022 in addition we have employ deed a very strategic outreach program to allow veterans in the community to know that our office of has these services available and to get people to come in to file their claims uh you can see the claims awarded has significantly increased over the years uh with 2023 being our highest claims awarded and again we don't award the claims the Veterans Administration does that but our vsos do their best to make sure that when the claims are filed they have everything in them to uh receive receive an award the monies recovered is a significant number because that is monies that go directly into our County uh through our veterans that live here so in 2023 you'll see that we had over $7 million so again a significant amount of money that's brought back into the community and then our client contacts continues to increase you'll see in 2023 there was over 21,000 and again that is really a result of the Outreach that the vsos do in the community and here are just some examples of the Outreach uh we work a lot with the veterans Council to bring you the Memorial Day ceremony the Veterans Day ceremony we work a lot with alfs going out into the community letting them know of our services and then we work a lot with a lot of nonprofits house AET uh we work with homeless Council of the Treasure Coast to see that Homeless vets in our community get housing and then providing emergency financial assistance for those that are experiencing a hardship so those are just some of the highlights we wanted to um let you know uh some of the great things that they're doing here's our team you met Jeff this morning brindell is our other vsso and Jane's our Administrative Assistant a small But Mighty team and they do some great things in the county and we just wanted to uh let you know about them so thank you great um hold on just a minute commissioner Smith Michelle can you go back to that first sheet the one where you had the the statistics so the claims filed are are those are individual so there's 805 individuals who filed correct and the 21,000 is multiple claims per individual so those could be client contacts for a lot of different reasons U maybe someone's looking into a veteran a funeral or they want to know how they can get a homestead exemption many different types of inquiries come through the office so those aren't only claims and do you have any idea out of the 805 how many veterans live in Martin County there's about 12,000 veterans right now in Martin County do we communicate to them through some kind of direct through some kind of do all 12,000 somehow when you said you're really doing a lot more Outreach right is there a just so everybody kind of understands how to do it if there isn't right so it a lot of it is Word of Mouth really trying to get out in the community and letting them know and we do have a presence on our web page and we do a lot of um service through the n nonprofit so letting them know these are the off these are the services that we provide and asking them to refer their friends and their family and things like that just a thought maybe doing Direct Mail like doing mail piece at sometime Memorial Day or sometime when people are thinking about it yeah we can definitely look into that we do that once or twice a year at least we'd be touching every one of them if they're not communicating like my mom is a perfect for inst she not a veteran but I mean it's perfect she doesn't have email she doesn't have internet she doesn't have anything she doesn't communicate that way right and so mailo we we wouldn't be reaching that part of the population and and I that's why I wondered about the 805 yeah there's 12,000 how many more are there that we could be touching okay that's a great idea we'll definitely do that thank you Mr chair okay thank you thank you all right thank you okay our next uh Proclamation number two um the first Proclamation is Stamp Out where's Laura uh oh George she is there she is all right Michelle was fast okay she's GNA handle reading them and I'll stand over there and hand them out good morning commissioner sorry about that today we have a proclamation declaring Stamp Out Hunger day in Martin County every year on the second Saturday in May letter carriers across the country collect non-p perishable food as part of the nation's largest one-day food drive Distributing the donations to local food banks and and it is important to note that all food collected in our community stays in our community providing a critical supply for House of Hope and partnering local agencies who strive to empower residents to overcome hunger and hardship in recognition of Stamp Out Hunger Day on May 11th the board recognizes all letter carriers and local Pantry services for their hard work and commitment to their communities and here to accept we have Rob Riner who is the CEO of House of Hope good morning thank you Commissioners for the recognition we certainly appreciate it um like Laura said this is is the largest food drive Nationwide that we that exists um for House of Hope it's especially significant uh summer time we see a spike in the need for food uh with uh kids out of school missing free and reduced lunch and with uh still so many seasonal jobs so we'll see folks in June July and August that we don't see again all year um it's substantial last year we raised over 70,000 pounds of food uh the L carriers do an absolutely incredible job job they're very passionate about supporting this effort uh many of them have a friend or a relative follow them as they're delivering the mail so they can pick up all the food that's out there and they'll put it in their truck they'll put it in their friend's truck um so it really is a great effort obviously driven by the generosity of our community um last year well over 10,000 households participated um so it's it's significant uh House of Hope food is still the key resource for us even with all the other services we provide we distributed over 1.3 million pounds of food last year uh we're on track for about the same number this year so this drive certainly has an impact on the community and our ability to serve both through our four food pantries and uh supporting the 30 different food partners that we have across the community as well so we thank you for the recognition uh we encourage everybody you'll be getting your bags in the mail please fill them up and put them out makes a big difference for so many of your friends and neighbors across the community and once again thanks for the [Applause] recognition all right our next Proclamation is declaring hurricane preparedness week the 2024 hurricane season begins on June 1st and as a coastal County Martin County is extremely vulnerable to storm surge tornadoes flooding and high winds whether hurricane forecasters have predicted an average above average or below average season it just takes one storm to have a bad year in recognition of Hurricane preparedness week May 5th through 11th the board urges the cooperation of municipalities businesses homeowner and condo associations Hotel associations and media to inform residents and visitors of appropriate awareness preparedness and safety measures related to hurricane season and here to accept we have Sally wait our Emergency Management director uh good morning Commissioners thank you for this opportunity to discuss hurricane preparedness week as we want to encourage everyone to evaluate their personal hurricane risk before hurricane season this year hurricane season which begins June 1st if you might have forgotten that um this year especially um we are going to be busy with 24 name storms um and 11 hurricanes predicted but again just want you to always remember that it only takes that one that one storm so After experiencing firsthand the devastation that occurred in the 2022 hurricane season on the west coast I feel compelled to stress the importance of hurricane preparedness so now is the time to prepare of course please make a plan to um and be sure it includes where you'll go if you're evacu ated how to communicate with your family um remember that a shelter should be your last resort not just a place to to make your first plan please remember that shelter um is I'm sorry just remember if you're traveling to get to a safer location please don't go hundreds of miles just tens of miles and please don't forget about your pets as well because they are very important remember to build your kit by stocking up on emergency supplies and know your risk you should know if you live in an evacuation zone or not you can always find that information out on our website at um martin.fl.us remember to stay informed always listen to your local media our press conferences that we that we always have in the Emergency Operations Center um and also we have a new connect Martin app this year that we're really excited about you can find information about open shelters if there's an active event occurring and you can also take pictures and Report damages of your house so that we can see that right away at the Emergency Operations Center we know where to send our resources and where to send our damage assessment teams so please remember regardless of the hurricane predictions that it still only takes one storm be prepared so you could be a hurricane Survivor and not a hurricane victim thank you [Applause] next we have a proclamation declaring Child appr Abuse Prevention month in Martin County in fiscal year 2022 3.1 million reports were made to Child Protective Services child abuse can have long-term psychological emotional and physical effects that have lasting consequences for victims helping people succeed is celebrating 60 years of service to the community and is committed to providing protective factors and conditions that reduce or eliminate risk and promote the social emotional and development of and development of well-being developmental well-being of children the board urges all citizens to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention month by dedicating themselves to the task of improving the quality of life for all children and families and I don't know if I saw Susie Hutchinson which with yes not you're not Susie but but you're here for it thank you very much Joanna first of all I want to thank everybody for having us here thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year our Healthy Families program is an abuse and prevention program we are currently serving 500 families in Martin and okobe counties we have 100% uccess rate of these families never entering into the child welfare system at helping people succeed we focus on prevention you will see pin Wheels planted outside our offices symbolizing pin wheels of prevention because of its very nature the pin wheel connotes playfulness joy and childhood it has come to serve as a physical reminder of the great childhoods as we want for all children and as a symbol the Cal nature of the pin wheel calls to mind the positive cycles of love and support we want to help the families create thank you [Applause] very much and our final Proclamation today is declaring Everglades dark sky month in Martin County the beauty and wonder of a natural night sky is a shared Heritage of all humankind that inspires feelings of Wonder and awe and encourages interest in Sciences technology engineering arts and math or steam in our youth many residents in our region live under a dome of light pollution and are not able to fully enjoy the cultural recreational ecological and health benefits of a naturally lit nocturnal environment and night sky in their own communities in recognition of Everglades dark sky month the board encourages residents businesses and visitors to discover celebrate and protect the night Starry skies and the natural nocturnal environment within the greater Everglades for the good of people Wildlife ecosystems and climate and here to accept we have Dave Brown who is president of the Treasure Coast Astronomical Society morning morning everybody morning thanks for having me here thanks for uh the proclamation and I appreciate the award and I'm here to accept it on behalf of the Everglades dark sky Society I would like to introduce one of our club members Patrick mugan who is our Advocate our Treasure Coast Astronomical Society Advocate on the international dark Sky I promise he'll keep it short thank and also by the way we do work with uh some local uh agencies here in Martin County Martin County Board of ecotourism if you know Emily dark we do uh do some star parties and moon gazes with Emily and we have one coming up at Indian Riverside Park in about 3 weeks so if you want to come out and get some nice views of the Moon come on out but I'd like to introduce Patrick her last name she had no choice good morning morning uh I'd like to thank you on behalf of dark sky International uh for recognizing this uh for the effects of uh artificial light at night um by uh following the five principles of uh responsible lighting of usefulness control targeting color intensity uh we can uh reduce the amount of uh our carbon footprint uh save money protect the environment and protect human health and provide the necessary security and safety required I'd like again I'd like to thank you very much thank you [Applause] how you feeling not far away they standing from each other so an interesting little story about dark sky out in Sedona in in Arizona beautiful place they are a dark sky town and I think it's the only McDonald's that has a green M as their logo that is correct and I'm a member of the flags above a l Observatory out in Flagstaff and they are the first city in the United States uh I think Sedona was second to be designated as an international Dark Sky City the cool thing about Flagstaff if you drive by Flagstaff on I40 you don't even know there's a town there because the lighting is so responsible that you wouldn't know it's there it's amazing and just if you ever if you've ever seen it's really weird when you drive by McDonald's sign and it's green that's true anyway thank you very much thank very much okay thank you um now it's time for public comment uh for those that haven't uh experienced that before you have three minutes at 2 minutes and 45 seconds you'll hear a tone that means nothing other than to wrap your comments up um as I mispronounce your name um you uh when you get to the podium please pronounce it correctly and if I call your name and you actually like would like to talk at the uh agenda item itself please let me know and I will set your card aside okay we're going to start out with oh okay that's right uh Don has got a I was ready all right thanks so uh just for the audience and those who wish to speak since we are in election season politicking is prohibited which is defined as advocating the election or defeat of a candidate for public office either partisan or nonpartisan this includes the use of words dates signs props and or wearing apparel that convey a message of support for a person or group of persons thank you okay and um we have quite a bit I think everybody in the room maybe even the building has filled out a request to speak form so we're going to begin with h Mr Casey Cass followed by Jim Moyer good morning Casey Cass Savar Salo uh during a recent meeting one of the county staff informed the Board of Commissioners about his discussions with the Marine businesses located in our Commerce Industrial Park he emphasized the importance of making improvements to Commerce Avenue to enhance a marine Transportation Route however this information turned out to be untrue when the president of the Marine industry spoke at the mo meeting the president clarified that the Marine business neither the Marine businesses neither required nor desired the proposed improvements to Commerce as outlined in The Innovation Hub plan the Revelation exposed the earlier statements as falsehoods or in simpler terms lies this deceptive Behavior seems to be a re reoccurring Trend among certain County staff who prioritize their own agenda while dismissing the concerns and preferences of the local community and businesses this must come to an end while it is acknowledged that the Commerce May benefit from resurfacing extravagant additions like 10-ft sidewalks and parallel parking is unnecessary although some drainage improvements may be warranted the last drainage improvements actually did their job it hasn't uh backed up since then when it used to do it quite often if I can get my next page so on word the language used in the CIP appears deliberately vague particularly in the case of Port Sno this ambiguity grants Public Works excessive flexibility allowing them to proceed with projects without adequate public input commissioning a business flare to create a study or plan then directing them to align with the staff or a commissioner preferences without considering the needs slw wants of the citizens and businesses is just unacceptable the proposed improvements uh to Salo Creek labeled as multimodal Pathways by business flare within the port cero CRA should be not only presented to the NAC they should be afforded an opportunity to comment on it and elevate it to the CRA board that doesn't happen and coincidentally on that uh Salo Creek save our Salo within the next couple days will own five of those lots along serero Creeks totaling over an acre which will bring our total investment as a community of $750,000 in the last year if that's not representative of our commitment to preserving s Sero I don't know what is it demonstrates our commitment to preserving cero the CRA as well as ensuring our community has a voice in the decision-making process this financial and legal dedication under underscores our determination to safeguard our community thank you Mr Moyer will be followed by Gil smart second person sit the front so have to wait for everybody morning good morning good morning Mr chair good morning commissioners um today you may decide to double down on what in my opinion is an unfortunate and inappropriate change to the comprehensive growth management plan many years ago granting clustered residential development on kaloa Creek agricultural ranchette property was a mistake it was a bad idea then it's a bad idea now this proposed PUD agreement and the contorted modifications to the Discovery plus rural land use amendment that had been proposed to let Ranch come into existence set some really bad preceden uh and it damages the utility and uh uh reasons behind the urban service boundary this low density suburban sprawl and that's what it is is unacceptable it will leverage us in a very unfortunate way into not being able to provide services outside of our urban service boundary ever this uh this applicant's representatives make many hyperbolic claims and present very little verifiable data to support their claims I have more doubts and concerns this time with this rural land use Amendment than I have in the past um I I am really disappointed about the expedited review process in this one in particular it's a rush to approval and these projects