Article
Atlantic Preserve deal stands out, stands alone

Monday, April 09, 2007

On Wednesday, the Martin County Commission has a rare and wonderful opportunity to preserve 1,958 acres of pristine land, at no cost to taxpayers.

Developer Alberto Micha owns the property, a wilderness next to Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park. In exchange for giving the nearly 2,000 acres to the county, Mr. Micha wants to build 650 homes on an adjacent 460 acres of cattle land. That's about 160 fewer houses than the county's growth plan would allow him to build on the entire property. Developers also would donate 341 acres inside the development, which would be called Atlantic Preserve and would be west of Hobe Sound Golf Club and would abut the state park to the north.

The larger parcel is a mosaic of freshwater wetlands and higher and drier land covered by native slash pines and palmettos. A haven for wildlife that needs little restoration, the land also absorbs large quantities of water, which could prevent flooding after hurricanes. The growth plan includes an amendment process to allow the "clustering" of development on the cattle land, which is near and inside the primary and secondary urban services boundaries.

The project has the support of the Martin County Conservation Alliance, the Martin County Audubon Society and Loxahatchee River Coalition, as well as former Commissioners Maggy Hurchalla and Donna Melzer. They and other environmentalists cite the project as an example of how clustering can work - inside or near existing urban services boundaries, where services such as water, sewer, police and fire protection and schools are established.

One possible problem: Some commissioners may want to link this unusual project to the consultants' study of rural western lands. That report recommends allowing clustering anywhere in the county at the commission's discretion. Commissioners postponed action on the $528,000 study until the Atlantic Preserve project is decided.

But Atlantic Preserve, while it involves clustering a denser development on a smaller piece of property, would not be a precedent to allow more intense development on western land. Just a mile from U.S. 1, Atlantic Preserve is next to all urban services, not miles out west where no services exist and only 20-acre ranchettes are allowed. Most important, Martin's existing growth plan has everything the county needs to accommodate this project. The commission should not delay it, or try to use it to promote unfettered clustering countywide.

Few counties ever get a deal like this. The public gets a huge chunk of land that's perfect for preservation, and the developer gets to market homes on which development never will encroach. This is a score for Martin County, not a tool to open up the west for more development.