It's one of those revelations that should make everyone who is interested in managing growth in Hernando County stop and think.
As it considered a request to build a residential and retail development on a 464-acre site, the County Commission heard testimony that the area, in addition to containing a significant portion of wetlands, has incalculable historic value.
Griffin Prairie, just southeast of Brooksville, "is the birthplace of the Seminole nation," commissioners were told by Doug Davis, a Brooksville business owner. His assertion was backed up by a Seminole tribe historian and an archaeologist who has found 165-year-old artifacts in the bygone settlement, perhaps one of the first two in Florida.
That information, and the obvious effect it had on commissioners, was enough to persuade the developer, Coastal Bay Properties LLC of Tampa, to withdraw the application.
How the development request got this far without that information being widely known should give pause not only to those who are concerned Hernando is losing too much open land too quickly, but also the developers who are investing - some might say rashly - to cash in on the county's explosive growth.
Speculation commenced almost immediately about the need to preserve Griffin Prairie and its rich, albeit relatively newfound, history. A spokesman for the Seminole tribe suggested that the county partner with the Southwest Florida Water Management District to purchase Griffin Prairie and protect it from ever being developed.
That's a good idea, one the Seminole tribe should consider partially endowing, especially considering the historical value to its people. Perhaps there would be an opportunity to establish a modest cultural education center on a parcel of the land without disturbing the artifacts or ecology.
Such an expenditure by the County Commission would fit nicely into the Environmentally Sensitive Lands fund, a property tax that is dedicated to preserving land. It also is another illustrative reminder of the need to raise that special levy.
The tax, which was approved by voters in 1988, brings in 10 cents on every $1,000 of taxable property value. The impact on landowners is nominal; for example, the owner of a $125,000 home who claims the $25,000 homestead exemption pays only $10 per year.
The current millage rate raises only about $500,000 a year, which is woefully insufficient for the county to competitively pursue land that needs to be preserved.
At a minimum, the millage rate should be doubled, and the County Commission should agree soon to place a referendum to that effect on the 2006 ballot.
In the meantime, commissioners, land investors and proponents of preservation should remember the story of Griffin Prairie as an example of why development always should proceed with caution.
