Officials Watch
December 8, 2008 - It didn't take long for the new County Commission to signal the direction they would take. One month after the November 2008 election, Commissioners Solari and Flescher signaled their intent by voting to give staff the authority to approve mining permits, without notice to affected neighbors, in lands east of I-95 which are zoned for Agriculture.
They could have voted for Commissioner O'Bryan's motion to make it a "special exception" use and have it come before the Commissioners which is what Staff recommended after a year's study, but they voted not to do so.
Now, if a property owner believes he will be adversely effected by a mining operation on neighboring property he must pay $800 to file an appeal and, according to staff, hire an attorney in order to present his concerns to the Board of County Commissioners. Is there any further question why Commissioner Solari's campaign was supported by mining interests?
October 14, 2008 - Joining with Davis and Bowden, Commissioner Joe Flescher threw away his campaign promise to keep development inside the urban services boundary and voted for 991 new homes, most of which will be built outside that boundary in a place to be called Liberty Park. Those pristine agricultural lands will now become sprawl and we are going to have to find water to supply those homes. Congratulations are due to the development industry: your money supported candidates who serve you well.
