To the Editor:

John McCabe of Ocala wrote, on September 3, that responsible growth requires responsible leadership. I feel that I must strongly agree with his comments. Thank you, John, for bringing this concerning problem to the forefront. It needs to stay there until it is dealt with in a competent, responsible manner that is fair to current residents of Marion County. The points, in his well-written letter to the editor, were quite thoughtful and comprehensive. He wrote:

“Developers should be required, as part of their proposals for land use, to do two critical actions:

  1. They must be required to study and report on the impact their activity on elements of our society. This should include (not limited) new roads schools, commercial services, provisions in planning for shopping, professional office space, and other amenities that usually accompany significant population growth.
  2. In addition to the planning, there needs to be substantial financial involvement, as much of what will be identified as needed additions beyond converting forested land to housing, is better accomplished through budget and contribution in a municipality negotiated surcharge.”

The financial involvement, through impact fees, is important. The developers are making a healthy return on most all of their investments (or they would not be doing it) in new single-family and apartment residences. A larger portion of their profit needs to be invested in the communities they are impacting for things like schools, roads, waste water treatment facilities, and public safety needs to serve the increased population.

Our leaders must insist on this responsibility and if the developers are not prepared to pay the price to support the community, their requests for rezoning and construction permits should be rejected. We need our commissioners and zoning board staff to think of the current residents, not just the new residents coming to the community. Potential new residents need to be prepared to pay a bit more to live in Marion County.

Dear Commissioners: Please be responsible stewards of our communities in our county.

Rob Taylor
Marion County