Martin County Defender Issue 56
May 27th, 2008
The Martin County
Defender
The e-newsletter for aware citizens – No. 56
Anti-sprawl advocates win a big one
PROPOSAL FOR BIOTECH ZONE IS WITHDRAWN
In 2006, a zoning change was proposed for an Expressway Oriented Research and Biotech zone (EORB) to overlay zones around expressway exits intended to provide such things as food and fuel for transient motorists. The enabling law passed by the Martin County Commission (Ordinance #736, Comp Plan Amendment #06-163) would allow all kinds of biochemical manufacturing, laboratories, offices and related production facilities at places such as the intersection of SR714 and I-95.
EORB development would, in effect, be spot zoning outside the Urban Services Boundary. The Comp Plan does not allow that, hence the CPA #06-163. It would also place industrial facilities with potential pollution issues right next to residential communities. To oppose this radical change, Donna Melzer and I (Al Forman) took legal action as co-plaintiffs for a lawsuit and a petition to the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to prevent implementation of EORB.
On May 19, 2008, Sr. Assistant County Attorney David Acton called our attorney, Virginia Sherlock, to inform her that the EORB land use amendment was being rescinded at the request of the applicant, developer planner Houston Cuozzo.
The rescission ordinance will be on the County Commission agenda June 10, 2008. Also, the planned hearing before a Department of Administrative Hearing judge, scheduled for June 25-27, 2008, is likely to be canceled.
We salute Attorney Sherlock for her extraordinary research, strategic planning and effective presentation that made this victory possible.
As we know from a long history of anti-sprawl battles, no victory is necessarily forever. A similar new proposal could be filed anytime. Martin County citizens can not depend on a small handful of determined advocates and attorneys to hold the line. It is up to every citizen to let their officials – and candidates for office – know that we do not want to allow the sprawl that results from eroding our Comp Plan.
How voting rules may affect primaries
YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATE YOU PREFER. IT DEPENDS ON PARTY AFFILIATION.
Florida is a closed primary state. So although all county voters may vote for candidates in all commission districts on August 26 (early voting August 11-23), you are allowed to do so only if all of the candidates in that district are from the same political party. The reason is that the primary victor is automatically the person elected. This condition is officially called a Universal Primary Contest.
On the other hand, if there is a candidate competing in a given district from another party, or an independent, then you can vote only for candidates in your party. Independents can’t vote for candidates in that primary district. This rule can seriously affect who gets elected. Let’s see how that works out in practical terms in the three districts where commission candidates are up for election.
District 1
All candidates so far are Republicans. However, until noon on June 20, Democrats or independents can still file. The four announced candidates are incumbent Doug Smith, and announced challengers Richard Baron, Henry Copeland, and Bryan McDermott. Baron and McDermott have not at this time submitted petitions to the Supervisor of Elections, and are generally considered far less of a challenge to Smith than Copeland.
There are indications that more Democrats, slow-growthers and independents favor Copeland over Smith, who is heavily financed by developer interests. So it could be a very competitive race, unless a Democrat or independent enters. Then, unless enough voters switch affiliation to Republican (must register for change by July 28), the advantage could possibly shift to Smith.
District 3
Incumbent Lee Weberman, well funded by developer interests, faces Republican challenger Patrick Hayes. The winner will face Democrat Martha Bennett In November. Independents are frozen out of this contest. There is little indication that there is particularly strong support from Democrats or independents for either Republican.
District 5
Lots of candidates here; no incumbent. Republicans are Daniel Blake, John Born, Edward Ciampi, John Hockey, and Ian Pollack. Blake has not filed petitions, and is not generally considered a factor. Ciampi is considered the business candidate. There is concern in the slow growth movement that the remaining three may split the vote, and in a repeat of 2004, allow Ciampi to win. Pollack appears to have the most support compared to Born and Hockey.
The Republican winner will face Democrat Linda Green in November. Here again, the closed primary system works against such slow growth advocates as Born and Pollack. As with District 3, no independent votes allowed.
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Correction: In issue No. 55, we made the following statement: “After board member Dave Shore received a letter from Jim Valliere that his commissioner wife’s support of the WAAM airport position (Shore is president of WAAM) would be jeopardized, he kept quiet about clustering.” We have reviewed the letter on which that erroneous statement was based, and found that our interpretation was incorrect. There was no inference that support of the WAAM position would be jeopardized. We sincerely apologize to Mr. & Mrs. Valliere, and to Mr. Shore, for our unintentional misunderstanding of the letter.
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Al
Al Forman, Editor 5/25/08
The Martin County Defender is published and Copyright 2008 by WordsmithAmerica, Box 1828, Palm City, FL 34991. All rights reserved. No part of this issue may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for public or private use, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. NOTICE: All correspondence not bearing legal copyright notice which is sent to the Defender or its editor is subject to being edited and published.
