By Bob Palmer Special to The Sun I have had many hours of interactions with our local Plum Creek representatives, mostly in my former role as chair of a county advisory panel. They are well-spoken and helpful to a fault. I began my study of Plum Creeks plans with an open mind, but over time I moved firmly into the Stand by Our Plan camp. What turned me around and turned me off were repeated instances when Plum Creeks rhetoric clearly did not match reality. Its not as if Plum Creek personnel and their hired hands didnt know better. They did but continued to make promises that they clearly would be unable to fulfill. And watching this pattern play out again and again makes me seriously question whether Plum Creek can be counted on to deliver on any of their lovely-sounding promises. In the end, I concluded that they couldnt. As a case in point, consider Plum Creeks rhetoric on its “water supply strategy” versus the reality of Florida water policy. The Sun and regular guest columnists like Bob Knight have educated anyone reading this column about how groundwater over-pumping and nutrient pollution are degrading virtually all of our local lakes, streams and springs. Many of us are well-versed in — and very supportive of — Cynthia Barnetts battle cry for a new water ethic. Plum Creek is world-class in its ability to tell people what they want to hear, and its water supply strategy faithfully echoes all of these water-related concerns. Plum Creeks proposed Sector Plan Policy 10.4.3.1 calls for the following: the use of Florida-friendly plant species shall be required for landscaping, residential lots shall not be irrigated with potable water, single-family lots shall not receive reclaimed water, and there shall be no individual wells for individual residences or businesses. This sounds wonderful and Plum Creeks hired guns (often with “professor at the University of Florida” after their names) brag publicly about the companys embrace of Barnetts water ethic. Theres only one problem. Neither Plum Creek nor the Alachua County Commission can make any of these policies happen. Water allocation and usage in Florida is fully controlled by the states water management districts — in this case by the St. Johns River Water Management District. If a future resident decides not to plant Florida-friendly plants, could they be forced to by Plum Creek? The answer is no. Could the Alachua County Commission prevent a future Plum Creek business from sinking a well? The answer is no. Only the district could do that. So why does Plum Creek continue to play hide-the-pea on issues like this? It certainly knows better. The most benign answer is that they are so caught up in their own public relations spin that theyve come to believe it. I could cite similar examples of rhetoric vs. reality in a number of areas, including how Plum Creek projects future job growth, how it plans to tells farmers what they can and cant grow, and how it takes credit for water reclamation projects that it may never fund. We are dealing with highly skilled messengers, and I would urge any interested citizen and especially our five elected commissioners to be very diligent in how they analyze the message. Otherwise, the pea may end up under the wrong shell. Bob Palmer gainesville/article/20140902/OPINION03/140909999/-1/opinion?p=1&tc=pg
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 15:55:48 +0000
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