Growth a health, safety and welfare issue?

Miami Herald:

Valerie Preziosi and her husband, Jan Svejkovsky, left their home on Big Pine Key on Friday, along with their two cats. They booked a hotel room in Orlando but then changed course for Waldo, in north-central Florida, when the hotel didn’t answer their calls. Then, as Irma wobbled, Waldo found itself at risk of flooding. Like many evacuees, they had fled from one danger zone to another. So they drove even further north to Macon, Georgia.

In Irma, Florida became a giant bottleneck . . . 

The article in the Miami Herald raises unsettling questions for Bill Zoller:

Could growth (or too much of it) be a “health, safety, and welfare” issue? 

It is sometimes surprising how something like an Irma can trigger unexpected issues. The question of evacuation routes in Sarasota County is one that has bounced around for years (think: River Road), and eventually it has seemed to get a big shrug. In the event of a hurricane’s taking direct aim on Sarasota, can our government assure us that it would be possible to evacuate?  If not, what are the implications? That question must be answered…by our government officials.  Shall we ask them?

Updates:

A lesson from Hurricane Irma: capitalism can’t save the planet – it can only destroy it - George Monbiot

The Suburb of the Future, Almost Here

The word is out

On Thursday, June 1, Sarasota's Planning Commission will hold a hearing  on a proposal to build a 15-acre, unenclosed waste processing plant on public lands very near the Celery Fields Preserve and Bird Sanctuary. For the first time, the body will begin its meeting at 5 p.m.

Planning Commission Meeting on Celery Fields

5 pm (information rally at 4 pm)

County Administration Building, 1st Floor 

1616 Ringling Blvd.

Below is a recent letter to the Commission: (See below if you wish to write a letter or email)

Commissioners:

The word is out that a developer wants to build a concrete crushing facility on Palmer just a few blocks from our precious Celery Fields bird sanctuary and wildlife preserve.

On June 1, the Planning Commission is scheduled to vote on zoning change which would pave the way for this travesty to be built. 

However, there are a few problems.

Cement crushing produces large amounts of cement dust which we believe will not be controlled. With 35 ft. or higher piles of it, and prevailing winds up to 25 miles per hour or more, this dust (which can cause silicosis, lung cancer, and COPD) could easily be blown into Celery Fields and communities beyond. Cement crushing machines, backhoes and large loaders will be creating horrific noise which will exceed the maximum levels allowed by the Sarasota County Noise Ordinance. In addition, the dust and noise will have major negative impacts on the birds and wildlife of the area.

This proposed heavy industrial use is completely incompatible with the longtime use of Celery Fields as a beautiful and immensely popular Sarasota site for bird watching and outdoor recreation.

We are asking concerned citizens and nature lovers to come to the Planning Commission before 5pm, put in a speakers card and make your voice heard in opposition to the approval of the zoning change and of this terrible proposal.

Jami Caseber, Environmental Information Coordinator - Palmer East Group

• Former Director - Citizens Opposing a Polluted Environment (COPE) 
• Former Chair of the Berkeley Community Advisory Commission (CEAC)
• Recipient of Clean Air Champions Award from the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District for Work on Air Pollution
• Co-author, Berkeley Hazardous Waste Importation Regulation Act
• Organizer of campaign that halted the siting of hazardous waste incinerators in the San Francisco Bay Area
• Recipient, Special Award from the American Lung Association for work on Air Pollution
• Certificate of Distinguished Contribution to the City and its Citizens, Berkeley, CA

===

This letter was published in the Herald Tribune on May 17, 2017.

If you wish to write to the Commission, the names and email addresses of the 9 members and school board rep are below. To see former hearings, go to this page and look for the date or agenda of the meeting you are interested in. (The Oct. 20, 2016 meeting is here).

Sarasota Planning Commission

Laura.Benson@sarasotaadvisory.net

Jack.Bispham@sarasotaadvisory.net
Kevin.Cooper@sarasotaadvisory.net
Ron.Cutsinger@sarasotaadvisory.net
Mark.Hawkins@sarasotaadvisory.net
Robert.Morris@sarasotaadvisory.net
Joseph.Neunder@sarasotaadvisory.net
Colin.Pember@sarasotaadvisory.net
Andrew.Stultz@sarasotaadvisory.net
Kathie.Ebaugh@sarasotaadvisory.net 

   (Ebaugh is non-voting School Board rep)

Mobility - ? - in Sarasota: Workshop today

from Dan Lobeck of Control Growth Now:

Sarasota County "Mobility Plan" Moves Forward
(Although We Won't Be Able To If It's Adopted)

Sarasota County government has just revised its schedule for considering its "Mobility Plan" to increase traffic congestion and promote urban sprawl, to the benefit of the developers who control the County Commission, by:

  -- Repealing concurrency, the rule that a developer must produce a traffic study and pay its share of road improvements shown to be needed by that study.

  -- Slashing road impact fees on developers even further in much of the County, while keeping them far below full impact fees everywhere.  -- Reducing road improvements in most of the urban County while emphasizing the funding of new roads to open up rural lands for development.

   -- Embracing traffic congestion, on the premise we should make more trips by foot, bicycle and buses that get caught in traffic too.

The schedule is as follows.  Concerned citizens should take every opportunity to speak out against this crazy scheme.

Thursday, May 28, 2 pm 1001 Sarasota Center Boulevard (County Operations Center east of I-75 and north of Fruitville Road) - Workshop with public questions and answers following this Powerpoint presentation by Special Projects Manager Jonathan Paul: Mobility Plan Powerpoint.

Tuesday, July 7, after 1:30 pm. 4000 South Tamiami Trail, Venice (Anderson Center) - Staff presentation followed by authorization of public hearing.  No public input is scheduled but comment is allowed during Open To the Public at 1:30.

Tuesday, September 8 - time and place not yet determined - Public hearing on adoption of the Mobility Plan.

The consequences of traffic congestion include air pollution, stress-related health problems, increased traffic accidents, ambulance delays, loss of family time and diminished quality of life.  Also, it harms business by delaying the delivery of goods and services, increasing commute times and discouraging tourism.  Here's a report of how traffic congestion is hurting businesses in South Florida: Miami Herald: Traffic Congestion Hurts Business.

We need to speak out about this before uncontrolled growth makes us another Miami.

  -- Dan Lobeck
     Join Control Growth Now

Walkability - A good investment

There are strong connections between walkable environments and economic viability.

"Real estate values over the next 25 years will rise fastest in "smart communities" that incorporate traditional chareacteristics of successful cities including a mix of residential and commercial districta and a "pedestrian-friendly configuration." - Walkable Communities, Inc.

Two studies shed light on the issues of Walkability and can be downloaded from the sites below:

From the Local Government Commission, The Economic Benefits of Walkable Communities.

From Smart Growth America, Foot Traffic Ahead.

Walkable communities are not just wealthier, but healthier. More here and here.