deserve to have very comprehensive investigations into their claims as preemption takes our ability to establish and maintain acceptable levels of service uh and concurrency standards diminish our no sets timelines for improvement into the distant future we will certainly face gridlock on caner Highway Senate Bill 7913 requires the extension of gray infrastructure for water and waste Services into these new outlier enclaves they may pay for it but it does not assure that we will maintain the ability to provide high levels of advanced treatment to our Wastewater who pays for the extra load they claim that there will be no negative effects on Wetlands or conservation land designated by the Ser but they have no proof of that they claim that they will improve water quality of the water extracted from the c44 and circulating it through their property and and only when it exceeds a 25e storm water event will that water be tested for improvement um they have no no rationale for improving the Bap thresholds uh they do not currently have an environmental review permit from southp Water Management District they have no Authority permits for their uh Marina amenities I am s your time is upes South your time is up Mr Moyer thank you all right Mr smart is followed by Ronald Rose Ronald no doubt good morning Commissioners thanks for the opportunity to speak this morning my name is Gil smart I'm here as policy director for friends of the Everglades it's founded in 1969 by Marjorie stowman Douglas and based right down the road here in sus Point we've provided written comments to you regarding the kaloa creek or Ranch development but wish to follow up here as we believe there are serious questions regarding the comprehensive plan text Amendment and future land use map Amendment which would pave the way for this massive project and that you folks would best serve this community by voting no as you've heard and will continue to hear there's a lot of concerns about this proposal but most alarming to an organization dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Everglades is the possibility this project will impact the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan as you are aware a January letter from the south Florida Water Management District our articulated serious concerns noting that the ranch is located within the designated palar natural storage and water quality area which is part of the Indian River Lagoon South project irls and that quote the proposed project associated with the proposed comprehensive plan Amendment appears to be inconsistent with the goal of this federally authorized project and that quote Regional water supply Wetland and flood plane management will be impacted by the proposed map Amendment given the billions in federal and state allocated or already spent on Everglades restoration it would be a mistake to approve these proposals without Ironclad assurances that it will not impact restoration it will not be inconsistent with the IRL South project and that it will not impact Regional water supply Wetland and flood plane management there are other concerns about water quality some of which were just articulated by Mr Moyer we are concerned that there have been to our knowledge no detailed studies or reports about the impact of water use and Regional water quality Beyond those submitted by the developer Consultants the developer and his representatives are claiming they will enhance water quality but there will be no regular testing to verify this which amounts to the county taking the developer word for it given the Epic water quality challenges faced by Martin County this is a very bad idea indeed we concur in fact with the Guardians of Martin County who've recommended the county require projects like the ranch to perform continuous water quality monitoring as a condition of PUD approval where the project is located in an area where discharges into impaired water bodies may occur other questions wasn't a Western lands study supposed to be done in conjunction with this proposal whatever happened to that do we know definitively what the impact of this proposal will be on the Florida Wildlife Corridor and lastly we too are concerned about the Lea frog nature of this development and the inevitable proposals that will follow the ranch is a mile from the urban service District perhaps the next proposal will be a mile and a half from that boundary at what point does the boundary cease to be relevant at all we ask you please vote no on this proposal thank you okay Mr Rose would be followed by Barb Rich good morning good morning Ron Rose J spe Chamber of Commerce how are you all today first I want to commend you all for an excellent job in maintaining a positive economic environment here in Martin County projects that complement the Martin County different like the branch project before you today offers wonderful opportunities and economic benefits for our community for example redesigning and rebuilding South Fork High Schools short golf course on the jam training that offers educational and mentoring opportunities for turf grass management creating career opportunities in beef production and management culinary arts and hospitality and tourism offering the first youth caddy program in Martin County donating approximately 20 acres of land for the specific use of the University of Florida's Institute of food and agricultural Sciences extension headquarters the ranch has also dedicated $50,000 to perform an initial environmental restoration on Banner Lake owned by the Pine School please move this outstanding project forward thank you Barb Eric followed by Megan Shirley shye sh good morning I'm back my name is Barbara yurk I'm here today to speak about the voyage recovery uh who submitted an application for reasonable accommodation let's again talk about the law the Lost Martin County Code 3.75 D states that recovery homes must be 10 mes apart the Voyage Home violates this code uh um the property is located within um 6.2 miles of the sister company of the same company um which is the property known as the Ocean House Voyage recovery which is located at 1 18083 Southeast Federal Highway into qua Martin County which is 4 point excuse me 8.4 miles away one more property is heel Behavioral Health which is located at 17953 Rocky Pines Road in Jupiter Farms Palm Beach County 3.6 miles away the serenity home detox and Recovery is located at 250 Thelma Avenue in Jupiter which is four miles away the Sandy Pines hospital located at 11301 Southeast to quested Terrace into Questa Martin County is within the 10 miles I don't understand last meeting Ed campy asked Miss Elder to find out how many recovery homes were within within the 10 mile radius of this particular property has that been done well I just gave you several so maybe you can add to the list but how how can they this even be an issue if you follow the law you only allowed to have 10 no you know they have to be more than 10 miles apart so that makes no sense I have a lot more to read but I've already said it all but there's three reasons this application should be denied denied which I spoke about the last time the first is based on the application does not provide any proof whatsoever that 12 res uh applicants are better than four and based on the fact that um there is in fact a direct threat to the safety and health of other individuals in the neighborhood and then lastly that this property is less than 10 miles away from several other sober homes so this application should be denied thank you thank you Megan Sheree followed by huh sh one day shyri maybe one of these days I'll get it right um followed by Mr Joe Flanigan got that right good right there you go good morning as commissioner said I'm Megan shye I'm with the boys and girls club at the Boys and Girls Club of Martin County we are dedicated to empowering our club members to seek meaningful roles within our community and to take pride in their diligent efforts the vital of our economy hinges on the opportunity that we provide for our youth it is not just about finding jobs it is about creating Pathways to prosperity for the Next Generation we envision a future where every young person has access to diverse avenues for skill development and career advancement from internships to on the- job training and meaningful interactions with successful professionals the possibilities are endless by working in our community young people can contribute to its viability and sustainability the Boys and Girls Club of Martin County eagerly anticipates learning more about the opportunities available at the ranch as we are committed to empowering our club members to Achieve Financial Independence and self-reliance we seek environments that provide guidance support and valuable insights into career Pathways and believe that the ranches on the drob chaining will provide that thank you all right Mr Flanigan is followed by Jennifer Palam good morning and terrific Tuesday Joe Flanigan from Stewart um couple of things first of all I mentioned this during the LPA meeting but thank you to whoever the staff that puts the pictures up in the back I usually don't sit that far in the back those are great pictures and everybody should take a opportunity to kind of look at them before they leave here today um my son works at the Indian toown airport and that's Germain into this conversation because this morning he rides a motorcycle and it was going to rain so I took him to work so I had an opportunity to drive that long expanse between Stewart and Indiantown and I'm looking at everything that's out there and so much of the land and so many things of the wetlands and everything that's concern here uh you guys have in front of you the packet for the the ranch proposal so I won't bore you with all the numbers and everything that's there but if you start looking at it exceeds our expectations whatever we have for the open spaces it's far above that it will have a working Ranch because I noticed the applicant had said tried really hard to find a ranch or a farmer in order to uh sell the property to and it did not occur so we're moving in that direction I remember when I was on the LPA and the py group was proposing out there by South Fork High School the audience was full of people from The Florida Club and at that time I reminded them 12 years ago you guys were putting your application in and we were in opposition to you but that turned out to be a very nice situation so kudos to that one and people show up sometimes with pits forks and torches to these things and then it becomes an emotional issue uh the people that are multigenerational they've lived here I moved here when Cove Road was derp but there were a lot of people here before I got here it's Paradise everybody every time you read a magazine we're in the top 10 places in the United States to live people want to live here but we cannot put up the wall so this is a i recommend that you do the uh staff recommendation and approve this thank you you all right Jennifer pum followed by Mr David David Hafner please pronounce your name correct good morning my name is Jennifer palum I'm the extension director at the University of Florida iist extension here in Martin County and I just wanted to come forward today to let you know that we are looking forward to the opportunity of relocating to the Ranch thanks to the generous donation of 20 acres as you know we are currently located just north of the fairgrounds and we are very limited with our space we have outgrown our building we don't have much space for doing on-site educational programs um and research projects so relocation to the ranch will allow us to expand our educational programs we can expand and enhance our demonstration Gardens Florida friendly Landscaping uh tropical fruit uh Groves Citrus Groves um we could also allow us to have an area for our 4 youth so they can have an area to show their animals for their livestock shows for their archery program and this will also give us space to collaborate with our UF researchers we have a lot of researchers out there that are looking for opportunities to have research projects going on throughout the state this would give us a great opportunity to collaborate with our researchers at the University of Florida on a number of different projects including Agriculture and ranching and ecology so over all the relocation of extension services to the ranch would not only benefit the extension service but also expand our educational programs throughout Martin County thank you thank you all right um Mr Hafner will be followed by Mary stasinski going to have to fix that one when you get here good morning Commissioners uh my name is David Hafner I am the University of Florida IAS extension 4 agent here in Martin County um just going to keep this short because I know you have a lot of comments today um I'm working hard to expand our program in our community um trying to include as many youth as I can just like the Boys and Girls Club mentioned earlier um and I am really seeing a lot of positive changes in my first year as an agent really expanding this program already and um I'm just excited for the future but my main limiting factor is space just as Jennifer said before we have a very small footprint current currently and um so we have to do a lot of work outside of the office working uh partnering with other people relying on them for space and it can be cumbersome when you're trying to expand a program and you need something reliable um part of the ranch as you've heard is a 20 acre gift to extension to have a new building which would be huge it would be it would expand our programs incredibly um having this amount of space it would be an incredible asset to our office and it would be an asset to the community um it would allow me to continue growing my program to reach more and more Martin County Youth uh to partner with other people like boys and girls club um so I'm really excited about the ranch and I'm hope hopeful for your support today thank you um Miss Mary please say your name correctly it's easy star zinski star to break too far away yeah good morning Mr chairman commissioner staff my name is Dr Mary starzinski and I'm speaking today the interest of the public health and the common good I am neither an engineer a planner nor a commissioner however the basic tenants of maintaining um the urban Services boundary are analogous to the basic tenants of maintaining good health so what helps to create Good Health First eat lightly and watch your weight get on the scale and try to maintain it within normal boundaries Martin County wise maintain the urban Services boundary second exercise regularly to maintain your own ecosystem Martin County wise maintain the urban Services boundary to support Martin County's vital natural areas whose Flora clean our air and whose natural Wetlands filter and cleanse our water these areas support essential ecosystem Services which help to maintain the public health third don't drink too much alcohol don't intentionally destroy yourself Martin County wise don't destroy our ecosystem via the intentional destruction of the urban Services boundary this will occur if the 3,460 acre kaloa Creek Ranch project or the ranch PUD is approved this will allow extension of Public Utilities and cluster that wasn't 3 minutes no you got 15 more seconds oh and cluster Ranch development oh shoot I'm sorry um anyhow okay request that all Commissioners hands and votes are on Deck to vote no on any amendments of the threat to Martin County's water quality water especially clean water is the new gold man time is up next up is Mr circus you have uh ph3 would you rather wait okay good and Joseph Pano you have ph1 would you like to wait for the item or speak now you're going to wait okay the same goes for Bill and ingred of we'll wait too okay uh carolan Leonard doesn't have anything there so how about you followed by Robin cartright good morning um any different people in Martin County have come to speak at the LPA and Martin County Commission meetings they came to both Blake Library meetings to speak about the seven-year revision of the Martin County comprehensive growth plan I read the interviews and some public comments hopefully those who send emails to the Commissioners are in agreement with the majority of the people I believe they are the majority of people in Martin County do not want overdevelopment they're very concerned about keeping all our Waters safe and free of pollution the majority of both County and city of Stewart Commissioners don't listen to the people the majority of the LPA and MC Commissioners want to allow continuing overdevelopment of Mega overpriced mansions with multiple golf courses golf Cottages employee dorms and now a boat slip on the C40 C 44 Canal built by the ranch these developments are being allowed by changing them to the rural lifestyle it's also the way sewer and wat is being allowed to go outside the urban service districts that were meant to slow down development overdevelopment first RLS Le was to apply to over 130,000 Acres of Agriculture on an open land then down to 1,000 contiguous Acres now the attempt is to make it 3,000 contiguous AC Acres 6,000 ft away from a USB these attempts need to stop until the infield area is full please don't pass agenda items 24188 24189 more developments are being allowed west of caner Highway and I95 as well as a long Bridge Road both are ma major highly trafficked roads this needs to stop the ranch brags about getting the water and sewer to stop septic tanks if they weren't allowed outside the USB then there would not be that septic tank problem how can we be sure that the ranch with their water storage proposals Etc can safely handle storm water runoff storm water runoff from fertilizers pesticides herbicides possible gas oil and sewage from the boats on the c45 C c44 Canal don't pass this as it is now I agree with the proposal to mandate onsite water quality monitoring before passing agenda item 24- 0783 the ranch wants to build a new home for UF and ifas great they will give 750,000 in kind services to the local high school turf grass program offer a golf scholarship it would be be better to give a scholarship to someone to study regenerative agriculture environmental cattle ranching in the aabon grazing program we don't need more golf courses we need clean water affordable housing the county to continue being what it has been in the past smart development not overdevelopment to name a few I email the Commissioners with several reasons why I believe the three agenda items should not be passed I hope you read them I hope you would consider my requests we the people want to be listened to thank you and Miss cartright will be followed by Todd orff good morning Commissioners happy Tuesday when it comes to reviewing development applications theoretically it should not matter who is on staff or who sits on the dis but sadly it does an application should be within the confines of a comp plan with minimal variances and a land use change should