Submitted by The team at Keep Clermont Rural
keepclermontrural@gmail.co
Friends,
This email is longer than usual, with multiple important updates. Please try to read to the end as they are all important and time sensitive.
- Lake Nellie project on Lakeshore is coming back before the BCC on Tuesday March 1st
- Mining industry still has the Green Swamp in its crosshairs
- BCC is quietly preparing to remove the autonomous protective authority of the LCWA, while absorbing their budget and tax revenue
Lakeshore
Pillar Homes and the Boutros family continue their effort to force a housing project onto 102 Acres behind the Baptist church near Denali Drive. After being denied twice by the BCC, they’ve chosen to press the issue in court and asked a judge to agree with various absurdities;
- Lakeshore doesn’t have a speeding issue,
- the frequent accidents we see are typical and expected, likely caused by alcohol or drugs as much as road conditions
- existing congestion/road capacities don’t matter.
Interestingly, in doing so they admit a few things;
- the 102 homes in this project alone will add OVER 1050 car trips per day to Lakeshore
- this project alone will push the already-over-capacity section of Lakeshore an ADDITIONAL 3% beyond what it was designed to handle!
- We already face an existing 40-80 second impact per trip due to today’s level of congestion
But none of it matters…Pillar Homes still demand to build as many houses as could be technically permitted on the parcel. They are adamant about building at the highest density possible and have no interest in reducing their impact.
On Tuesday, they will be presenting a judicial recommendation while again asking the commission to approve their project. The 28-page document is simply a recommendation from an administrative law judge – who happens to be a former colleague of the developer’s attorney. The commission absolutely has the choice to deny the project again on safety concerns, after which Pillar Homes and the land owner will need to decide if they want to formally file suit, or be a better neighbor and accept a lower density compromise.
We urge you to voice your opposition TODAY. To do so you must convince the commission that the safety issues on Lakeshore are real. As this becomes a more technical legal fight, any of the more human arguments such as how they are impacting the character of our area will be ignored by the commission. The entire allowable argument hinges on SAFETY. Be sure to present your arguments accordingly, and make sure the commissioners know they will get no free pass if they vote to push Lakeshore an ADDITIONAL 3% beyond capacity.
As always, commission addresses are listed at the end of this email. Even better, plan to attend the hearing THIS TUESDAY and personally tell your commissioners to continue honoring their commitment to protect the Lakeshore Corridor.
Green Swamp
Less than a year ago, the sand miners attempted to change the comp plan so they would be allowed to dig on every foot of land they could acquire in the Green Swamp. That application was never resolved. It never actually came to a vote – the mining association asked for a continuance until they were more confident they had the votes to approve. We can only assume they are waiting until after the election cycle to press forward so commissioners voting in favor are less vulnerable. The outcome of the application is uncertain enough that Commissioner Shields suggested we strengthen the existing protections in the comp plan by requiring 4 of 5 commissioners to agree before making any future changes impacting two of the county’s most critical areas – the Green Swamp and Wekiva Protection Area.
After some promising early discussion at the BCC, things quickly stopped when a business lobbying group named Lake 100 sent notice of disapproval. The opposition letter was delivered by Amanda Wettstein, who some of you may recognize as the pitchperson for the Lakeshore Commercial Corridor, the proposal that sought to add a gas station at Hull Rd and allow additional commercial throughout the northern section of Lakeshore.
The opposition letter itself was signed by the chairperson of Lake 100’s “land use committee”. A quick search of the author’s name reveals that they have made a career out of serving the surface mining industry for over 20 years. Their name appears as an associate member of the Georgia Construction Aggregate Association, and is also listed on at least 9 different mining permits throughout FL. It’s safe to say the mining industry hasn’t given up and is still working hard to keep the Green Swamp within one vote of their shovels.
Sadly, since the opposition letter was received, there has been zero additional discussion or interest in pursuing supermajority protections for these two critical areas. Some of the commissioners appear to be taking marching orders from the Lake 100 lobby, rather than the residents in Lake who put them in office.
While privately they’ll say they’re committed to defending the comp plan and protecting critical areas, their inaction speaks volumes about their true resolve. Please let your commissioners know you expect them to uphold their commitments. A supermajority does not mean the comp plan could never be changed – it simply means there would need to be a consensus among the elected officials before it happened. It also means our critical areas could not be bought by an industry pouring money into a campaign, or flipping one commission seat. Rather, it would create stabilizing protections as the commission landscape changes.
LCWA
Freshman state representative Keith Truenow, owner of Lake Jem farms, is pushing a bill through the legislature (HB1105) to dissolve the Lake County Water Authority and replace it with an appointed advisory board under the county commission, rather than the autonomous elected body we have today. With the passage of this bill the county commission will take over the budget, land resources and taxes we levied unto ourselves to fund the LCWA and protect our vital waterways and surface water resources. Rep. Truenow and his sod farm have quite a storied history with the LCWA, which the Orlando Sentinel has detailed in this article:
HB1105 has already passed in the Florida house and is now heading to the senate. With so much of Lake County’s character defined by lakes, rivers, and surface water, it’s crucial that we maintain every protection to ensure the resources survive for future generations – especially given today’s rampant development climate.
While some commissioners will again individually say they don’t support the bill, the truth is once again in their actions. They have REFUSED to draft a letter of opposition to the bill. The Clermont council voted to send their own position statement in opposition, but our county commissioners have been silent – refusing to act – which should tell you all you need to know about their true intentions.
Please, demand better representation from your commission. Demand they pay attention to the voters. After all, we chose to establish the LCWA and chose to fund it with our taxes. It’s unthinkable that a local sod farmer with a grudge can take away years of progress, and even more outrageous that our elected commission stays silent because they’re salivating over absorbing their budget resources.
The LCWA owns over 7000 acres of conservation land and various preserves which provide a diverse range of recreation activities – including Crooked River Preserve on Lake Louisa Rd. These preservation lands were acquired using taxes paid to the LCWA, and their future is dangerously uncertain once transferred to the county.
Again, we should be demanding better leadership from our commissioners. Far too often, the positions they claim in private do not align with with the actions we see coming out of their meetings in Tavares. Leadership involves advancing the positions and principles that were presented to the voters as we cast votes. When the actions don’t match the rhetoric, its time to find new representation.
We urge you to use your voice TODAY to tell your county commission to VOTE NO on Lakeshore Development. Add a note to protect our sensitive areas with a super-majority, and OPPOSE HB1105 dismantling the LCWA!
Click on this link to email your County Commissioners
If you have trouble getting the link to work, you can send a manual email to:
Commissioner Shields – DShields@lakecountyfl.gov
Commissioner Campione – LCampione@lakecountyfl.gov
Commissioner Parks – SParks@lakecountyfl.gov
Commissioner Smith – KSmith@lakecountyfl.gov
Commissioner Blake – JBlake@lakecountyfl.gov
Thanks to everyone for paying attention and staying engaged!
The team at Keep Clermont Rural
keepclermontrural@gmail.com
