Letter: Don't give Ponce owners brownfield designation

Letter: Don't give Ponce owners brownfield designation
Walter C. Daniels
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 10/06/06


Editor: I do not feel that the city of St. Augustine should approve the request by Stokes & Co., to declare the former Ponce de Leon golf course property a Brownfield Site. The developer knew from the start that there was arsenic contamination on the site. When he asked the city commission to approve his proposed development, he downplayed the significance of this.

The stated intent of the Brownfields Redevelopment Act is to encourage the redevelopment of abandoned commercial and industrial property. The Ponce was neither of these. Section 376.82, (1) of the acts limits participation in the Brownfield program to "any person who has not caused or contributed to the contamination of a Brownfield site on or after July 1, 1997.'' The contamination problem was benign until the developer disturbed the golf course land. He did this because he could not place 749 homes on the property without using the golf course land. He especially wants to use the half mile of the golf course that borders the marsh on the west side of the Tolomato River. This is no doubt where he intends to build the most expensive homes in the development.

If the developer is given any financial incentives under the Brownfields Redevelopment Act, he is the only person who will benefit. This would result in the developer being able to maximize profit through a reduction in his overall costs, and a reduction in tax revenue lawfully due to the state of Florida. I applaud the efforts of any business that strives to maximize profit. I do not, however, feel it should come at the expense of the taxpayer.


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