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Naiveté or good acting?
Article published on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008 |
Editor:
On July 22, I attended a special meeting at Indian Rocks Beach City Hall for the unveiling of the preliminary results of a planning study of Gulf Boulevard and the Business Triangle. The study was financed partially by IRB and partially by a community group, Action 2000. Fifty thousand dollars later, the City Commission seemed shocked by the presentation of the preliminary plan by Trent Green of USF.
What were they expecting? They all are involved in A2K and had to have known what the report was to say. The fact that the current EAR review and the changes contained therein of IRB’s Comprehensive Plan practically guarantees that the major changes needed to implement the A2K-USF plan (like commercial parking in our residential neighborhoods) are in place, leads at least me to believe that there is some hidden agenda for the future of the city. And when you consider that the meetings which should have generated some lively discussion on the matter were so poorly advertised, any level of trust into the transparency of this study is completely destroyed. This continued clandestine approach will most definitely fill City Hall with, in the words of one commissioner “a bunch of skeptics.”
This skeptic, in particular, believes that this A2K plan and the EAR Comprehensive Plan changes will truly destroy our city.
Many residents may not realize it, but the EAR and the proposed changes in our Comprehensive Plan allow commercial activity in every area in town except for the single family zoning. Did someone forget that a restaurant like The Pub might do well at the end of Harbor Drive? This is no time to remain complacent. The past wasteful spending on prior studies was different in that it was not tied to a document as important as our Comprehensive Plan. But this time, the EAR specifically mentions the A2K Study (referred to as the “USF Study”) and how it might affect the Comprehensive Plan, our blueprint for IRB’s future development.
Now for the kicker: The plan for the Business Triangle was quite interesting and definitely deserves a second look and serious consideration. There are some issues; one citizen described it as “John’s Pass meets IRB,” but it is interesting. It’s just too bad the whole city has to be ruined in order to do “good work” in the Business Triangle and that our residents, who aren’t interested in IRB becoming Sand Key or are being blindsided.
Don House
Indian Rocks Beach
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Article published on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2008
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