Monday, December 03, 2007

Vegetative Waste In Hendry County

Commentary By T. W. Bill Neville

Having to watch the Board of County Commissioners struggle with the hows and wherefores of attracting and keeping new industries, I'm reminded of the story a woman bragging to her friend. She proudly told her friend that she was personally responsible for her husband being a millionaire. Her friend wanted to know what he had been before they married, and the wife replied, "A billionaire."

This story, although many dollar signs above any of the most recent, proposed, developmental proposals, leads me to address what I see as a pattern of disappointments and confusion as outlined in Mrs. Jeannie Horlacher's Letter to the Editor, "What the code allows" of November 29, 2007.

Her continuing efforts on behalf of residential property owners brings to mind the continuing inability of the County to attract industries other than waste oriented based companies. Maybe it's like the realtors keep reminding us as the three most important things about business properties. "Location, Location, Location."

Ms. Horlacher has admirably taken on the lonely, thankless task of citing the continuing lethargic, knee-jerk responses to development proposals not in compliance with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan, as written and in force. With the continuing non-conforming operation of mines throughout the county, she now cites the tabled proposition of a vegetative recycling plant being given a special zoning approval in an Agricultural zoned area.

With no intent, other than to amplify Ms Horlacher's cited concerns and alternatives, I would like for you to consider the following: I understand that the reason the vegetative waste proposal was tabled until the BOCC meeting on December 11 was because the term vegetative waste is not described in the county codes.

If you Google the words "vegetative waste" you learn that vegetative is defined as, "A sedentary lifestyle leading to a physically or mentally inactive life, which it occurs to me is a total "waste", within itself, without making it a public issue. Without intruding on this "vegetative" state of mind and fruitlessly scrambling to rewrite the CLUP, a heavy dose of logc and common sense could productively allow for juris prudence to prevail. Continuing inaction until "rigid mortification" sets in is always an alternative as long as you leave someone still standing to perform the "last rites!" Or is that the "last rights?"

So, God willing! Logic and common sense will prevail at the Hendry County BOCC meeting on December 11, and the CLUP will remain sacrosanct as it concerns "wasted" efforts.

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