only be sought if there is no other reasonable use for that land not because it makes a profit for a speculative land purchase or what is Promised by buying Goodwill it doesn't change what's required by the comp plan the original kaloa Creek proposal came before the commission on a August 10th 2010 staff recommended a denial and it was motioned by commissioner herd and nobody seconded it instead there was a motion to quote come to some kind of agreement for a certain number of units including yeses by Commissioners campy and Smith this was the same time frame as canopis sound and Becker yep the same Becker that was the applicant for the rural lifestyle text Amendment applicants have been waiting for this configuration of a commission some since 2007 like the company who paid $70 million for l land immediately had it revalued for $7 million applied for a grazing zoning presumably to avoid paying higher property taxes who are now rushing for approvals because they know this may be their only chance to get anything and everything they want it took years but this group of developers written about by Sally Schwarz in 2010 finally got the commission they want and that they need fun fact the pr company who manages cluser Creek's PR since 2010 also manages the pr for South Florida Water Management District and big sugar totally normal stuff and sadly this commission and its committees are not valuing true experts who are expressing valid concerns like District 2's LPA rep who was forced to resign as a City Commissioner over accusations of bullying who said that the south Florida Water Management District email was Rogue what an interesting word rogue is compared to what instead of holding the applic accountable there was a redirection attacking an email supposed validity to discredit its information a tried and true way to do business business so South Florida Water Management District isn't an expert in is sending Rog emails none of the environmental groups are experts but the guy appointed to sit on the Dies who says it's a rogue email somehow is and every developer paid consultant somehow is got it you should be doing what you were elected to do and getting generously paid to do which is to follow the comp plan and not what an applicant or their friends ask you to do nor by those contributing to a pack including a pack that is registered to the local Chamber of Commerce and one that is registered to a local current commissioner so to everyone in this room and watching remotely make sure your voter registration is is updated and current know who has been updating who has been investing in literally our candidates elections matter I hope everyone makes their voice heard in August thank you Todd orli or maybe not um is orw okay followed by Sam hey um mine's going to be really quick there uh as a resident in Martin County I believe the ranch shows great deal of promise for our community this project demonstrates that you can develop while you still support conservation the amount of land preservation and Open Space is really impressive with this project clearly there's been a great deal careful planning that kept in mind Martin County in maintaining its rural rural FEI we should use this project as a blueprint for others down the road in the future to continue our community to continue making our community and its future better thank you guys thank you sir Mr Sam hay is going to be followed by Darlene van rer good morning I'm Sam hay I live in Port Sero Commissioners first I would like to remind you of a fundamental fact that some of you seem to have forgotten you were elected to serve the and defend the interest of the people of Martin County not outside developers whose primary motivation is to exploit our natural Treasures for their own profit in particular I would like to address those of you who originally voted to approve extending the so-called rural lifestyle destination 6,000 ft beyond the urban Services boundary to accommodate the Developers of kaloa Creek Ranch I urge you to reconsider your vote of last December and overturn this Grievous error to begin with approval of this amendment to our comprehensive plan renders the urban Services boundary meaningless for all practical purposes in addition it neglects to address the concerns expressed by the south Florida Water Management District that the proposed project fails to provide Assurance of adequate storm water management and water quality protection whatever the developers might say there is there is little doubt that the heavy fertilizers herbicides and pesticides of two golf courses would eventually wash into our already severely threatened Waters do we really need more golf courses finally who's going to pay for all the infrastructure improvements that will inevitably become necessary if the collusive project is carried through what whatever assurances we may initially be given that Martin County taxpayers won't be on the hook for for these expenses for roads Fire Protection Law Enforcement wastewater treatment will likely Fall on our shoulders my taxes are already high enough please do the right thing for the people of our County and for future Generations overturn the approval of kaloa ranch and reject any further amendments to weaken our comprehensive plan miss van rer will be followed by Mr Brandon Tucker unless you have you wait till the later okay good morning um gener uh generously paid Commissioners I guess Everything's Relative anyway uh Darlene Van Riper hobes sound resident um somebody spoke earlier saying we don't want overdevelopment and we don't and that's why I'm totally in favor of this cloa Creek project because of the amount of land that they will preserve 3547 Acres that's more than 91% open space 1200 Acres of preserved Wetlands $25 million in estimated annual tax revenue we could build a bigger Golf Course maybe this is Private Industry paying us to preserve land what more could you ask for and I would I would make the comment that uh there was a gentleman here who represented the golf course industry but he had made a presentation some months ago which was a fabulous presentation and if you are of the opinion that golf courses are the golf courses of yester year that used to pollute you really need to watch that presentation I'm speaking basically to the audience if that's allowed because it is so informative and enlightening so please do vote in favor of this project thank you uh Mr Tom Pine's next I'm sorry I forgot and followed by we all about achieving Learning Center kids Tammy for Tammy they're little kids bring them all oh okay good morning Commissioners my name's Tom Pine I'm a resident of Jensen Beach in today's consent agenda 29 m566 33 $614 were spent between March 25th and April 14th 2024 without identifying the pay ease or the purpose of the payments not long ago the Stewart News did a story about the St Lucy County Commissioners abusing in the consent agenda maybe someday soon the Stewart News will do a story about how our Martin County Commissioners abused the consent agenda too the past two public meetings I've been attended I've attended two different men questioned me on how raising the Sal tax adds to food insecurity the second man noted in comments that there is no sales tax on food I will try once again to explain that there is a direct relationship between food insecurity and raising the sales tax I'm sure both of these men have heard the term living paycheck to paycheck but obviously they don't understand the full meaning at the end of the week There's no money left after paying all your bills rent mortgage utilities clothes Auto and last but not least food so every time you raise taxes on people living in this situation food the food budget is the only place they have to cut their expenses yes I'm well aware there's no sales tax on food directly but if you take the time to look at the total picture raising sales tax adds to food insecurity during the budget hearing of 2023 for the first time in memory the commissioner Chambers were packed with local taxpayers concerned about the T cat's tax bill the number one issue many of the speakers from various homeowners association and condos Association was the fact that many long-term residents having trouble making ends meet these are some of the same people in Martin County that have dropped their homos Insurance in order to make ends meet Palm Beach Post April 29th 2024 front page move cut back or go bear more Florida seniors are facing prohibitive home insurance cost so yes raising the local sales tax does does add to food insecurity indirectly but it still does maybe it's time for those pushing this worthy initiative to consider forming a nonprofit solicit money from the many local residents that support this effort and leave those that are struggling B we can't use the tax dollars for low-income housing because the taxpayers would be up at arms but it's okay to spend 4 million on a train station because the Chamber of Commerce wants it sad what you permit what you promote what you allow you encourage what you condone you own thank you Tammy if you would pronounce your name correctly she going to be follow absolutely Larry Mueller Tammy Simo s um good morning everybody it's good to see you I want to just say I am one of those taxpayers who love everything about Martin County who actually loves everything that you your staff have provided for us in the way of a quality of life it it's we are different because we do our due diligence and part of that is by maintaining both our economic and our environmental um land so it works for all of us not just some but all of us I'd like to continue to encourage you to continue these smart growth policies that we have in place by supporting the ranch it not only has environmental and I won't go through all the numbers because I know you've you're probably sleeping in environmentally it's still agricultural it's low density economically it makes sense it's travel tourism for the golfing it's and it attracts people who really do love Martin County and think it's a special place that end up moving here for all the right reasons not the bad reasons that some people come the um thought it was kind of funny when I was going through my homework looking up things that had to do with the western land studies and stuff that we've all been through for many many years that I came across an article that actually um Maggie herchell wrote and I just want to quote just a little bit of it for you Martin County is sometimes accused of encouraging spraw by its 15 unit density cap it's four-story height limit it's strict Wetland preservation requirements it's requirements for for both preservation of native habitat on the site its General low density and less intense lifestyle now if she were here today this is the ranch this is exactly what it does so I just want to remind you that not only have you guys done an awesome job in protecting Martin County the assets we have and providing a great quality of life for everybody but so have previous commissions have done it it's smart growth you can't just say no you have always helped us look for a better way to do something so that we all have a win-win incredible tax base incredible farming incredible agriculture I mean it's a win-win thank you for your support thank you Mr Mueller I just noticed that you have ph3 on that would you in the lobby no this is fine thank you I said Mueller Larry Mueller's in the lobby I see okay so I'll push him off to ph3 same with Brian Schwan uh ph3 or okay I'll put you there anyway Miss Miss bny [Applause] Caffrey good morning Commissioners and other guests I'm Benny Caffrey head of school at the Pine School located in hobtown Florida some of you might not know but Banner lake is actually located on the pine schol school's 170 plus acre campus it is the school's goal to restore this sheet flow Wetland to its natural beauty this Wetland was Disturbed decades before the Pine School purchased the land and we would love to see it uh functioning the way it was intended to a few years ago the Pine School worked with Martin County and agreed to contribute tens of thousands of dollars to extend a water study Martin County had already engaged with with Tetro Technologies the work of that project is ongoing the school at the time also did some mitigation in the lake to begin removing some of the overgrown species last fall we were fortunate to meet Ken and Susanne bask they have a healthy interest in the Pine School and education broadly and it was my pleasure to tour them around the pine school's campus they were impressed with our natural beauty and immediately step forward to donate up to $50,000 of inine service to to help us with our first phase of restoration for Banner Lake the Pine School was fortunate and accepted this gift we are eager to have community support for restoration of banner Lake and hope to see more Community interest in restoring our sheet flow wetland in the future thank you so much okay Linda Richards is followed by Kim dinkin which is also ph3 if you'd like to postpone that or no okay good morning Commissioners um I am here to speak to you about an email that was sent to all of you a few weeks ago and it is to talk about a project that is on caner the caner cpud which I fully understand is in the city of Stewart however it borders the county we live in the county I am here because there's been multiple instances where water has been discharged quickly off of that Pro property into the swales directly into our river through the canals that are on the side of Cabana point there has been nothing done there has been nothing done to this developer they have admitted to it there is proof that it happened it happened three times where a a breach happened and the water flooded the nursery property into the swes under caner Highway directly into our River and then it has happened most recently into the Swale in front of Riverland where it went rapidly into our River it is taking construction silt into our River the developers can't be held accountable now after listening to everything about what's going on with that's going on in our Western lands I want you to think of how you are actually going to hold these developers accountable because they're going in and they start and you know what there is nothing you can do to stop them or hold them accountable because once they start that's it so I'm looking at a small 50 acre parcel you know just 19 Acres of Upland scrub dist Disturbed and 10 Wetlands Disturbed and we see what's happening there and now we look at the Western lands of what you're going to do I would look really closely at the feedback of what's going on in the city of Stewart of the properties that they annexed out of the county changed their land uses to a land use that was B basically created just like this land use that you guys are looking at today and look at the Fallout from that before you go quickly approving these projects thank you Kim dkin okay how about Tammy Simone Sim Simo Char WI she SP oh she wants to talk about the ranch okay firsty coming okay I think that I am actually the Tammy you cannot pronounce the last name of you got to speak louder ma'am okay forac what Tammy forac who is with SOS could that have been the one that you called first well no that's not it but go ah I'll find you did you fill out one of these I did yes sir okay go ahead okay um so anyway I'm here in supporting Port Sano and SOS and um I would just like to read this to you is the capital Improvement plan book outlines the County's budget allocation but lacks the details regarding Sno C the the language is vog and provides public work with considerable flexibility this could be detrimental to Port Solano as the board language allows for a wide range of projects the exception is SPS manity Park Mane Business Park excuse me page which includes plans for significant work on the Commerce Avenue the incel Improvement improvements for the neighborhood specif speci ifies these improvements which the neighborhood they pertain to are unclear another page focuses on the resurfacing of Commerce Avenue excuse me extending to Serano road which may not be necessary within the cero CRA the idea that the Commerce a Avenue is a crucial Marine Transportation Route has been debunked and it appears that the project aims to widen the rideway through a residential area to create create a new downtown without input from the residents other Pages hint at construction of a lineer park without explicit stating yet one mentioned the multiple malder Pathways without specifications in locations potentially aligning with the business flares plans for a boardwalk the other Pages pres page proposes Channel enhancement which some Commissioners equate to the CNO Creek boardwalk in lineer park any work on cero Creek should involve input from the NAC and is not part of the cero CR plan additionally there is a page dedicated to Port seleno crra improvements is focusing on int fracture for future growth and enhancing the Aesthetics priority projects chosen from CIP and CRA plan are ambiguous and should range from the railroad bridge to on street parking the issue lies in misrepresentation and manipulation of the CRA plan for alternative purposes without input or for approval for Port Sano naac or C board so thank you very much good morning Commissioners I'm Kim dinkin I apologize I was in the lobby I was going speak on ph3 well do you you want to talk at ph3 or you want to talk I can talk now I'm already here as well um again my name is Kim dinkin I'm the policy and planning director for 1,000 friends of Florida we're a nonprofit organization that advocates for smart growth throughout the state you may recall that we oppose the establishment of the rural lifestyle future land use designation for the exact reasons that I'm standing here today it promotes the extension of public facilities outside of the urban Services district and results in Leap Frog development patterns the definition of sprawl the proposed text Amendment seeks to push development even farther out than what was originally allowed allowed and removes a reference to the maximum one dwelling unit per 5 Acres even though it still is contained in the in the um text text it makes the intent more ambiguous rather than clearer without setting any new standards to ensure that the areas not slated for development at this time will remain that way into the future through conservation easements extending rural lifestyle projects more than a mile from the urban Services District boundaries would vastly increase the area vulnerable to negative environmental and Community impacts from development including water pollution congested roads and higher taxes to stretch and maintain those Public Services we acknowledge that cluster development is sometimes preferred and is a good tool to preserve tracks of land with sensitive areas or that could otherwise provide green space but in cases like this where the density is already limited to one dwelling unit per 20 acres you're not really getting any