Letter: Santamaria Speaks For The Acreage

By
Town-Crier Letters Editor
-

Kudos to County Commissioner Jess Santamaria for being a spokesman for the people.

At the Palm Beach County Commission meeting on Jan. 30, Mr. Santamaria was the only commissioner who spoke for the residents of The Acreage in their protests against encroaching development.

To paraphrase, he said the people of The Acreage are having big government and special interests decide what is best for them, namely unwanted development. It is being pushed upon them whether they like it or not, being told the developers are there to serve the residents and improve their lives. He acknowledged that while only a half-dozen people spoke in opposition to the pending development on Northlake Blvd., the opinions voiced were the opinions of the majority of the residents. 

Mr. Santamaria is a lone warrior for the people. He speaks for the people, not the special interests. Unlike the other commissioners, he does not ignore the public input. He has been a champion of the people of the western communities and he will be sorely missed when his term is completed. 

Janice Sommer, The Acreage

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Let’s hope Mr. Santamaria can convince the other board members that these overdevelopment proposals are infringing upon the lifestyles of the existing residents.

    Speaking specifically about Minto:
    I think I speak for the majority of the Acreage residents when I say that Minto will greatly affect our landscape out here.

    Look at their design plan.

    6500 houses, including multi-family units.
    1.4 MILLION sq ft of commercial (That’s the size of Wellington Green Mall)
    150 room hotel
    3000 student college
    Spring training baseball complex.

    People didn’t move out here to have all this built around them! There are rules in place as to how that land can be built on. Developers should not be allowed to buy land designated with one purpose and then try and get the land use changed so they can squeeze every penny out of it at the expense of residents who lived here long before they purchased the property!

    Stick with your original 2996 homes and ~250K sq foot of commercial. Your surrounding neighbors will be much happier and you will then be supported in your development efforts.

    • Excuse me Sir, but you don’t speak for me, and as an Acreage resident I find it an insult that you think you speak fro the majority.

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