Gang of three' favors developers again

EDITOR:

Re: Monday's County Commission vote on the working-waterfront ordinance: I guess the cat's out of the bag when it comes to the relationship with three of our county commissioners and development.

Commissioner Mario Di Gennaro said people should be able to do whatever they want with their property. I guess there is at least no gray area in his disregard for the county citizens and love for the developers' interests.

I have forwarded an e-mail to the state Department of Community Affairs asking them to review the tape of the meeting because that speaks for itself.

The gang of three knows that DCA will deny this amendment after they stop laughing or crying over the lack of impartiality, but at least the gang of three did as they were told.

These same pro-military folks on the board even denied the U.S. Navy the right to speak. Should we now question their patriotism as they did others in regard to the Air Installation Compatibility Use Zone?

One positive did come out of this meeting, and that is if two of the gang of three get re-elected, then we deserve what we get.

Donna Juriaco

Tavernier

Popham quitting shows county's in trouble

EDITOR:

The resignation from the Monroe County Planning Commission of Sherry Popham makes it clear that there is a serious delinquency in the County Commission.

Ms. Popham objected to the County Commission sidestepping the Planning Commission, and ignoring advice of the county Growth Management director, to assist a developer in displacing working waterfront on Stock Island, which violates stated county and state policy. This was done in support of a developer and with the connivance of the same attorney Jerry Coleman who was paid hundreds of thousands by the county for legal services.

County Commissioner George Neugent reported that none of the commissioners knew what they were voting on. Clearly it's time to vote out of office the two members of the gang of three who were behind this misadventure and who are up for reelection this November. However, it's a long way to November and strong public pressure is needed in the interim to keep the gang in check.

John Clark

Ramrod Key

Majority bloc has a collective tin ear

EDITOR:

Monroe County commissioners Dixie Spehar, Mario Di Gennaro and Sonny McCoy have achieved new heights in their tireless efforts to streamline otherwise time-consuming and cumbersome land development decisions.

This week, attorney Jerry Coleman, representing his client Robbie's Marina and acting in concert with Di Gennaro, who read his prepared endorsement of Mr. Coleman's amendment, accomplished in one standard three-minute public speaking slot what could have dragged out for months while the public, the county Planning Commission, the Growth Management staff, the county attorneys and the U.S. Navy would otherwise have actually read and considered the legality and implications of the proposals for an ordinance to preserve the working waterfront.

The issue of the Navy alone could have prolonged the process if they had been allowed to consider and comment on the safety and health impacts of having more people and taller buildings in the path of their aircraft. As testament to SpeDiCoy's streamlining prowess (noting here that it's effectively only one commissioner, as my small contribution to their streamlining efforts), the Robbie's Marina amendments were summarily adopted, with commissioners Sylvia Murphy and George Neugent dissenting.

The only glitch in this slick process was an awkward discussion about how many times the word “shall” occurred in Coleman's amendments and which of the shalls shall be stricken from the final version.

Another potentially lumpy issue was bypassed when the County Commission ignored Planning Commissioner Sherry Popham's plea that the County Commission adopt the amendment as approved by the Growth Management staff, legal staff and the Planning Commission rather than the version Coleman had just presented to the public and the county three minutes earlier.

Murphy and Neugent attempted to delay the process by asking questions. Neugent's pointed questions about the late additions remained unanswered.

So notwithstanding that a fundamental duty of the County Commission is to present ordinances to the public for hearings and then vote whether to adopt them for inclusion in the county code, for the next eight months we can expect Commissioner SpeDiCoy will do everything possible to bring us the most streamlined land development decisions money can buy by getting to the voting part as rapidly as we allow them to.

John Hammerstrom

Tavernier

Commission too quick with vote

EDITOR:

I'm not sure what I find more disgusting and appalling about our County Commission, the fact that they voted to allow broad zoning changes at the behest of lawyers for big developers or that they didn't even read it first.

It's utterly amazing to me that they would vote on something [the working-waterfront law] that would have such an impact on our community without even reading it. If you don't want the job, step down. If you cannot be bothered to do it properly, then get the heck out of there and let someone who will.

If they had read it and agreed, that's one thing, but to blindly agree to changes that any major developer asks for is stupid. If the commissioners don't think the developers are watching out for their best interests, then the commissioners are more gullible than I thought.

Commissioners, you've been elected to serve the county community. Do your job.

Derrick Johnson

Marathon