bang for the buck especially when clustering is being used as a justification to extend those Services into rural areas other policies could be created to protect sensitive lands while still allowing owners to develop portions of their property without bringing public facilities into play regarding the Pud there's no guarantee that water quality will improved by converting current a lands to golf courses in fact golf courses are known to be some of the most intensely fertilized and irrigated lands in the state and the current PUD agreement doesn't specifically require best management practices reduced irrigation or water quality monitoring in those areas it also seems that given the amount of land that's being set aside for preservation retaining just 25% of the native trees is a little bit of the low bar in short we ask you that you reject the text amendment in the Pud as currently proposed anywhere new golf courses are planned without throughout the county ensure they're subject to low impact design and maintenance and that they're not eligible for to conversion to other residential or more intense uses in the future thank you okay I have three um request to speak forms with multiple names on them that is the all about um achieving achieving uh Learning Center and apparently they need to go back to school so we're going to ask them to come up all together I guess um and choose a couple of people to speak oh three different topics okay all right well let's start with affordable housing whoever is going to speak about affordable housing the room huh yeah and I'm I apologize I didn't realize you guys were needed to go back to school but I'm sure you uh appreciate sitting here and not being MH yeah we when do I start okay state your name or names okay um hi I'm Ellie Grace uh my name's Ava we are here today to talk about affordable housing for essential workers waiters car mechanics police officers firefighters teachers crossing guards and construction workers all do different essential jobs s still they have one thing in common they may need to make more money to continue to live in Martin County think about all the work they do and how little they get paid these people do so much for our community and yet they make so little and can barely afford to live here why is this well for one thing some people think that if a smaller or more affordable house is near theirs it loses some of its value secondly there are also buildings and physical space issues we are creating so many other significant unnecessary things that are taking up valuable space for smaller houses or even communal living think about the number of gas stations car washes restaurants and luxury apartment complexes being built in Martin County not only are they taking up valuable space But even the apartments in tow houses that are being constructed are asking for extremely high prices to buy or rent them that the average essential worker is not able to afford in March of 2024 it was documented that there were allowed around 11 100 tiny homes for sale in Martin County however I would barely call them affordable at this point as most traditional single family homes cost nearly $500,000 and considering over half a million people in the State of Florida make less than $30,000 a year I don't think that's sustainable for anyone single families and essential workers are struggling to make ends meet as it is let alone having the ability to afford housing in Martin County and a over over 8% past the so that $34,000 increase on average is so much harder for people that they don't have large incomes in Martin County another big problem is the population people are constantly moving here taking up space building and buying houses making even less room for lower class citizens my solution is to require all new housing units to require affordable housing before large homes although I may not know how to solve this problem I do know that Martin County used to be a small town that had beautiful beaches amazing schools and affordable houses for the average family to be able to afford as Martin County continues to expand in population and in business the cost of living has also expanded dramatically as well the average home price of Martin County has now reached unprecedented levels and unfortunately many people like essential workers or even people who have lived here their whole lives may not be able to stay here thank you thank you thank you okay then let's talk about non-service animals how about that please introduce yourselves hello accounting Commissioners um before I want talk I want to say thank you for letting me talk to you my name is Luke Anthony Longo my name is Luca my name is Jackson and I'm Eli we are with all about achieving learner Center and want to discuss something important non-service animals in public the main issue about non-service animals is that people bring them everywhere they're not supposed to like restaurants stores baseball parks Etc unfortunately some businesses do not follow state and local laws and allow non-service animals into their buildings or facilities bringing their pets into restaurants and stores creates numerous problems for the average citizen for example we have noticed the following issues involving noner animals in Martin County dogs barking non-stop at people in public places animals go to the bathroom in public and their owners do not clean it up the creation of unsanitary conditions where people bring their animals into restaurants and grocery stores where people eat food and shop for their food as well people have allergic reactions to having these non-service animals in the stores and restaurants that they are shopping at anxiety and fear by children and adults who do not like animals or have had bad negative experience with different stages of their life animal attacks in public just a few weeks ago a child Was Bitten at a Martin County baseball field by a non-service animal that was not on a leash again we understand the need for service animals in public especially who people who really need them however the people of the number of people bring their animals public places have becoming alarming in Mar County pets are not people people and they definitely should not be public places where they could cause a disturbance or affect someone's allergies impact St of stores and restaurants or cause unnecessary sickness or paranoia for others as a result we have come up with a solution we need to make stricter local rules uh for non-service animals in public for example people won't be served if they bring non-service animals to businesses and can be asked to leave and if they don't it would be considered trespassing or businesses themselves could be fine for not following the rules as well some companies are only concerned about making a profit if so they allow any type of animal in their store regardless or where of whether or not it is registered cerice animal lastly one of the most powerful tools is education educating citizens about the negative effects of non-service animals in public is important thank you for your time and consideration upon this issue thank you okay now we're going to talk about water quality please introduce yourselves um hello my name is Ken Hollander and my name is Kobe ginus we attend the all about achieving Learning Center you got to get close you guys got to get closer to the mic thanks hello my name is Kan Hollander and my name is k we attend the all about achieving Learning Center we're concerned about what is happening with the dumping Lake osobi Unfortunately The Dumping killing oyster bars seagrass birds and other sea animals in large numbers is also creating blue green allery which is which is killing a lot of marine life it can really hurt you if you swim in it the nutrient Rich polluted water that is filled with nutrients like phosphate and nitrogen from Lake oobe can transport toxic Blu green algae to the coast and has been found to intensify existing red tide blooms supercharging them and leading to massive Marine Coes like we experienced 3 to four years ago billions of gallons of water from lob is getting dumped into St Lucy River Lake Worth Lagoon the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Mexico which making the water toxic and naturally Transforming Our local ecosystem and T of dumping this toxic water into the rivers one solution that we came up with is to dump this toxic water into the Everglades because how dry it gets between the months of December through April and this gives us enough time enough time to fix the gr blue green algae and also the plants in the Everglades are a natural filter which could filter out the toxic blue green algae this would help the issue because it would lessen the amount of water in Lake Oobi it would lessen the amount of negative effects on our local marine life this issue is incredibly important to us as we have lived our whole lives in Martin County and have enjoyed fishing Bo and being out on the water since we were little kids and hope to still do so in clean water so we hope that one day you will stop dumping lakeo showby water into our local Rivers thank you so much for your time very good next time you decide to do this let us know and then we can get you in and out I'm sorry yeah okay thank you uh John [Applause] John what looks like L hips followed by Chad Miner maybe good morning Commissioners first of all I would like to thank each of you for your service to our community first of all I would like to thank each of you for your service to our our community here in Martin County and also what comes to mind is the beautiful parts that you've expanded and maintained here it really makes a big difference to our community this morning I am here to propose a 10-year moratorium on all new planned unit developments so the reason for this is that we already have on the books many many developments that have not even been devel put in place yet there's thousands of units that we've approved but not yet even implemented and so this is straining our infrastructure our roads our utilities our schools and there's also environmental concerns because it leads to massive DeForest and destruction of our Wildlife there's also quality of life issues because when we have all this massive overdevelopment it's the roads are clogged people get stressed there's a quality of life that just deteriorates and so I think that's important that we need to look at and the housing market stability in economics is very important because if we put too many develop developments in too quickly we're liable to have an over supply of housing which could actually deteriorate our economic stability in the community and lastly public input and planning I think we need to take a deep breath we've done so much here in Martin County and truly we've done a lot of really great things arguably we've done a wonderful job like I said with our Parks our Community you know we have small businesses that have sprung up and we've done a great job with a lot of that but now it's time to take a deep breath and say look we need to do some additional planning to really look at this and so finally I think that taking to summarize if we could allow us some time to step back and look at making some infrastructure improvements to catch up with all the demand and preserve the character of existing neighborhoods and temper the real estate speculation in Martin County this would give us a wonderful opportunity to step back and look at maybe some lands that we could purchase to help us keep uh to help us maintain important lands that are really good for the environment and again thank sir your sign is up thank opport to speak [Applause] Chad Miner is probably going to need to fix that and um Carol Pelton can you hear me y so I came here um is it really I got it right yeah oh okay pardon mind I just couldn't read your writing and I'm sorry and I got it so uh I just wanted to speak on behalf of uh development that's going on um lived here majority of my life my parents left an urban area down south so that they can raise their kids on what they had grown up with which disappeared for them and I feel like uh for my kids my future kids I'll be telling the same story that my parents told where yester year is the only thing I can speak of my ass is that growth is eminent it's going to happen but to put aside future development and uh outweigh the cost and economic uh input in favor of our culture and the beauty of our community I ask that you think of us residents first with greater weight than investors developers and all those that you're faced with right now I hope that you vote against um Western sprawl um our fishing our hunting all of it has kind to side things that we love things that our community loves it's you always build what somebody wants golfers want more golf courses consumers want more malls as a fisherman and a hunter I want rural ANS I want clean water and I feel that I am not the only voice that has those concerns so I wish that you consider me as well as other residents when you make decisions going forward and uh help preserve the beauty of Martin County that's all I have thank you [Applause] Carol Pelton you want to speak now or okay good morning my name is Carol Pelton I live in the Foxwood community and I'm in Western Martin County by South Fork High School I just want to say that it took me 35 minutes to come in eight miles today in Martin County and they're proposing more and more traffic lights to get into this our County um I we the development that's out there is is crazy and the proposed development that's um coming our way is crazy with 4,000 homes they're proposing across the street in the fields across the street from us there's a big Warehouse um facility that's out there and now we have two three golf courses that are surrounding us I want to speak to the environment I would love transparency to see tell me how you did go for tortoise studies on those lands there's a lot of wildlife out there when a developer comes in they wipe out wipe out all the trees where do the birds go where do the tortoises go where did the wildlife goes we have more roadkill on those roads today because of development um we it's like a bait and switch when you set um lightening up your comprehensive plans and developing a little bit further west we got stung by Christ Fellowship they came out there as a church Community there were project 300 they were going to do all this for the community we in Foxwood said great idea five years later they sold it to py homes Joe Flanigan was on that land planning um committee that approved the development of those homes 300 homes on 300 acres they're 15 ft in between them now they wiped out trees they we've been inundated with the barrels that are in those roads they still can't get the irrigation right on the middle part of that road um if Joe Flanigan went out there today his only concern was Don't Mess With My Fishing Creek are you going to put that water into that Fishing Creek I invite you all to go to the Western half of this County that you're going to a vote to say let's expand it and see the de Devastation that's out there in that environment but I would love transparency who's doing the Environmental Studies who's keeping them accountable is the EPA in there a Florida Wildlife Commission out there because do you bury toer uh gopher holes you know and pay the fines who's doing that the developers are telling us I I attended that land planning agency and they did a great job as far as what they what they did as far as conservation of the trees but what did they do with the animals that were living on that land so I I urge you to vote no and let's take a breath and there have been a lot of good presentations today and and U concerns raised by your time is up thank you we have Dr Tracy Miller um you want to talk now or hello doctor morning welcome good morning thank you Mr chairman and Commissioners it's a pleasure to be here this morning Tracy Miller Deputy superintendent the Martin County School District and I just want to take an opportunity this morning to share a little bit of information with you about a community collaborative partnership between the Martin County School Board to enhance and really rejuvenate the golf course that exists at southw high school that has really been defunct for the last several years really bringing that back to be able to support two very important Career and Technical programs at South Fork High School those twoy are the landscape and turf grass management programs and our agroscience technology program our agriculture Technologies these two programs are really important to help provide Pathways for our students in the school district to be able to be College and Career ready when they leave the school district and really be able to meet a market need here in Martin County so we're very appreciative of community and collaborative Partners who come forth to the school district to help Provide support and really get behind our students and the mission of the Martin County School District in order to educate all students for success and to ensure that they are college career ready and able to be collaborative Partners here in Martin County when they graduate from our school district so I thank you very much for your time thank you [Applause] Miss Wendy Shipman Wendy I thought I saw her well I'm going to push her off to here she comes do you want to wait till the item or talk now wants to talk she'll talk now good morning can you can you hear me now better all right thank you for having me this morning my name is Wendy shman I'm the instructor of the Academy of landscape and turf grass management at Southfork High School um she is national super she is a national Superstar yes she is thank you thank you uh we are super excited to be partnering with the ranch uh our Golf Course has needed some some community help um for a little bit and so they're going to uh bless us with a $750,000 donation as well as collaboration um on the job training opportunities a caddy program all kind of wonderful things to help build a relationship and also a pipeline for jobs for my students uh which is something that I've been working on most of my career I've been a teacher in Martin County for 15 years and uh I'm very excited when my students get hired and are able to have successful jobs um so this a really sorry this is a really important um partnership for us and we really need their support so we're um really looking forward to all of the other opportunities as well that this project will allow including having the UF research uh extension agents there as well we can do field trips um they're going to have a beef program so both programs both agriculture programs are going to benefit um from this collaboration and provide lots of like I said lots of job opportunities for my students um which they need so thank you very much thank you Renee moril and you can fix that when when you get up here good morning I'm Renee lard mored from Jensen Beach and I first want to