Hearing is postponed: greedy billionaire oligarchs HERBERT and JOHN PEYTON know they would lose.
Here's another eloquent column, from the Sunday, September 15, 2019 St. Augustine Record:
By Brian Knisely / Ponte Vedra Beach
Sept. 17 our County Commissioners will hold a hearing to decide the fate of the Outpost property in Ponte Vedra. The 100-acre parcel is over 90 percent surrounded by the Guana Preserve. The Ponte Vedra Corporation, a subsidiary of Gate Petroleum, is looking to change the Outpost’s land use from Conservation to Residential A. That will support a large development at the end of a quiet, dead-end road.
This should concern all citizens of this county.
We, as individual property owners, have just as many rights as a powerful corporations in protecting our investment. Changing land use will send a message to all prospective buyers that land use maps are not to be trusted. This will affect everyone’s property values in St. Johns County.
The Ponte Vedra Corp. is now proposing a three-year hold on developing the property in order for funds to be raised by the state and local conservation groups to purchase this property — but only on the condition that the land use is changed from conservation to residential.
After three years if a deal cannot be reached Ponte Vedra Corp. will have the right to develop this land in a highly environmentally sensitive area. There can be no assurance they will offer a realistic price for government acquisition.
There needs to be a very high hurdle, in my opinion, to change conservation land use, and changing this so the Ponte Vedra Corp. can have more leverage in negotiations for more taxpayer funds is unethical. Any commissioner voting for this land use change is unfairly giving the Ponte Vedra Corp. In unfair advantage in negotiations with parties representing conservation of the Outpost. This should not be allowed to happen.
We must all urge our County Commissioners to vote to deny the application for the land use change.
This county needs responsible growth — not growth at any cost. Prospective buyers need to trust that large corporations do not hold sway over our county government and get what they want.
A vote to deny transmittal will help to restore trust in our local government and its laws and this will protect everyone’s property value and rights.
No comments:
Post a Comment