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Time to
take foot off greed pedal
Ed Swift can't let well
enough alone as he undercuts taxpayers with his many businesses that use
public streets, public buildings, public property and public
transportation monopolies, all of which remain in never-ending leases he
manages to renew long before their due dates so no one else gets a shot
at them.
No, he has to complain
and cry foul whenever anything goes against his master plan for
ever-growing tourism and continued land uses that benefit him or his
businesses. His latest whiny letter (May 12) purports to be in support
of small-property owners and affordable housing. He says small lots
should not be included in the county moratorium because they "offer
little ... sustainable habitat for Keys critters."
Ed probably forgot about
the Carrying Capacity Study that clearly shows we are already way
overbuilt up and down the Keys. We have already eaten up too much of the
"little" properties to sustain the birds, fish, conch, lobsters, small
mammals, snakes and even bees at the rate we harvest them, poison them
or bulldoze their homes.
When it suits his
purposes, Ed claims to be an environmentalist. But I saw him stomp out
of the Key West Carrying Capacity Study meeting without participating,
because there were "too many environmentalists" in the room. Maybe
that's why he forgot about the study's findings.
Ed profits from his
"affordable" housing projects in several ways. First, he demands and
gets concessions on density (sometimes based on phony information), so
he makes money just on the buildings. Second, he charges high rents
anyway. Third, he saves some units for his employees, so he has to pay
them less and has more control over them. I have seen him order his
troops into the city commission chambers, at pain of firing, to pressure
lawmakers on his behalf.
This is a guy who wrote a
book against the [Florida Keys National] Marine Sanctuary, and thinks
unlimited access to all the backcountry islands should be restored, just
like the old days, before he helped in the explosion of visitors to the
Keys.
In the '70s, we could
camp out and picnic on the Bay Keys. Today's hordes would defoliate the
place in six months.
Ed is an intelligent and
very hard-working man. So I know he understands what is going on here.
We have made the Keys too popular, and if we continue, we will change
the reefs, the uplands, the backcountry and the nearshore waters
forever.
Many of us want to put on
the brakes; Ed still has his foot on the greed pedal. What kind of a
legacy is be leaving for his grandchildren?
It is time to stop people
like Ed Swift. It is time to insist our public officials listen to
reason and not the personal gain of big businessmen. It is time for us
residents to stand up and follow our consciences.
George Halloran
Key West |
