Posted on 03/10/2003 5:26:01 AM PST by AAABEST
David will take on Goliath, Mar. 13, as Southern Golden Gate Estates property owner Jesse Hardy fights the state of Florida for 160 acres of land he has called home for 27 years.
Located in what is called the "Hole in the Donut," the property is part of the state's 55,000-acre buy-out to restore natural water flows to the SGGE, once slated for development.
Hardy says his property is not necessary to the restoration project and will not be adversely affected by it.
"I'm not against any of the environmentalists' work to re-hydrate the Southern Golden Gate Estates," he says. "I'm all for it. The more water, the happier I will be. I'm not trying to stop anything. I just want to keep my home."
The 67-year-old Florida native homesteaded the rustic property in 1976. Using propane and a gas-powered generator, he lives in a tiny wood frame home with his seven-year-old son. Despite talk of offers of up to $5 million, Hardy says he has no plans to sell his property for any price.
"Living here is what has kept me going," he says. "It's my home. I'm too old to go anywhere else."
Hardy is one of three property owners holding out on the state's quest to purchase the final 4,000 acres of the buy-out, which has cost $90 million thus far.
Last month, the governor and Cabinet were asked to initiate condemnation proceedings on Hardy's property. If approved, it would be the first time the state has ever used eminent domain to take homesteaded land. Instead, the Cabinet directed the Department of Environmental Protection land acquisition agents to negotiate with property owners.
Hardy says it won't make any difference. He has no plans to sell his property for any price.
"My attorney asked me if there is any dollar amount I would take for my property. I told him, ‘no,'" he says, "My attorney said, ‘Don't be surprised if the Cabinet grants eminent domain.' He said it will be up to me to get the information to the governor to stop it."
Hardy is hopeful area residents will show their support by writing letters asking the governor not to grant eminent domain and allow him to keep his land.
Estates resident Cindy Kemp, founding member of the Property Rights Action Committee (PRAC), says the group hopes to assist Hardy in his quest. She says PRAC has connections with other property groups across the nation and a letter writing campaign is underway.
A special gathering to meet Hardy and hear his story will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, Mar. 9, at his property. For directions, call 352-9033.
"He has such an interesting story," Kemp says. "People need to hear it to fully understand his situation."
At an elevation of 11-13 feet, Hardy says his property will never be affected by the restoration project. He says he doesn't understand why the state is insisting on buying him out.
"It was willing buyer, willing seller," he says. "It was always willing buyer, willing seller. It was a CARL project for the benefit of the people of Collier County. If they shut it off to where people can't use it, how is that a benefit to the people of Collier County?"
Hardy says he is frustrated by a lack of reasons as to why he is being forced to sell his land.
"They haven't given me no reason for wanting me out," he says. "They made their deal with everyone else, but here it's like they want it all."
A disabled Navy SEAL, Hardy says the money doesn't matter to him.
"It's my home and it means more to me than the money. If it (condemnation) was for something useful to the public health and well-being, like a school, a fire station, or a hospital, I would move with no problem," he says.
Nearly two years ago, Collier County gave Hardy the go-ahead to build the first of four proposed 20-acre ponds to create a fish farm. Several environmental groups including the Florida Wildlife Federation and the Collier County Audubon Society originally opposed the concept, but later agreed to support the construction of one 20-acre pond. Any future excavation will have to be re-approved by the county.
Hardy has three years to complete the first pond and have it stocked and landscaped. He says the project is currently one-third complete and the fill has been purchased by the county for road building.
He says the fish in the pond are doing well and predators have not been a problem. He hopes to one day open the area up to the public for recreational fishing.
"I'm not going to do just commercial catfish," he says. "We will have three to four different kinds of native species like bass and brim. It should be a real benefit to the people of Collier County."
So, Ft. Myers is not a very big radio market and as such not many businesses in that area.
You sure don't want to upset your advertisers in this way in a market such as this. Hopefully the station will change it's way and realize the mistakes they're making.
You sure don't want to end up losing advertisers in such a small radio market.
regards.
Please tell me what you know about how to "fix it".
First of all, the flooding of the 60,000 acres is not restoring anything. Unless you call nutrient and contaminant rich water (poison to the Everglades) coming from caved in canals a "fix". Besides, Jesse being there will not have any effect on the green psychos plans to flood everything out of existence anyway. They just want him gone ....period.
Not for anything, but that 65,000 acres is home to panther, bear, deer, gopher tortoises, and a whole host of "endangered" flora and fauna. Why is it if I want to build on an acre lot around here I have to go through thousands of dollars of studies and mitigation (as if every one of these "endangered" animals are holy, and me building a house will destroy all of them) yet they want to flood the habitat of entire populations of these same creatures wholesale.
CERP (if you even know what that is) was started by the sickees in the Clinton administration and was literally written by sugar growers, powerful enviros and "large land owners". It's been a pathetic farce from the beginning driven by money and politics. The sad thing is that they're using 8 billion dollars of our money (that we don't have) to do this.
Yours is the typical blockhead worldview. "They told me they're saving the environment so it must be true". No facts or science, you just know what you've been told. That's why we have policy that puts turtles and frogs before children, too many morons who believe everything they're told.
Keep sucking up all that green gook you've been fed. You don't know the first thing about .....the first thing. You obviously know nothing about the the Everglades, the situation in the South Estates or Florida politics.
If someone offered me $1M, I would throw the kids out and they could have everything.
6 posted on 03/10/2003 8:43 AM EST by AppyPappy (Caesar si viveret, ad remum dareris.)
Senility setting in early, AP? This is your post #6 on THIS thread.
Jesse has no problem with letting them go ahead with their false "restoration".
That said, there is no compromising with these psycho idiots. They started in the South Estates saying they only wanted 7,000 acres and only from "willing sellers." Now they have nearly the entire 60,000 are talking about eminent domain and are already starting to go after the North Estates.
I find it interesting that all this "restoration" always seems to take place in areas where the people living there can't put up a fight against these financially loaded interests who want them gone. Florda is loaded with wealthy neighborhoods, but for some odd reason we never see any restoration taking place there.
The people here have compromised and compromised and effen compromised. Where there was the pitter patter of little feet, we now have weeds. They're science is junk, even they admit it might not work. The objective science says it's an utter sham.
They're playing God and building their tower of babel, and s**ting on the surrounding community in the process. They will fail, one way or another.
You're becoming a good friend to me on FR.
I usually can tolerate and rap with you as you're pretty measured most of the time, but go back and read some of what you wrote. Keep it up and you'll be in the Dane, Roscoe, Kevin Curry, CJ crew in no time. I don't think you wanna be there, having no credibility and all your posts being suspect.
You mean the CONSTITUTIONAL theory of private property??? Some people around here are lucky enough to have never been threated with losing their home. Keep up the attitude, Pappy and you may just live long enough to see it happen to you.
If you aren't pissing someone off at some point, then you aren't logged in.
It's impossible to have an opinion here and not make someone, somewhere, angry in the process.
The old man is 67, and the son is 7? How old is the mother, 25 maybe?
I'm about to email him in a few. God bless.
:)
(They have a few coming for those 1500 threads I have to weed through when a new movie comes out.. )
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