Letters: Charlotte resident responds to Lee County process and impact
To the Editor:
So it appears, according to Richard Weber in his letter to the editor of the Boca Beacon of September 12th, that transparency and welcome really are solely in the eye of the beholder and Charlotte County residents just aren’t “beholding” it.
How transparent was it for Lee County to give responsibility for writing the ordinance to the private attorney for the residents who are behind the ordinance, instead of to the Lee County attorney – one of the many moves criticized by Charlotte County Commissioner Bill Truex?
Next, let’s talk about the process that appears to be completely corrupted. Florida statutes require an economic impact study and two public hearings, none of which were done. Charlotte County’s own attorney described what little economic information she was able to get from any report as “scant.” Who did the study? When was it done? Who was canvassed? What questions were asked? What process was used? The business owners in Boca Grande deserve a more robust data collection process as their livelihoods depend on the outcome of those studies and hearings. Was there a workaround so as not to have to comply?
The writer criticized Charlotte County for not opening its beaches “fast enough,” but ironically, the only Lee County public spaces left for beach parking are those in the State Park areas. Parking downtown is slated only for golf carts and “compact” cars, leaving anyone with a truck, SUV, or mid-size car unable to access the shops and restaurants. And speaking of access, because it is really all about access, in what government is it legal for publicly funded and maintained roads and accesses to be turned over for the exclusive use by a private entity like The Gasparilla Inn? Someone needs to remind him that no one owns the beaches of Boca Grande nor the roads on Gasparilla Island.
Another workaround that flies in the face of transparency: beach renourishment funds are granted by the state and federal government in return for a certain percentage of beach parking spaces for the public. The whole idea is to keep a community from trying to turn the area into a private enclave.
Lee County was discussing a workaround for that even before the ordinance’s vote – using MSBUs or MSBTUs to pay for beach renourishment. Hardly complying with the spirit and color of the state and federal mandate, is it? Just open up those deep pockets and pay for it yourself so the state can’t tell you what to do. So many workarounds for something that Lee County claims was so transparent.
And now the parking committee, made up of – you guessed it!! – those people in favor of the parking ordinance; how transparent!
The only people who should be ashamed are the Lee County commissioners who let themselves be led by the noses by the few residents who spearheaded this scam of an ordinance to keep the “riff raff” off their island.
Rita Kitenplon
Port Charlotte