thank you for taking off the agenda the mango Lane Extension that was totally unclear um but I'm here to talk about um the ranch a month ago just about a month ago the lawmakers at the state and federal levels earmarked a combined 1.65 M billion dollar for the next 12 months for work restoring the Everglades okay the amount sets a record for how much money taxpayers will spend in a year on the restoration and it shows how much we're willing to save this area the never Everglades has never seen this kind of funding the south Florida Water Management District comments that they oppose the ranch because it's in um direct opposition to what we're trying to do you are in encouraging the the ranch is located more than a mile from our urban service boundary now we're giving them Ro access to public utilities So within that mile what's going to happen and we're trying to preserve area for Everglades Restorations we need to stop this and like you said put a hold on it for a year we got enough puds going around and things that the the the county obviously doesn't know what they're writing about they don't have time to get their plan straight look at the mango terrorist catastrophe that's all I have to say thanks and have a great day Mr Brandon Tucker followed by carol fatrick which is my last speaker form for public good morning Mr chairman members of the board and County Staff Brandon Tucker executive director of Florida land Owners Association Mr chairman thank you for giving me the opportunity to come back and speak after I deferred earlier for the agenda item and I will speak again there but what I was hearing uh some of you may know that I'm the former past chair of the governing board of South Florida Water Management District and hearing these comments about one particular email from one particular staff member uh about this project there are 1,500 very passionate employees of the South Water Management District at Gun Club Road that are all about Everglades restoration about protecting our Lagoon protecting our estuaries protecting water quality um as this project moves forward I can assure you that through the environmental resource permitting process and the review process that is very stringent with the Water Management District that if there's anything that would cause damage to the ecosystem that they will not be issuing a permit for this project so I think that's very important to note and lastly what I'll leave you with before I speak later is is right now now currently this piece of property with the current land use and the current zoning in place we can have 20 we can have 200 houses with 200 seed tanks with 200 drain fields and this proposal was much better uh for this piece of property and for the environment so we'll be speaking later thank you sir thank you Miss Carol Fitzpatrick good morning I'm Carol Fitzpatrick of The Florida Club to me this is important what I'm going to have to say before you approve any more new developments could you please widen Bridge Road I was astounded at the land planning meeting when I learned that they w't intending to widen it until 2045 is that crazy this is on your shoulders you need to do something about it and as for the waters coming off all of these new developments we need to oversight from the county not the developers thank you [Applause] okay and with that um that is my last speaker form that is not um earmarked for a specific item we uh need break for our um close captioning uh folks to catch up for about 10 minutes and we will reconvene thank you e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e e and we're on okay good okay we are going to take up our 930 preset at uh 11:00 um request for concurrence of the appointment of the administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Martin County Mr Donaldson oh cut him with his mouthful I'm sorry yeah up BL commissioner campy on the cookie um so the Florida Department of Health has selected um Nicholas clipon uh as administrator of Florida Department of Health Martin County and the Department of Health is requesting Martin County bard of County Commissioners concurrence on the appointment I'll say that it was my pleasure to sit on the selection committee with um commissioner Jenkins I thought that during the interview process they had some fairly good good competition for the job but um nick uh overwhelmingly uh with his knowledge and uh character um or I thought he blew it away personally so the uh recommendation is that the board fully endorse the selection of uh Nicholas Clifton to be our department of health administrator from Mortin County and with that we'd need a motion from the board to do so commissioner campy apparently wants to make a motion I do um only a motion though what how dare you I had the opportunity as you just did to sit on the selection committee when they hired carlet peek who did a remarkable job and then when Miss peek was thinking about retiring I was concerned and then Carol Vitani showed up at just the opportune time the most people don't realize is the health department is not a Martin County Health Department it's the State of Florida Health Department located in Martin County but we do have a very close working relationship with normally the the head and their team they have a remarkable team uh in the last couple of years we have gone through a hepatitis A outbreak in Martin County sort of focused it it felt like in Palm City uh there was that the pandemic it was a pandemic and uh and several other issues that thankfully didn't plague us as much as they could but the leadership from the health department including uh at that point in more of an assistant position uh Nick Clifton I could not be happier for our community that it's going to be Nick he's a local uh he's very uh professional very knowledgeable and for my sadness to see car leave uh is my pleasure to nominate and make a motion to accept um Nicholas Clifton being uh promoted to administrator of the health department of Florida the Florida Department of Health in Martin County congratulations sir okay I think the next light was commissioner heatherington but I'm not sure but I'm going to go with that I try to get to my light before commissioner CI got to his because of course he said it all now so and I will just um say Carol you know you have done a tremendous job you came in under enormous pressure and um a very interesting time in history so thank you so much for your service and I wish you all the best in your retirement and I don't think we could have gotten a better um pick for as a local resident um raising its family here I congratulate Nick and you've done a tremendous job already we've done some very uh complicated convoluted projects in U Monterey subdivision you all work through that so seamlessly with a collaboration with the city of Stewart and D so I think um the Martin the Florida Department of Health is in great hands and congratulations commissioner and I'll second the motion I I just want to say also that the um people don't realize what a complicated Balancing Act the health department is you have to balance uh Regional uh Global uh and local uh issues and you do a fantastic job of it so thank you uh Carol and Nick is an inspired uh choice for your replacement thanks commissioner Smith well it's almost good being last cuz everything that was not last I'm last huh I'm last Almost last um everything everybody just said uh Carol uh I'd say one thing about you and Nick together in your performance with us as a board and I'm sure you dealt with all of us the same way uh on a regular basis both of you came and met with us and shared uh either what we knew what was going on or what we didn't know what was going on and needed to know what was going on um and in our jobs it's important to understand the Dynamics of what is going on because there's there's an effect on everything and and your your department your Agency on the Health side of of what occurs in a community is is incredibly important so Carol I I wish you the very best um thank you for stepping in as as others said in a a really difficult time and a time where um when you work for the state you don't really work for us you're here and messaging from the state and messaging from us is very convoluted and difficult to filter um but you did a remarkable job job both of you did honestly and and helping us understand our our place and what we could do what we couldn't do during the pandemic and so on and so I know it was difficult uh because there were times where the public expected um us to have answers uh and sometimes there weren't answers and and everybody wanted to look back at you two and go you guys have the answers Nick are you sure you really want to do this I think that's the bigger question um thanks again both of you Nick congratulations um look forward to continuing the great um Rapport that we have and Martin County is in a good place because of all your work we really appreciate it thank you I get to go last so um I have really appreciated working with Carol and Nick as a team um you know over these past few years they're they were wonderful um and um some of these serious issues that came up they were great about um helping somebody like me understand exact ly what the ramifications were uh Nick I've known for quite a long time apparently um he grew up with my my sons um and uh I and Don sat through the interview and all I can say is he knocked it out of the park he knew the subject matter he knows what's going on he has the pulse of Martin County under his thumb he knows exactly what the deal is and we could not have a better applicant and I fully support him so with that from the applicant let's let's from I have a question for him Nick just yeah just I did not do that to you he did well we already have the opportunity to know him but maybe the community who he will serve would like to hear a little bit about your background don't expect him to look like this ever again just a little bit about myself yes please um so I'm a product of the Martin County School District I went to Hidden Oaks in Sou work and grew up in Western Palm City uh went to school got a Bachelor's in biology at the University of South Florida um recently got a masters in health administration from FAU um have a background with do and the emergency preparedness um and the environmental side and as of the last five years under Carol's tutelage I've gotten some experience in about every single program and stuff that um you guys oop I've worked with all of you guys on as far as like the pandemic and water projects and water contamination and blue green allery and I think that we've been through more in the last five years as a county than most and that's that's what I got that's what I got to offer well we appreciate that um a local local boy makes good so congratulations well we haven't voted yet okay and I guess we do should go through the formal thing and actually vote so we have a motion by commissioner campy seconded by commissioner heatherington all in favor I I all opposed motion carries unanimously congratulations all right we're going to move on now to um neighborhood advisory committee appointees let's hold off everybody else did yeah how many people applied huh how many people applied three three no not for this for next job oh um there was one well they they had Whitted it down oh somebody else yes ma'am Donna Gordon for administration um this is for Jensen Beach I'm asking that you reappoint Robert wire and for Port Sala we had three applicants and Mrs Christina Waldren iGo received three votes move approval of Robert wi and Christina igoo okay uh with that we have a motion by commissioner um herd seconded by commissioner Smith all in favor I all opposed motion carries unanimously all right now we're going to move off to uh pH number one we have and the reason is because we have two speaker forms so obviously two people in the room can we do commissioner comments first I just have one small I'm sorry I'm sorry I completely forgot about that yes ma'am one small item and it's just a practical matter um if you've been following South Florida Water Management District recommendations your yard is brown right now because we're in the midst of a of a rather severe drought which is terrific for Lake okachobee and the Aries lake okachobee has decreased by 2 feet in the last 2 months which is great news but for water managers it's been a bit of a challenge um so I understand that tomorrow begins uh sailfish s's uh summer membership and I understand there's a proposal to to reverse the uh the nine holes the black horse which is a great idea under normal circumstances but the water managers there have had to prioritize watering and therefore they've only watered the the 27 holes that have been in play so the black course is in is is well played it's popular the reverse is very Brown and as a practical matter when it's the the uh uh superintendent the the uh water managers the greens managers there they can turn this around but they can't do it this quickly so I would suggest that we keep the um courses the the holes that are open now open until we can get some rain so that we can because otherwise our members are going to be very disappointed to have to play on completely Brown holes I don't know anything about it so I mean if you basing that on your experience in golf or yeah or did someone tell you that that's a good idea no I I just found out that it was going to be the the uh new nine holes was going to be opened and they're they haven't been watered they are sense but are we going to hear from someone from Parks and wck I mean because look if I support your decision it seems like you're speaking specifically so commissioner heatherington I I'd love to hear an entire presentation maybe on the 14th or the next meeting we can get a um parks to do a presentation on the um on the reversible n that's reversible nine and how that's gonna function I'll move to do a temporary halt uh on the changing of the black uh course and have a a a discussion on May 14th second Mr Smith just a a side to that remember that the STA that we built in back of the school Barn bus building was specifically designed to tie into to rehydrate the ponds at the golf course to make sure that we had water that we were cleaning and even cleaning it further so we should be consuming every ounce of water that comes out of that thing and using it and I don't I don't know why I don't know why that they're low I can tell you that they're low they're two feet lower than they were a month ago and how about the STA don't know but it's it's very dry I mean we've had extraordinary uh dry season we have some we have some Wetlands up on Savannah Road that are dry as a bone yeah I get it I'm just but that system was piped in and tied in so that we could consume every bit of the water that we're trying to clean up so I guess we'll hear about it later yep yeah the mtion yeah that's fine I'll I'll wait till we have the presentation I moved to postpone the changing of the black horse to the reversible nine until we can have a discussion about it from the parks department on May 14th otherwise they're switching it tomorrow got it yeah okay we have a motion by commissioner herd seconded by commissioner campy all in favor I all opposed motion carries unanimously thanks you have anything sir I don't have anything do you have anything no all set okay now I forgot what we're doing okay public hearing number one public hearing to uh and a final assessment resolution for the Harbor Estates gains Avenue water main extension Municipal service benefit unit Mr Sam Emerson is over there and um Phil Keithley and neither one of you are them so go ahead no uh Leo retti Tax Service administrator with Martin County utilities and presenting today Dave Duncan project manager for uh this assessment and and wings if we need good morning Commissioners uh David Duncan project manager U uh for the record David Duncan project manager for the utilities and Solid Waste Department uh Martin County utilities received a petition from Harbor State Gaines Avenue residents asking the utilities department to ballot the area for provision for water services to 160 properties that do not have AA availability of water services um after the completion of construction drawings the cost proposals received from our annual underground contractors a staff level Workshop was held on April 23rd at the board of County Commissioners Chambers to explain the Project's scope Associated costs and the assessment project um the work will complete the utilities in that area since uh since sewer had been completed since uh March of 2023 a Florida department Department of Environmental Protection permit to construct has been received by this department and the lowest cost proposal has been selected from Martin County and Martin County's annual underground construction contractors we go see next Slide N need to back one there we go all righty um slide two you'll see a site plan of the harbor State's gains Avenue area including straford on the waters and Cape live now some of the anticipated benefits for the community would be enhanced water quality since some of the existing Wells are high in iron and sulfides it would also ensure reliable supply of water as well as continuous Supply during power outages and because it will be in we will be installing fire hydrants along with the water system Supply the potential for homeowners to recognize a a reduction in the homeowners insurance rates could be possible uh this slide here the proposed assessment includes 160 properties which comes out to 162 erc's as indicated in the slide the total project cost is $1,769 n82 the utilities department is contributing 181,000 reducing the accessible cost to to 1, 15889 182 therefore the sum is divided by 162 equivalent residential connections for an estimated prepayment amount of $988 53 per connection uh this equates to an annual payment of $627 123 per unit amortised over a 20-year period at a rate of 1.52% interest plus standard fees Martin County currently serves 36,700 water customers and the average residential water bill is roughly 6,000 gallons per month at a rate of $244 cents per thousand gallons based on the average water consumption the base charge of $192 the average reg Residential Water custom would pay approximately $33.66 per month uh with the approval of the final assessment resolution today the department anticipates commencing Construction in June 2024 and estimates a six-month construction phase with completion in December of 2024 lumpsum payments of the assessment by the property owners would be due by August 1st of 2025 and any payments not received by that date would be shown on the annual property tax bill in November of 2025 that concludes my presentation commissioner heatherington yes I know that our residents in the area have been waiting for water for some time I do have a question because I've received quite a bit of Correspondence lately and maybe you can explain to some constituents um