Rural lifestyle in Palm Beach County is close to an end. Until now, our county has been able to offer a lifestyle for everyone. We have the beach, city life, suburbia and “semi-rural” communities. The Palm Beach County Commission may be scratching the last one off the list soon.
Those of us living in The Acreage enjoy animals, open spaces and gardens. We have long ago come to terms with the fact that in order to enjoy this type of life, we will need to drive a little farther to our jobs. We do not like bright lights, city noises, traffic-congested roads, flooded properties and overcrowded schools. And let’s not forget higher taxes. These are the things that the Minto West development is going to bring us.
Minto argues that they will bring jobs to the area. Do they mean during the construction of their city? Most developers and construction companies bring in their own people from out of town on large projects. Jobs created for the locals will be lower-end jobs and temporary. Do they mean after they build the stores, fast-food restaurants and a stadium? We already have jobs that pay better than those minimum wage jobs.
They have the right to develop the property they own, but not to destroy the lifestyles of tens of thousands of current residents. The approximately 3,000 residential units they have permission to build should be more than ample. They want to build 6,500 residential units and 1.4 million square feet of non-residential space, including a stadium. That is bigger than the Mall at Wellington Green. This is just way too much for The Acreage.
The impact on the schools, the roads, the parks, police and fire-rescue, and the drainage will have to be absorbed by taxpayers. Development does not pay for itself. Hopefully they will not waive the impact fees that will lessen the taxpayer burden as they have done in the past for developers.
Does this county commission want their legacy for Palm Beach County to be that they eliminated rural lifestyle from what the county has to offer?
Janice Sommer, The Acreage
I cannot agree with Janice more. I do not want the “conveniences” that this project promises. Keep the city in the city. Unload some of the foreclosed homes before trying to yet again saturate the market with homes that do not fit with our rural way of life.