I was very sad to read that Bob Hunter, the executive director for the Planning Commission, is retiring. In the short time that I have been paying attention, I have seen him stay strong in the face of constant verbal attacks and abuse ( usually from Commissioner Jim Norman), and I have seen back-door attempts to cripple his agency through state legislation (that failed). Before I knew the difference between the county's pavement-happy Planning and Growth Management Department and The Planning Commission, I attacked him myself via an e-mail when the Bypass mysteriously appeared in a Comp Plan amendment. Through it all he has always remained calm, professional, and the absolute epitome of a true gentleman.
It is Mr. Hunter who is responsible for our sensible Comprehensive Plan that is supposed to be the county's bible for growth. If not for this plan there would be no urban service line that separates urban from rural areas. I know some of you are asking why do we have such sprawl and poor development patterns then? That is because Mr. Hunter and his agency do not have the final word on these decisions; that is left up to our elected Board of County Commissioners (BOCC). If we have a bad board that is controlled by developers then they often vote to violate our Comprehensive Plan. I have watched it happen many times over the past year. If we have a better board (or even a scared board) then I think this will improve. For now, starting Jan 1st, the county's NIMBYs, activists, and concerned citizens have one more thing to worry about. Who will replace him? The recent movement of special interest groups disguised as planners, such as TBARTA and One Bay, are jockeying for the inside pole position in this horse race of development. The Planning Commission is this county's last best hope for smart growth. I doubt anyone can fill Mr. Hunter's shoes as it's leader but I hope he can recommend someone!
Mr. Hunter is a giant in the planning world; he has guts, heart and does it all with a quiet calm, professional air about him that commands respect. Even when the dirtiest of shots are taken at him (because the developer driven commissioners hate it when the Comp Plan says no to sprawl) he always remains calm and responds objectively. He does stand up for the Comp Plan and has not tolerated the bullying by certain members of the BOCC. I applaud him for this and thank him for his service to our community. He will be missed. Thank You Mr. Hunter!
This article appears in Dec 3-9, 2008.