there there were some folks that maybe they spend the winter out of area and I think that they imagin they would have a zero bill um versus the the base so could you explain a little bit how that works and for some of our residents um the Bas the base charge for the water at $192 and then the consumption they would just have a base charge if they had zero consumption for that month for the water the uh uh you uh Mar utility bills Mar count utility bills are broken into two components uh the more water you use uh the more water we have a pump out of the ground we have to treat with chemicals and uh uh transmit out to the residents that's the variable portion of the water bill uh the fixed bill there's still a lot of fixed operations that go be uh uh go on behind the scene and so that's the cost of maintaining the nonc consumption portion of the utility uh uh in operation so uh in in this case they would get a base bill of $192 a month but no no charge for consumption because we're not pumping any water to them I just think that we need to be really clear when we when we do our presentations to the the public because I've had a lot of misinterpretation on that recently that that people don't understand they're going to get a bill even if they don't consume um any water so um I think this project you know is is has been supported and much needed I'll motion to approve it I just ask that as you go about your education whether it be in this neighborhood or some of the future ones that you explain that base rate to the resident we'll do commission Smith so another way to say it is there is overhead to operating the system regardless of consumption uh uh that's correct so there are there's a plant there's facilities there's maintenance there's staff all of that goes on no matter whether we consume or we don't consume to to have the capacity when someone comes back after season that that facility is operating and functioning uh you are correct and that is what the $19 effectively covers is that Baseline of what that costs to operate the system well I I'd say above and beyond or below and Beyond um the the uh consumption side correct thank you get you a chair down there second okay uh before we vote we have two speaker forms here Bill and ingren Venza Venia sounds like a I guess you're opposed good morning my name is Bill benesia oh I'm ingred benesia we live on Willow Lake Trail hold the mic up a little bit maybe how's that better okay I I wrote a short thing I was just going to read it we encourage the board to adopt a final assessment resolution for the harbor estate's gains Avenue area water Municipal service benefit unit we understand the cost of the project and recognize the benefit to the property owners we appreciate the Civil Service staff of Martin County utilities and the Solid Waste Department who have worked with our neighborhoods so long and so hard to bring this resolution to the board for final endorsement and I sincerely mean that you guys have worked you're you know I guess it's David now but it was Phil Keithley it's been an ongoing thing to satisfy a lot of people and we truly appreciate it um the economic benefits for the homeowners are clear eliminating the septic systems reduces the maintenance and cost and mitigates the risk of expensive system failures um moreover removing the septic Syms allows for for other development on the property you could bury a gas tank or do something else plant some trees where you couldn't before so it's all good finally supporting the water main project is vital for maintaining the ecological integrity and aesthetic value of Martin County Healthy waterways are essential for supporting marine life and recreational activities that drive our local economy you all know this preaching to the choir um by reducing pollutants and our particular area on gains is particularly bad because we we have neither septic nor sewer I mean we have neither water nor sewer um the project is a positive step towards the sustainable uh and prosperous Martin County I appreciate your time and I just want to Echo that we are totally in favor of this project um for the benefits to the river and for clean drinking water it will provide for the households in the area thank you thank you thank you all Joseph Pano Happy Looks angry you never know yes my name is uh Joseph Pano I live at 200 Southwest Willow Lake Trail uh which is lot six in Cape live o uh my wife and I first met with John Paulie of water utilities in 2004 excuse me one of the subjects we discussed uh besides our road was having water and sewage uh Mains extended since they already were installed they already existed halfway down the street which we could never understand why we weren't asked to join that but that's another subject since my wife and I and neighbors since then my wife and I and neighbors have met with uh Phil Keithley also of water utilities and other County officials many times over the years uh lot six at the West End of uh Willow Lake Trail is unique in that the water in sewer Ms must pass through uh my property uh to serve the other four residents on the street all right before the before the project could be planned I had to Grant the county two easements on my property I don't like giving property away but I'm glad to see this project is finally ready to start the last thing I want to say is that it has been a lot of years coming and I hope you uh approve this project today thank you thank you sir all right with that we have a motion by commissioner heatherington seconded by commissioner herd all in favor I all opposed motion carries unanimously congratulations thank you thank you we are going to skip uh public hearing number two for the moment and move on to what everybody else is in the room for is uh public hearing number three legislative public hearing to consider the adoption of a comprehensive plan Amendment CPA 22-06 cloa Creek Ranch text th Mr [Applause] Clyde good morning members of the board good morning good morning please proceed members of the board uh this is public hearing three my name is Clyde Duan comprehensive planning administrator with the Martin County growth Management Department with me is Daphne sha senior planner with the growth Management Department we're going to present to you the legislative public hearing for comprehensive plan Amendment 22-06 Kusa Creek Ranch text uh this is just the textt amendment not the future luse that'll be the next public hear in and this is not the Pud which is the following public hearing um the local planning agency considered this uh item on November 16 the board of County Commissioners considered it on December 5 uh it's been sent off to the state uh agencies and surrounding jurisdictions for their comment um there is no significant comment from State agencies on this text Amendment and uh so we will hit the highlights that you've already uh you are already already somewhat familiar with this is not a site specific text Amendment it is applicable in Western Martin County lands along the edge of the primary urban service district and a freestanding on urban service districts it requires a minimum 3,000 Acres it permits a Max density of one unit per 20 acres and is a change to the existing text which permits um a rural lifestyle to be located adjacent to the primary urban service district and allow and has a minimum 1,000 acres and a different density of one unit per five it clarifies that employee housing cannot exceed the density of the Pud uh which was an oversight in the originally adopted text it requires enhanced uh nutrient reducing on-site sewage treatment systems instead of standard septic systems uh and that is consistent with the changes in State Statute which are discussed and and analyzed in an attachment to this item uh it pres permits residential docking facilities among other uses in the Pud and I'm going to go to page 413 which is a map showing agricultural land and private ownership in large acreage um this is a major piece of the data analysis that we considered in reviewing this text Amendment the hatching that you see is a hatching that's laid down around the freestanding industrial urban service districts and the primary urban service District it represents a 6,000 ft distance from the primary urban service district and it gives you an idea of where the rural lifestyle future land use designation must be located in this proposed change to the text uh it must be located adjacent to or contiguous to this hatching that you see and it cannot be located elsewhere in Western Martin County as if you my my cursor is following the hatching so the rural lifestyle future land use uh that is described in this text Amendment cannot be located in Western Martin County where my cursor is now it cannot be located adjacent to the municipality of Indian Town it must be located adjacent to this 6,000 ft buffer that's shown around the primary Service District examples uh and um examples of where the rural lifestyle has been located uh assigned is the Discovery property Atlantic Fields here at Bridge Road and the Three Lakes property and as we'll discuss in the next public hearing the proposed location here uh where my cursor is at caner Highway and Bridge Road uh the map also shows land in pink lands that are in public ownership it's unlikely that anyone would attempt to locate a rural lifestyle adjacent to lands in public ownership um it's also unlikely that they would be proposed in land here in this brown area which is agranet where they already have a density of one unit per 5 Acres so it would actually be requiring them to decrease their density if they proposed a rural lifestyle in this location they'd have to decrease down to one unit per 20 acres instead of the one unit per 5 Acres they're already permitted in this area so um that's the high spots of this proposed text Amendment um I will try and go to the conclusion in the staff report just to make sure I haven't missed anything um it provides predictability where in some respects uh legislation currently uh that has been recently adopted in State Statute takes away predictability in our Western lands um it does not permit the proposed text change under consideration here today does not permit a density to exceed one unit per 20 acres um mentioned the dormatory housing's clarified and the nutrient and uh it the proposed changes meet or exceed the requirements of chapter 20- 2023 d169 laws of Florida that require uh Advanced wastewater treatment and with that I will close out the staff presentation on the proposed text Amendment and be happy to take any questions any questions for staff not at this time okay Mr Waters somebody's phone is here oh somebody's phone was at the podium so whoever that's his you leave your phone oh there you go I apologize all thank you m good morning Tyson waters on behalf of the applicant um very happy and excited about this opportunity to present not just not just this first text Amendment but also the land use and especially the PD to come later this afternoon again as you're familiar um this is the subject property it's about 3900 Acres located at the intersection of Bridge Road and caner Highway as staff mentioned we've been here twice before once with a local planning Agency on November 16th who recommended approval of both the land use and this text Amendment and then in front of you for transmittal hearing on December 5th and before I get started on some of the overview of the text amendment I would ask Tom mcnicholas to come up here to give a brief history about the property thank you Tyson good morning chairman Jenkins good morning Commissioners Tom mcnicholas from Stuart Florida representing the Barney family the previous owner and Ken and Suzanne B who are behind us who now have owned the property for more than two years we're very pleased to be here today and humbled at the project that's being brought forward on behalf of the Barney family who couldn't be here today they had family in town their apologies the Barney family has own kaloa Creek for more than 20 years and if you know of the history some of you were sitting on the dis back in 2010 in a conservation project the Barney family was approved by Martin County and the State of Florida to to uh provide for 600 residential units with a 1200 Acres set aside at that time why that didn't come to fruition is honestly South Florida wasn't ready to accept the property at that point there was budget issues at that time so Mr Barney in in viewing in the future decided to hang on to the property we actually went back to Tallahassee and unraveled a comp plan amendment that would allowed 600 homes 600 septic tanks on that property it's just not what he wanted to do that was in 2010 here we are today there have been a number of suitors who have came to the bar who have come to the Barney family over the last four years um some of them have been the golf course developers in front of you previously who've had great projects but they didn't align with what the Barney family wanted to do from a conservation mechanism and in view they sent us back out and we were blessed to uh find Ken and Suzanne B who are the developers and managing owners of Fri Head New York and friers said it's one of the top golf courses in the world and one of the top in the country as well um the thing that makes Firs head so good is the uh preservation that they've had there I apologize Tyson I'm trying to go to the next slide there we go sorry so Friar's head is located in New York on the sound it was approved with 80 units 80 homes on that site 22 years ago they've built zero homes homes we're not saying that's what going to happen here but that gives you an idea of preservation from the back family on kaloa Creek you've heard about the expansive open space of more than 91% you've heard of the Agricultural preservation of more than 12200 acres and you've also heard of the upin and Wetland protections of more than 12200 Acres those numbers speak for itself and we appreciate your consideration today thank you thank you thank you Tom and I'll be brief um just again to go over what's in front of you today with this text Amendment and what it does as staff mentioned it's not site specific and it's not an exception it's the establishment and the modific the establishment of a new tier by modifying an existing land use and what this modification what this second tier does it creates a requirement that you have to be at least 3,000 Acres so that's triple the size of tier one in the rural lifestyle and you have to be within 6 6,000 ft of the primary or freestanding urban service district and those are relevant because those are the two that allow Water and Sewer to get there um and this is very important no density increase so we're at one per one unit per 20 acres today and we remain at a gross density maximum density of one unit per 20 acres tomorrow what it does allow us to do is have a residential development over a smaller footprint so what you'll see as we move forward the vast amount that we're avoiding and allowed to have an open space and it allows water and sewer service and I think this is especially especially important for environmentally sensive lands that you're allowed to have water and sew as opposed to the septic tanks but what does it require at least 70% open space compared to agricultural that has 50% um development under a plan unit development agreement as opposed to zoning and then all Upland areas and wetlands are or Upland preserve areas and wetlands are outside of individual tracks of land and I think this is most helpful and you're going to see this slide again and again throughout the day because I really think it breaks down a comparison between the agricultural land use and the land use we're asking uh to be under again maximum density under both is one unit per 20 acres the big difference here is potentially on this property you could have up to 195 units spread out over 3,900 Acres you'll see later on what it what this land use allows us to do is have a much more compact residential footprint in in our case and again as you'll see this moving forward we're able to get that under 200 Acres um guest houses are the same golf courses they're allowed in agricultural land just like they're allowed under the proposed land use the big difference with that are the golf Cottages under the agricultural land use there's no maximum um in number or size under the proposed land use we're both Limited in number and size for those golf cottages and and these last three and four I think are the most important for your consideration the wetlands in all of Martin County wetlands are required and Upland preserves are required to be outside of a lot except for the Agricultural and agranet land use so if we were to develop this piece of property under the agricultural land use those 20 acre lots could include the wetlands under the the proposed land use that's not allowed they have to be separate Parcels outside of IND individual tracks of land open space again 50% under agricultural 70% under the proposed land use and again you see when we come forward later we're actually at 91% water and waste water we've said this before up to 195 well and septic systems adjacent to the St Lucy Canal an environmentally sensitive area under the proposed land use water and sewers is available at the developers cost to construct serve and maintain and then again the type of development under the agricultural land use as long as I check all these boxes it's a straight zoning byright development under the proposed land use it's mandated to be a plan unit development which means enhanced requirements and demonstration of public benefits and with that we're happy to answer any questions you may have we would ask that you um support your prior or continue your prior action and support staff's recommendation and approve this thank you okay any questions for the applicant seeing none we have uh some public comment Terry Gibson followed by Greg Greg Brawn oh I ended up putting you on the top and you were actually supposed to be in the back well thank you for your time um I'm in a bit of a catch 22 here and I can't see you with my reading glasses on and I can't read what's in front of me without him so I'm going to do my best um listen I understand the concerns about the precent here here um and it concerns me too but I've thought about this project really hard and I've talked to dozens of people in this community have lived here a long time and by and large most people were like what's the problem this is a good thing matter of fact one person said to me you know if we had a few more of these out west of town we wouldn't be worried about sprawl anymore because there wouldn't be any room for it right so I mean what's not to like about the project you get clustered high-end homes instead of sprawl you got world class Golf Course working cattle ranch with an organic garden and a research facility that's amazing um a deao wildlife quarter uh conserved and restored Wetlands that that serve as natural filters against