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Our chance to get growth right

By RICK DANTZLER Other views
Published March 24, 2007

Growth is going to happen in the Heartland region of Florida whether we like it or not, with or without a master plan. And therein rests the opportunity and the challenge.

Will the people of the Heartland plan for this growth, conserving huge swaths of undeveloped land and maintaining a critical mass for agriculture, or will it go the way of many other areas of Florida, where urban sprawl gobbled up so much land that progressive land use planning was precluded? Worse yet, will inaction lead to "rural sprawl" of 5- and 10-acre ranchettes that fragment wildlife habitats and strain public service delivery systems?

HEART Inc. (Heartland Economic, Agricultural and Rural Task Force) is a not-for-profit corporation formed to represent property owners and others from the Heartland, and to serve as a facilitator/conduit for community-wide discussions on how to design and implement a regional vision. Having first come together around the idea of a road, these property owners saw the potential for a much larger purpose and have begun reaching out to governmental officials, community leaders, members of conservation organizations and other citizens.

As a lifelong resident of the Heartland, I see the region changing every day. Citrus groves turn into gated subdivisions, flatwoods where we hunted as kids get pushed up, and most people I see I no longer know. Now imagine what it will be like when this wonderful and relatively rural area grows by as many as 1.5-million people in the next 25 years, as projected, and truck traffic nearly doubles statewide. In the face of this growth, do we stick our heads in the sand or do we deal with it in a way that preserves our special ecological, agricultural and cultural heritage? I choose the latter.

An ambitious and creative idea has surfaced to accomplish these goals. A new transportation "corridor," which would include a limited-access road that has been called the "Heartland Parkway," has been proposed from just east of Fort Myers up through the Heartland to I-4 in Polk County. Obvious benefits of the Parkway include a new north-south hurricane evacuation route, increased driving safety, relief of traffic congestion on existing roads, and commuter rail and public utility routes for fiber optic and energy lines. Less obvious - but just as important - are potential recreational and environmental benefits.

The idea of using a road to achieve environmental gain is counterintuitive. After all, the history of road building in America has not been pretty environmentally.

So why should we expect to get it right with the Heartland Parkway? Because there is so much land owned by relatively few people. With the amount of acreage in play, the corridor could be wide enough to accommodate hiking, biking and horseback riding, for example. But perhaps the greatest opportunity is to use the corridor as a catalyst to develop a comprehensive vision for the region, a plan that doesn't evolve from hundreds of nonrelated decisions but rather stems from a blueprint that looks out 50 years and beyond. Let's break the mold on how road projects have often been handled and, on this one, collaborate on all aspects - environmental, conservation, agriculture and economic development - as well as transportation.

Would the Parkway take funding from other transportation projects? We don't believe so because, other than initial planning money, we would anticipate that the Parkway would be built with toll revenue and through a public/private partnership, a new paradigm in Florida for constructing large projects. Also, nothing will be built in the short-term; the Heartland Parkway embodies a concept of advance, long-term planning so that the region will be prepared for the growth when it hits.

A St. Petersburg Times editorial observed, "The idea has merit but the details are key." HEART couldn't agree more. That's why HEART believes it is important for the Department of Transportation, the Department of Community Affairs and the Department of Environmental Protection to provide state guidance and oversight of the corridor. By working together, and with the cooperation of the participating property owners which they've pledged, it will be possible to finally complete proposed wildlife corridors, reconnect fragmented habitat, and protect hydrologic systems. If the Heartland Parkway could accomplish these conservation objectives, preserve commercial agriculture, bring economic development to counties of "critical economic concern," and satisfy public transportation necessities, it would surely satisfy any vision adopted by the people of the region.

Rick Dantzler is a former state representative and state senator. He is currently an attorney in private practice in Polk County and represents HEART Inc.

[Last modified March 23, 2007, 21:24:21]