After attending the community meeting last night I learned a lot and I hope others did to. In order to stop what some feel is the over building of the Venice community the community must come together as a whole. The whole being the total residents of Venice (both city and county residents) as this affects each and every one of us in one way or another. We must band together to stop not Mr. Patrick Neal but the politicians from approving the building of these developments. Mr. Neal is but one builder who is in the business of making money. I am not defending him and I found him to be arrogant and rude last night but I realize if he does not build it another builder will hence the focus should be on the politicians who are the sole responsible parties that have the approval power to allow Mr. Neal (or any other builder) to ruin what we all love about Venice. As a person who has stood with others to fight (and stopped) a Walmart from coming in to a small beach community not that long ago I understand the need for civility, the need to follow the rules at city council meetings, to having your so called ducks in order and to have a specific plan of attack (for lack of a better word). First and foremost people have to figure out what they want exactly and if they are willing to compromise. If as some suggested they want absolutely no development they have to be willing to stand up and say so and be willing to go against their neighbors/friends who may not agree. If as others suggested they are willing to welcome development of 1 home per 5 acres (or the 5 homes per 1 acre) then they too have to be willing to stand up and say so and go against others that do not agree. With whatever plan the people want they have to stick with it, make their plan known and fight for what they want. They have to do their homework and be specific when speaking before the city and/ or county council. The city/county council (from experience) will not allow the disorder that occurred last night, they will have the police on hand to arrest people (I know this because it happened during the Walmart fight I was involved in). People are emotional I get that but one must truly take the emotion out of it when speaking to the city council. There has to be specific speakers to address specific concerns. Last night there were a few people that stood out to me that I think could/should handle specific task of speaking for the people. I hope I remembered their name correctly (if I did not please correct me) – Shannon who spoke of her concerns about her land/home being flooded. She was an excellent to the point speaker who was very direct about her specific concerns (and concerns of others), Larry who spoke with an unemotional quietness that made me want to listen because he had excellent points for and against the building and who offered/suggested compromise. A women who I think her name was Martha (sitting towards the front at a table) who spoke of her long history on her land and the flooding aspects that she has personally dealt with. The gentleman from the Wildlife Center who spoke about the affect this will have on the wildlife and Walter who spoke about the Comprehensive Plan that was changed. And last but not least the British (at least I think he was) gentleman who spoke about the ability of the residents to remove themselves from the clutches of the City. Each had specific points and/or specific resolutions to the matter at hand. Each took their emotions out of it, stayed on point and in some cases offered very reasonable suggestions to either stop the building all together or being able to live with some aspects of development. People have to remember the city council does not at all care to hear emotions they want specifics. If you offer up a problem you must have a solution and/or the data to address the specific effect the “problem” will have (in this case on the community). Because the Border Rd development deals with the City and the County changing things people need to find out what the rules are to speak before the council and what their resident status has to be in order to speak. They need to find out what specific role the City and County have in approving the development. From my understanding (from the Walmart fight) County residents cannot speak at City council meetings and vice versus, renters can speak if the home owner they are renting from gives them their proxy but the City of Venice could be different I do not know but people need to educate themselves plan, be prepared and pass on the knowledge so we all know. There must be order at all city council meetings. People must be respectful and go in there prepared to vote the city/county council including the (city) mayor out when the time comes if need be. I say this because both the Mayor and Bob Daniels only had to vote themselves in this term because NO ONE voted. Numbers matter so everyone needs to be ready to be at each and every one of the council, zoning, planning meetings no matter the time of day they are held and even if they are not the ones speaking. If the council sees people they equate that to voters and voters is what they want and need to stay in office and sadly that is all they seem to care about. In closing I will say that even if you don’t live near the land that could be developed you will be affected and you should be concerned as it affects each and every person whether you have lived here all your life, moved here long ago or just moved here and whether you are a home/land owner or a renter. I look forward to standing with the people in this town/city to fight against this mass development and will make the time to be at all meetings.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:37:19 +0000
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