and gu and also guard against floods um Partnerships with local high school kids I was a high school teacher in belglade for a long time and I tell you what most of those kids didn't weren't interested in Shakespeare they needed to learn how to how to do things like farm and handle machinery and all that we we place too much emphasis on kids going to college and not enough about things that we we need we don't have any kids coming in the agricultural Community we're not going to be able to eat if we don't get these kids trained up to do stuff like that um the new Marina probably most importantly modern storm water waste and Wastewater and water infrastructure we cannot have any more septic tanks in this town we need to get every last one of them including mine out of the ground now they are toxic um anyway uh I really you last thing I want to say is that that I'm really proud of the um of the of the people that have that have um driven this project through the approval process it's been a rigorous process and it's time to it's time to approve it okay and thank you very much Mr Braun is uh followed by Gigi Duke dup dupe I knew that good morning uh Greg Brun professional ecologist certified environmental professional here in my capacity as executive director for the Guardians of Martin County um in November and December of last year the Guardians provided to the county a position paper that had been adopted by our board of directors identifying our concerns about projects that were outside the urban Services boundary and we're going to involve residences and golf courses U we are opposed to the extension of rural Lifestyle by the 6,000 fee uh we note that the county has received agency comments with concerns raised by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission sharing some of our concerns on the environmental side of things and significant concerns that were raised by the south Florida Water Management District regarding water issues not just the Erp that Mr Tucker talked about before but the impacts on the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan we understand that the applicant has proposed to include more than 90% of the property in open space and we agree that this new threshold does set the bar for Martin County but we remain steadfast in our position that the only way to ensure that this area REM remains as viable habitat is by requiring a permanent conservation easement for all open space portions of the property that are not otherwise encumbered by a preserve area management plan the easement should have a third-party nonprofit conservation organization as one of the easement holders regarding water quality Martin County is going to Great Lengths spending a lot of time effort and money on trying to meet the BM uh the baps the Guardians believe that it's counterproductive for a project like this with golf uh several golf courses to be constructed in an area that is discharging into the same water bodies that you guys are spending so much time effort money trying to clean up phosphorus and nitrogen are indeed critical but it takes more chemicals than that to keep golf courses looking good so the Guardians request that the county require that continuous instream monitoring be done at the applicant's expense a killroy that is fitted with sensors for nutrients herbicides pesticides and heavy metals should be deployed prior to construction and remain in place until 5 years after the phase construction is completed the requirement for monitoring though must include a provision that if monitoring shows non-compliance with water quality standards or an impact to the receiving bodies that the applicant the owner um is the entity that is responsible for the remediation to uh to correct that problem so until those things are resolved I'm afraid the Guardians cannot support this amendment we hope that you won't either thank you Mr du Bay be followed by Brian Schwan didn't you to speak or oh different one okay good morning Commissioners thank you very much uh for giving me the opportunity of speaking to you today um I'm a member of the public so forgive me for being a little confused I heard more than once that this is not site specific yet all of the backup information that we're evaluating is site specific to the cusa Ranch project with the exception of one county map that shows other areas that also could apply um the laloi which I am a member of and um speaking for is continues to be concerned about the intensity of rural lifestyle unlike agricultural ranchetts we're allowed to have golf courses dories um golf C Cottages convenience stores and other facilities that we would not find in a ranch environment what is happening is those facilities are going to be taking services from the urban service District shopping centers gas Stores um hospitals doctors and yet we don't have any transparency as to what the county has done for looking at how those services are going to be impacted that's per the comprehensive um planning that the public has asked for multiple times uh it's just everybody's concerned about it you've heard from probably a hundred people today that are concerned about it what do they see what do they feel that you don't I think that you need to address this um we're concerned about conservation and what is the plan for connectivity how are we going to provide that on a countywide basis we we can't find anything that addresses that um you are required to consider all of the agency comments when you sign your resolution and yet the Water Management District comments are buried in the public opinion comments ments they're not even submitted to you as part of agency comments most of the public feel that what management had some very valid concerns where are the staff reports that you have address them as the resolution says you are required to do before submitting it to the state thank you ran Schwan I hope followed by Larry Mueller thank you everyone Commissioners Mr chairman my name is Brian Schwan as a lifelong resident of Martin County I feel privileged to live here work here and raise my children in Martin County today I'm here to show my support for the ranch I think it's a great project that brings even more value to Martin County this proposal represents a prime example of sensible development that prioritizes preservation they have committed to preserving almost all of the site as open space which demonstrates to me the thoughtful approach to land use I think it is crucial for Martin County to pursue smart and practical development initiatives that consider the long-term impact on the community the ranch proposal not only makes sense by generating High tax revenue with very low impact but it should ALS Al be considered as a model for future rural planning and conservation thank you thank you Mr Larry Mueller followed by Michael circus morning I think it's still the morning here uh my name is Larry Mueller and my wife and I have lived in Martin County for 35 years we raised our three children who are now living and working in Martin County and having children of their own this Commission and prior commissions have always worked hard to preserve the lifestyle that defines Martin County as an oasis amongst unbridled growth to our South and North determining the appropriate development use in the western a areas have always been a major concern since I moved here I'm here to support the ranch project as some of you know I have experience in real estate development after reviewing the ranch site plan and getting a better understanding of what they are proposing I am thinking that they not only meet the Martin County standards but they exceed them this project will maintain the rural character of the land this project emphasizes the importance of maintaining the wildlife Corridor by leaving 91% open space on their 4,000 acres of land this applicant applicant is committed to cleaning and restoring Wetlands improving ecos systems and becoming a good Steward of the land this project will have a minimal impact on Martin County's infrastructure and services with its low housing density lastly I am very excited that this project will generate significant tax revenue for Martin County with today's inflation and ever increasing cost of government these tax revenues should greatly benefit all of us as Mar County residents I urge all of you to support and approve the ranch application and take advantage of this tremendous opportunity to have a project like this take place in our community thank you for your consideration thank you Mr circus is followed by Harry MacArthur good morning Michael circus I'm resident in Palm City uh I come here today to tell you a quick story I'm a blessed man my family and I are are blessed and fortunate to live on a small a ranchette in Martin County that's been in our family for more than half a century uh I have 22 Neighbors on our half mile stretch of road and collectively we all come together at about 200 Acres we make up over a quarter of the small agar ranchetts that are still left in Martin County inside the urban Services boundary and I bring that up and uh I bring it up in this perspective to let you know that we didn't put our ranchets inside the urban Services boundary we pre-exist the comp plan we were there and the comp plan came behind us and they built Suburbia around us we went from 20 acre ranchets to 30,000 residents in Palm City in less than 25 years we had 150% population growth from 1970 1980 and almost identical from 1980 1990 now it's unreasonable for me to expect anybody to knock their house down because of the effects it has on my property I deal with increased p uh predation animal predation I deal with light pollution I deal with population intrusion I even get complaints from Suburbia about basic activities on my prop that's happened for for for 50 years 20 years before I was even born again I can't ask anybody to knock their house down that's unrealistic but it's Immortal for me to watch us make these same mistakes over again in the western part of our County that's why we have a comprehensive growth management plan that's why we have an incremental process not jumping 6,000 ft outside of it so I'm not asking you guys to do anything crazy today I'm asking you to follow your comp plan I'm asking you to follow the rural lifestyle Amendment as you promised it to us 18 months ago because at the end of the day we have the history to show that this is not the road we need to be traveling down this is a genie you're not going to put back in the box thank you Mr MacArthur will be followed by Larry Mueller hello everyone Harry MacArthur I just want to thank all of you for doing such a great job week in and week out and keeping our County so great and everything else all you have to look is the both sides of us the job all of you do and staff does to to make us a great County and these are the projects that we're looking at that it's the I know 40 Years of battling big development whether it's Palm City when Martin DS came in and then they were trying to take it to hop sound with 8,000 homes and we battled them and we've hop sound Plantation all these things that we battled that were bad developments and everything else and you know what and until they shut put a gate up there in the Florida Georgia Line we're going to have people coming and they're going to keep going and if they can we can have the the right development in Martin County we're pretty darn lucky and it's because of all of you so thank you all for doing your job I think this is the lowest density we can get on this I think it's pretty pretty special I'm only here because I've heard the Guardians and those were against it I looked and I said of all the ones I've hollered about this is the best one I've seen so you know what you got to pick your battles I'll take this one over what I've seen thank you so much thank you for the job you do appreciate you fighting for everywhere in the state and federal government thank you all appreciate thank you okay with that he could have gravy with him yeah back to us um any comments commissioner herd sure I'm not going to support this amendment uh in the first place it establishes a precedent from which we will never never return recover um if you expand this it shows me that rural lifestyle has no limits at first we were promised you have to be next to the urban service boundary now it's 6,000 feet away from it over a mile away from it what's the next one going to be 10 10,000 ft away from it 5 miles away from it there's no limit to the expansion of this if this is approved today um I'm looking at the the changes to uh chapter 4 um where there's uh development proposed that a density of more than one unit per 20 acres has to have a special preservation uh outside the the specific parcel but it there's no requirement that there be the that the uh uh parent parcel and the conserv ation parcel be owned by the same owner golf Cottages don't count toward the the uh the final density you can have up to 54 golf Cottages um the provisions in in chapter four for extending uh water and sewer outside the primary urban service boundary are in direct conflict to the uh Provisions the laws the requirements inside chapter 4 which says that de that that properties inside the primary urban service boundary will be prioritized for water and sewer extensions that's a requirement the people who in the the agenda item before us before this one said came in and told us and they're solidly within the primary urban service boundary they have been coming to Martin County since 2004 begging for water they're finally going to get it this year and yet this project Waltz is in and water and sewer are magically available to service 175 houses 175 guest houses 54 golf Cottages 234 employee dormatory beds 36 holes of golf a community store a multi-lip docking facility clubhouses spas on and on and on um South Florida Water Management District says that this project is in direct conflict with the Indian River Lagoon South plan it says that it is is entirely within the Indian River Lagoon South uh footprint those natural lands are extremely important to Martin County we have spent hundreds of millions of dollars trying to clean up our water this is the CR this is the critical part of our geography that makes sure that these that our water does has have a chance of recovery the applicant must discuss must detail the methodologies assumptions data sources and analyses that will be used to assess whether its development program will have adverse impacts to the Ser project the applicant has not done that it's unclear whether where the development is deriving water for both consumption and irrigation the applicant has not provided that an analysis of storm water management needs and potential flooding issues have not been incl included in the proposed amendment changes to the capital Improvement plan have not been made this is in violation to so many of our so many of our requirements the the utilities department says the cumulative impact on the existing surficial aquafer and wetlands is unknown it's a betrayal of the Martin County difference and I will be opposing it and also if this amendment passes I will be moving for reconsideration of my approval for the half cent sales tax commissioner Hetherington okay um I see it a little different actually so I was listening to the comment this morning of our residents and talking to some of them and a couple times it came up during public comment uh that this is this is going to be low density sprawl so and and by the way I am I'm very familiar with this area I've been back and from to um Indian town at least four times this week in the past week and driven past this project and just about all of the western land so I looked up the definition of sprawl just now and it it's entitled uncoordinated growth the expansion of community without concern for its consequences in short unplanned incremental Urban growth which is often regarded unsustainable and when I looked at everything that was presented it's certainly coordinated it's it's certainly sustainable and it has certainly done been done with aot lot of concern now it's no secret that I am not a big fan of the how rural Lifestyle the policy came about I'm not a fan of the policy in itself because if it were up to me everyone that had a great project would come in with their independent project but I agree with what the gentleman Harry said we sometimes have to pick our battles because 198 units today well as someone just the applicant stood up and said there were 600 units approved on this before there's 198 17 today 175 the the Pud proposes 175 the maximum permitted by the existing and proposed land use is 195 so as an and you have your exhibit up as as our a policy or our our AG lands require you could build one house per 20 acre and just about every part of that green map today correct and you can build a golf course in just about every portion of that green map is that correct correct so I've just taken up Golf and I'm and I'm actually I think I'm not too bad at it so so I'm working on it but I I if it were to me I would I wouldn't have determined that you could put a golf course you know in my beloved Martin County anywhere on that green map however that's been the policy since when 1970s 80s yes it dates back to at least 1982 so by right you know the speakers that talked this morning that they don't want any more golf courses by right many areas of Martin County can be golf courses I think the opposite of the definition of sprawl is being able to Cluster some of these together and have that open space and so there was somebody worried about wiping out trees in habitat the the best thing for habitat and some of this conservation is to be able to move the units closer together and then we're talking this is 3400 Acres or maybe this applies to to to more than that this text Amendment but it being able to Cluster and being able to preserve that open space to me is the absolute opposite to sprawl having no septic tanks on some of these lands absolutely more sustainable and then I'll say as well as a Indian Town native I attended South Fork High School and I attended um well I attended University of Florida too so I feel like this is like a double whammy for me not only will South Fork High School be getting in a if this project moves forward if um the golf course that used to be kind of thriving when I was there the three hole and and that contribut to South Fork if this project moves forward I think is phenomenal and the same with IAS and if you drive our Western lands I always said when some of these golf courses were coming in what I would not like to see are the golf courses when I drive caner Highway like I have for many many years which I think we used to ride the bus from Indian town from Little Ranch Estates every single day um to caner high down caner highway to South Fork High School what I want to see is that rural atmosphere that we always have seen so I I think it's a great project like the the I'm not again