Beth Kassab – Orlando Sentinel
Beth Kassab wrote this article in the Orlando Sentinel and posted this video.
Orange County’s fire chief couldn’t have been clearer.
The chief stood before Orange County commissioners last month and said he doesn’t have enough fire stations to respond to emergencies quickly enough.
The problem is particularly bad on the far east side of the county.
Yet, in just a few short months, Orange commissioners will be asked to support a development the size of the city of Longwood for — where else? — the far-east side of the county.
This is the definition of sprawl: development that outpaces what people need to live there.
Like being able to call 911 and get a paramedic quickly enough to save your life.
Or drive to work on roads that aren’t clogged with unbearable congestion.
Or send children to schools that are nearby and have enough classroom space.
These are the inconvenient messes that taxpayers have to clean up after landowners and developers make a bundle on sprawl.
And the bill is hefty.
The tab for the fire-station shortage alone is about $25 million.
Said Fire Chief Otto Drozd, “Travel time continues to go up, and that’s a product of increased population, increased demand and housing developments that are coming up farther away from where we have existing resources [emphasis mine].”
Linda Chapin saw this coming.
Nearly 20 years ago when she was county mayor, Chapin tried to make the Econlockhatchee River the official easternmost limit for development.
Drawing a line in the water at the Econ made a lot of sense.
It was an easily recognizable boundary. The land near the river is environmentally sensitive. And the county had plenty of land west of the river where the county was better equipped to provide cops, firefighters, parks, schools and roads.
Chapin’s effort failed, but county officials, for the most part, seemed to respect the Econ as an unofficial boundary.
But, possibly, not for long.
Certainly not if Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs and commissioners approve 4,661 homes (including 700 apartments) on 2,600 acres of ranch land near Lake Pickett and Chuluota roads.
“Once you cross that river, what becomes the next stopping point? The St. Johns?” Chapin asked this week. “We are not Atlanta — yet.”
The best way to prevent sprawl is to respect the Econ.
Equally important is for Orange County to recognize that the ripple effect of 4,600 new homes beyond the county line.
The Lake Pickett developments would forever change the look and feel of Chuluota, a rural community that straddles Orange and Seminole counties.
Seminole County Commission Chairman Brenda Carey met this week with Jacobs about creating a joint planning agreement for the eastern section of their two counties.
So far, they haven’t agreed to anything other than to keep talking.
Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine deserves credit for demanding that his county gets heard.
“Water doesn’t stop flowing and people don’t stop driving at the county border,” he said.
If Seminole County is going to have any say this time around, it’s going to have to act fast.
A community meeting for Orange residents is scheduled for later this month, followed by public hearings in June and July.
Residents who live in the rural area and who oppose the development are mobilized.
But every taxpayer should be concerned about the cost of sprawl.
Chapin says Metro Orlando’s tolerance for sprawl is less than it was in 1998 when her proposal was voted down by the commission.
“Look how excited people are about SunRail and about urban density in the right places,” she said. “I just think … no, I believe we’ve become more sophisticated about how we want the whole region to develop.”
I think she’s right when it comes to the average resident.
I’m less sure about Orange’s elected commissioners.