We don't have enough water and our water management district Swiftmud has imposed tighter watering restrictions and is now prohibiting watering of new sod. We are in a drought so it is reasonable to think that tougher restrictions would apply. Other officials are also proposing a ban on the selling of fertilizer containing nitrogen in the summer months.
So if there isn't enough water for new sod and you can't fertilize your old lawn, anybody else find it strange that Mosaic can still legally pirate 6 million gallons a day from the Alafia? Isn't phosphate used for, ironically, making fertilizer? Seems to me like Big Phosphate can legally rape our environment and drinking supply while Swiftmud worries about sod.
Also disturbing is that officials don't seem concerned about the water shortage when developers and their representatives are asking for rezonings to approve new rooftops. While the housing market is still in the shitter as far as building is concerned, the behind-the-scenes maneuvering to get huge tracts of land rezoned for massive future subdivisions appears to be in full swing.
I attended a Zoning Hearing Master (ZHM) meeting last week to speak in opposition to a rezoning proposal that could give the nod to more than 1,000 new rooftops. Much of the land in question is in the rural area (requiring the expansion of county water and sewer to allow development). In addition to the impact this would have on wildlife, preservation land, infrastructure or lack of it, did anyone address the water concerns? I didn't hear any of the planning officials mention this as a criteria as they assured the Zoning Hearing Master that this ridiculous plan met the criteria in the newly amended Comprehensive Plan. Opponents to the plan were armed with information showing otherwise as the Planning Commission staff looked up the criteria again.
I usually have faith in the Planning Commission Staff but the representatives on this night were a huge disappointment. Residents speaking in opposition smacked this one out of the park and made the high-priced attorneys, professional planners and representatives look like fools.
We don't know the recommendation of the zoning hearing master, Ms. Belflower, yet, but she seemed to be very detail oriented and I was pleasantly surprised at her intelligent questions (sadly, I was later informed that she just resigned … I wonder if it was due to Blair's recent bullying during the vote on her job renewal this past October). Several activists at the meeting told me she was the best ZHM the county has … figures. After she makes her recommendations, the next stop is the County Commission. The new and improved Commission, so I hope commissioners think this is as foolish as concerned residents do.
This is where I usually tell you how to contact them but it is against the rules regarding a rezoning. To be able to speak at a public hearing you have to speak or turn in a letter at the ZHM, then you have to fill out more paperwork in a certain time frame to become a party of record, and then, and only then, can you speak at a public hearing in front of the BOCC regarding a rezoning. I visited the county's website regarding zoning to find out the dates and process and I couldn't find out. I did click on a .pdf file zhm-1 that has the info on the schedule and process for Nov. 2008 if you look long and hard enough.
You are not allowed to speak about a rezoning to a Commissioner unless it is during the public hearing. Of course this doesn't apply to Comprehensive Plan Amendments and other public hearings just rezonings. NICE. If you want to attend and just sit in the audience, though, that would speak volumes. It is scheduled for Jan. 13 at the County Center, according to media reports.
Also worth mentioning is that when I was navigating the Swiftmud site, I looked up the governing board. I was horrified to learn that seven of the 13 members appointed by the Governor have direct real estate/development backgrounds and one other was a name I recognized from battling to save local wetland protections. Hugh Gramling, associated with the agriculture community, was trying to destroy Hillsborough wetlands protections … and he is on the regional water management board? Nice. That is eight out of 13, you do the math. I can't imagine why water conditions don't seem to be a part of the rezoning process. No wonder dumping shit in the aquifer is still on the table!
Would anybody dare whisper the only real solution to our future water needs? Limiting growth! How about letting voters decide on growth issues that will certainly drain our water supply instead of appointed boards and elected officials? I don't want future generations to grow up drinking shit!
Oh, and if we ever did have enough water……could we ever learn store it safely?
This article appears in Nov 19-25, 2008.