I'm no fan of rural Lifestyle the way it came about but if we don't do something now then we're going to have thousands of units on some of these Parcels later so I like this this particular proposed policy and I'm going to motion to approve staff's recommendation commissioner Smith thank you Mr chair um what I really like about the map that's up um I think it tells a remarkable story of where we were were 25 26 years ago by and large what you see in pink 26 years ago did not exist Mike derer Lizzy who's a school board member and IAT on the sustainable Martin 2020 plan and Mike and I had this Epiphany one day that wouldn't it be really cool or amazing if we could create a green belt from northern Martin County to Southern Martin County and again that's before any of that pink that you see on that middle portion of the map existed so we produced a what is the current this was 26 years ago what was the current status what was the the the not wanted status and what was the desirable future and what you see laid out in pink is what the desirable future was all that's really left to create this barrier of what could have happened going west in Martin County is picking up the rest of Palmar and that's what you see in yellow with those thousands of little hatch um quarter acre lots in Palmar which is a whole another conversation but it is part of the the story when these projects came along it offered us the opportunity with or without a sales tax to acquire natural lands to put a whole bunch more land in into open space and preservation what's going to occur on this piece of property and the others that have been already put into production Martin County could not have afforded to do we don't have the resources we don't have the revenue to do what is being asked of this applicant to do with their product it's amazing when you start to think about it and when you tie it together with one of my prior for this year in the absence of having any of our uh uh flyways or natural um spaces through Martin County it's what really frustrated me in the fact that we were kind of left out of the Matrix of of what those uh programs looked like and if you start to piece together what these large tracks are doing for us it already exists the wildlife quarters that are potentially there are fantastic there was another big acquisition on Bridge Road last year um that could have been 800 homes that is not going to be 800 homes and that is right on the edge of of hob sound it's remarkable I think with what has occurred and what is going to occur to prevent what everybody seems to believe can occur that won't um I'm happy to Second um commissioner hetherington's motion I think it's remarkable what these folks have put together uh it's it's amazing and we'll talk about this later in the Pud but the the the benefits and the things that are going to occur as a result if for nothing else the water quality that we gain out of this project again that we would never have been able to afford to build as Martin County and I think the most intriguing part of it is the is the access and the kids that we have at South Fork I was going to mention this earlier when the teacher came up and spoke about golf um they had a graduate from South Fork some years ago uh that I believe um runs one of the larger golf courses down in Palm Beach County off of Military Trail his salary is in the ex in the in excess of $350 $400,000 a year coming out of South Fork running uh a golf course program that's a Martin County kid who grew up here graduated from South Fork and is making well in excess of what affordable housing is if half the kids that have access to this kind of programming at South Fork take advantage of that they'll be able to go anywhere they want in the world or in the country and name their price for what they want to do as employment I I think if you just took that one single opportunity for Martin County residents it's huge and so um again I'm I'm happy to support uh the project and I look forward to it um becoming reality Comm campy thank you Mr chair I'll keep it um brief brief the people that support this project are going to support it and the people that don't there's not much that any of the five of us for or against are going to change their minds I try to focus my attention and my decision- making on the people in the middle that don't have an opinion yes I absolutely want this or no I absolutely don't want this uh and I take a couple of things into consideration when we do that one is what could happen on the property right now if if we had no say I think some people this morning when they say I think they were assuming that we were making a decision between leaving it exactly the way it is with nothing ever to happen on it or developing it they were not in my opinion from some of the folks that I've heard from and emails that I've read understanding that nearly 200 homes could be built on the property now some people say well that wouldn't happen well we don't know if it would or it wouldn't it it very well could so that's a possibility and then in terms of the septic system versus sewer we are asking our residents on the coast in the more established neighborhoods new Monrovia old Palm City to switch their systems some of their systems are in dire need of conversion some are fine some are new but in a lot of neighborhoods we as a board have tasked our utility staff as the the state has been looking to do converting people from septic systems to a sewer system especially most of our residents are lucky enough to either live on the water or near the water we're asking those people to pay um 10,000 $12,000 $114,000 people that live in very small postage size lots and you know along Cornell and whether you needed to or not we're asking you to do that however we're supposed to just assume that it would be okay on these multi-million dollar pieces of property out west of town they can have septic systems to me that sounds hypocritical that we would force the people that are struggling to pay into a system to replace them while we were still potentially approving by right folks out west to have septic systems that doesn't work well for me with respect to my colleague who said how are we allowing the folks out west who are brand new to the to the situation to have water and septic when residents in town were begging for 20 years to have it well there's a big big difference the folks out west are 100% responsible for paying for all of it all of it if the folks in town were going to stroke a check in 2004 to pay for the entire system I'm pretty sure they could have had it but we're working on a sort of a balancing act in town some of the folks this morning said until you completely infill inside the urban service boundary you can't really think about working out west well we also fill this room up on occasion with in town folks that are Furious when we infill projects right on top of them you know in regards to the rural lifestyle amendment I made no secret about the fact that I was opposed to it I was opposed to it for certain circumstances similar to today I did not like to have a blanket broad brush approach to what could and could not happen anywhere in the western portion of the county I right or wrong prefer to have some parameters on what I'm being requested to vote on up or down I like to know the project and I like to know the place and I will as quickly vote up in opposition to a project as I would necessarily to support a good project case in point applicant comes forward with his perfectly legal right to build 90 apartments right on Martin Highway in the heart of palm City three three-story buildings unlike anything that exists there currently by right if we had not gotten creative through the assistance of our staff and some brainstorming on my part and the some of our residents they would be under construction right now 90 apartments in the heart of palm City not affordable housing three three-story buildings right on the sidewalk in Martin Highway and people would be losing their minds so we were able to stop that from happening that project is not a yes in my mind this project is you know I and I know that people don't want to really pay attention to the statistics because if you're not for the project you're not for the project and I get that but to have it be 91% open space and look you can say well golf courses are not open open space but let's let's most people are familiar with at least the concept of golf a golf course is a tea box of Fairway and green the rest of the course is trees and scrub and bushes and and water whether it's man-made water or whatever very little of the actual physical portion of golf is man-made most of it is left by Design to be sort of natural and rural to make it a better experience 175 homes when we have projects on the horizon that could be 4,000 homes we're talking about 175 homes on nearly 4,000 acres and the things that any other Pro I would say this project really stands out in some of the public benefits that they have done one after the other after the other you've heard them I mean the three course the three-hole course at South Fork is in bad shape and it was always sort of their Jewel because very few high schools offer Golf and Turf maintenance programs and that the students in the last several years have not really benefited because the course is in tough shape it's expensive to maintain those places this applicant's willing to do that throw on top the banner Lake uh improvements throw on top that they gave 20 acres 20 acres is nothing to you just say well who cares to the IAS in who are on literally in the front parking lot at the fair in Stewart now what will they be able to do so when I have to make a decision on is this a good project or not some people will never agree with me they'll be mad if I vote for it they'll be mad if I vote against it but in my mind you take my environmental um review of the project 175 homes clustered closer together instead of spread out all over the property the water we had a group and it was mentioned this morning come in here and explain not just specifically for this project for all of the golf course projects that people are hearing oh golf courses are horrible it's not the same thing as it used to be they're not pumping a tremendous amount of pesticides and fertilizers first off that's very expensive secondly it's horribly damaging to the environment and they don't want to do that so we could get the date that we had that presentation that was mentioned this morning because it was pretty telling on how it really works and I know that most people are concerned and think well you know it's not going to work that way but in my mind to conclude um this project hits with a lot of things that I believe our Martin County residents uh will benefit from and we see it if if you're not on one extreme or the other they will see it as an opportunity for us to have a benefit in our project in our community this project and I appreciate my time I yield the remainder of my time back that was sure that was the brief brief version that was more of a Jenkins Than A Smith I beg to differ um so I voted against this U project in the beginning until I was uh corrected on uh some procedural thing of um of a thing um so anyway um being a lame duck um it gives me the opportunity to call Bull when I see bull okay now I've spent the last seven and a half years of being a commissioner of this polite very softspoken guy but this um this is becoming ridiculous so we have a project that I really wanted to support uh the last time but nobody uh stopped me from sticking my foot down my throat um and I did not this is the most environmentally beneficial project that's ever come to Martin County but yet we have these not for profits up here speaking against it speaking against something and and what they're speaking against are by right we don't want any more golf courses we don't have a choice you're allowed to put golf courses you put as many golf courses as you want right we're opposed to the homes they're actually proposing less than what they have by right and these are the two legs you're standing on to convince us to object to literally one of the best projects that's ever come to Martin County let's not forget that the Guardians at least the executive board and some representatives from a thousand friends were for Rural Lifestyle the day before they were against it okay let's not forget that why is that I wonder why is that I tell you what you can't pay Greg Bron's salary nor Paul Owens salary if you're supporting something you get people to write big checks when you demonize something demonizing this project you should be ashamed all right and with that I will say that I am going to support this project 100% this time around thank you yes ma'am did I do something wrong you did not but El Elder Deputy County attorney before the board votes I know that you guys know this but I just want to clarify for the record that we are not voting voting for a project during this public hearing we are amending a future land use designation that is going to be applicable to any project that meets the criteria so in this public hearing it's a future land use um amend text Amendment not a specific project so I want to clarify that before you V vote so the record is corrected understood okay with that we have a motion which I forgotten was was commissioner heatherington seconded by commissioner Smith all in favor I all opposed opposed motion passes 4 to one with commissioner um her dissenting all right with that it's 12:20 do we power through or do we break for lunch there's two to go you're not going to get through both of them so you might as well wait uh if if if we're going to break for for lunch I would just like to before we break for lunch make a motion to reconsider my vote for the sales tax referendum was that at the last meeting I think it was I don't know how this voted in the majority you did it was unanimous that's right you don't have to make your determination right this minute you want to think on it are you ready to just I would I would expect that my my uh fellow Commissioners would observe the rule which is if you vote in the majority on not saying I'm not going to vote to reconsider your motion you know look I respect your uh decision uh to make your own opinions obviously I'm just saying would you like to is to hear from the rest of the day or are you jumping out on the the ramifications of you exiting the sales tax might have a much bigger adverse effect on what your ultimate goal would be to prove a point that you didn't like where this was going are you narrowing are you making a DEC and I'm speaking to you as a friend are you making a decision specifically because you're annoyed by this that might have much broader uh benefit if you stayed with it no I I think that this uh approval of this uh Amendment shows me that we are not going to respect Indian River Lagoon South in uh natural land okay so this parcel is entirely within that footprint well if there was information that will be presented in the next two agenda items would you prefer to make wait to make that determination I'm I'm prepared to vote now I second your motion as a your right to make that determination but now you will leave all of the people that did so much hard work to bring Martin County forever's referendum forward to let the public decide if they want to continue this natural process and you're going to exit now I didn't make the vote to extend the Rural Life lifestyle anywhere in Martin County understood but now you will be leaving that group that's working hard on the things that you really care about I think I think there's there's a trust issue very well I second your motion okay we have a motion we have a second all in favor I I all post post motion well don't get me wrong my Mo my vote was not what there timeline to reconsider the effect of the motion for reconsideration oh was just stops the approval okay it because that's what the R I need to have a little more information this is happening in real time okay a motion to reconsider a vote of the board may be made at the same meeting or the next regular meeting held after provided the next meeting is not more than 30 days after the meeting a motion to reconsider may only be made by a commission who voted on the prevailing side of the original Vote or was absent uh the board May debate the motion to reconsider but may not debate the vote to be reconsidered unless it comes back before the board for reconsideration a majority vote to reconsider will have the effect of suspending all action that the original vote would have required in this case it's an ordinance you're suspending the ordinance you will not I believe I can during the break look at the um the uh uh statutory but it's a referendum so we won't be able to make the referendum's um deadlines but remember you have to send the um the we sent the ordinance to the state to do an analysis on the uh the the ordinance and that won't be able to be made they've already started that procedure I'm just letting you know they've gone out for RS P to hire a CPA to do the analysis we won't be able to meet the requirements it has to be on the agenda for the general election um I'm happy to come back after the break and explain all the deadlines you're going to make but it it it won't it kills it ends the approval well listen I think you're talking to all five of us but specifically one of us I would speak again with all due respect to my colleague are you willing to torpedo the entire process all that hard work by yourself um well I will withdraw my second for I want to give my colleague all consideration of a reconsideration this is unprecedented area we're in a normal reconsideration of a vote has very small and limited consequences this has massive consequences so I would respect her right to have a reconsideration but not under these sad circumstances but maybe she doesn't want to anymore maybe you didn't know all of that no I didn't so I would I would like to have some time to reflect upon uh what my vote for reconsideration doesn't okay thank you very much I appreciate that consideration so that uh we did he didn't call the vote did we vote on that no I withdraw my second I withdraw my second as as the motion is being held by the motion maker she's are you withdrawing your motion sure I'll withdraw it until I further confer with legal thank you very much little you know pre-lunch excitement that no one was expecting just as we are all reflecting on the conversation I remember years ago when we had a sales tax referendum and my colleague voted against it and then stated way after that that was the worst decision that she ever made and she should have supported it so maybe as we all reflect on what's going on here we'll think about that good so we're we're still status right where we were after the vote so why don't you tell us about lunch okay why don't we break for lunch um and what time would we like to come back 2:00 2 o'cl thank you e e for