Selling off our lands.....
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 7:11 pm
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... /2416/NEWS
What a bunch of Hooey!
By Kate Spinner
Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 6:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 26, 2011 at 5:05 p.m.
Desperate to cut costs, Florida could soon be selling off tens of thousands of acres of public parks and conservation land — some of it bought at the peak of the real estate boom — to the highest bidder in perhaps the worst real estate market since the Great Depression.
Under a new plan by regional water managers, natural areas bought to help prevent flooding and protect drinking water sources but now deemed to be unnecessary could be sold for development, farming or other uses. Land could be trimmed from dozens of local parks and preserves, including Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve in Charlotte County, Myakka State Forest in Sarasota County and Terra Ceia in Manatee.
"If we don't need it to help us conserve water resources or wetlands, then we don't need to be holding it," said Paul Senft, chairman of the board that governs the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the agency charged with regulating and protecting water resources across 16 counties.
The district has not specified how much land it plans to sell. But within about a year, the agency's board expects to vote on a list of parcels from approximately 450,000 acres under consideration.
The move comes amid a backlash against publicly owned land, driven by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. State agencies have been directed to get rid of nonessential land, primarily to save on maintenance costs, an effort made more urgent for the water district as it reels from tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts the state imposed on the district this year to help lower property taxes.
But because of state restrictions on the sale of conservation land, the district's payoff could be minimal, with most of the proceeds going to the state. read the rest of the story at http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... 2416/NEWS
What a bunch of Hooey!
By Kate Spinner
Published: Tuesday, September 27, 2011 at 6:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Monday, September 26, 2011 at 5:05 p.m.
Desperate to cut costs, Florida could soon be selling off tens of thousands of acres of public parks and conservation land — some of it bought at the peak of the real estate boom — to the highest bidder in perhaps the worst real estate market since the Great Depression.
Under a new plan by regional water managers, natural areas bought to help prevent flooding and protect drinking water sources but now deemed to be unnecessary could be sold for development, farming or other uses. Land could be trimmed from dozens of local parks and preserves, including Charlotte Harbor Buffer Preserve in Charlotte County, Myakka State Forest in Sarasota County and Terra Ceia in Manatee.
"If we don't need it to help us conserve water resources or wetlands, then we don't need to be holding it," said Paul Senft, chairman of the board that governs the Southwest Florida Water Management District, the agency charged with regulating and protecting water resources across 16 counties.
The district has not specified how much land it plans to sell. But within about a year, the agency's board expects to vote on a list of parcels from approximately 450,000 acres under consideration.
The move comes amid a backlash against publicly owned land, driven by the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott. State agencies have been directed to get rid of nonessential land, primarily to save on maintenance costs, an effort made more urgent for the water district as it reels from tens of millions of dollars in budget cuts the state imposed on the district this year to help lower property taxes.
But because of state restrictions on the sale of conservation land, the district's payoff could be minimal, with most of the proceeds going to the state. read the rest of the story at http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20 ... 2416/NEWS