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."
I live in Florida, have for about 15 years.My daughter is a Florida native.My former husbands family lived here for several generations.My ex-mother-in-law says I am no longer a Yankee.Just to verify my "local" standings.
Florida is a beautifull state.There are also way too many people building million dollar homes and golfcourses on land that is essentially unsuitable for extensive human habitation.South Florida (where most of the damn yankees retire too), is an insane example of false marketing and greedy land speculators married and producing offspring.
So far, no one on this thread has mentioned the sugarcane farmers,the ones who finance each and every attempt to block the introduction of reasonable sanity into land management practices in the southern half of the state.
This man, the veteran, is more than likely the better land owner, and I support him on his use of his 160 acres.Basically, everything south of I4,should have remained rural,with large,50+ acres of single landowner parcels.
Those land speculators, marketeers, and the simple human greed of the past landowners, have made this point moot.I am not alone in wishing this man could retain his land, and the people who live in condo's and sandbox sized lots in Broward,Dade,Palm Beach... etc counties get kicked off their lands by emminent domain.That would be "fair".Aint gonna happen.Billions of dollars at stake now.
The native Floridians,landowners BTW, have repeatedly voted for years and years to restore the everglades,and the corrupt sugarcane farmers and greedy land speculators have blocked the will of the people for the same amount of time.It is now the endgame on this long awaited goal.Before the enviro-terrorists even organised under names, the people of Florida were fighting for the continued existance of the land.
If all these "property rights" expert activists from Ohio,will agree that none of the property currently legally owned by anyone in a natural flood zone, or subject to our frequent hurricanes,or sinkholes, gets to minimize their insurance premiums at the expense of the rest of the state, we may be able to hold a rational conversation.
In this case, as in any other, the first rule is follow the money, before you lend your support.
I read your message three times, and could not fathom for the life of me how you got from point A to point B. I don't see what Jesse has to do with all that white-noise you're pointing out, if anything he's an innocent victim of it. I fail to see that if one was to "follow the money", as you suggest, one would arrive at Jesse. As a matter of fact, you'd much more likely arrive at the Governors office. Please "follow the money" for us and show us this nexus.
You make some good points about the sugar farmers and land barons ruling this state. One reason for that is that they get to literally write our legislation for us (regardless if we have a D or R in office). I would think since you know so much about how they operate, you would be ten times more apt to write the governor. After all, they were who helped him develop most of these CERP initiatives.
They are also who ones suck all our water and pollute the glades, far more than any private land owners. Yet they get a seat at the table when we're writing all of this (cough) "environmental" legislation.
Yet your money trail somehow leads to Jesse. You make no sense whatsoever, but you're one of those "I moved here, but nobody else should be able to" types. They're not known for making sense.
If I had the power I would destroy all the tyrants in the world , all of them.
All I can do for now is share what I see to be true and hopefully open some eyes and get people to ask themselves some important questions.
I Pray for a Great Awakening in the Hope that Christs' people will STAND UP in His name , instead of waiting for Him to do what we SHOULD do.
I would love to see the day that American's stand together as neighbors and friends in the name of Peace and Freedom. Instead of swallowing the nationalism that bush hopes You swallow to feed his war.The day when the Spirit of America is Truth and Strength and our Freedoms are no longer illusions.
I understand though that with the hate that has been "created" between the races and economic classes that it will take generations and control of our educational systems. That is what I work towards , and there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's up to us though and it will take sacrifices.
Great News Julie! Praying he does the right thing, I have other things going on that are in need of attention.
Another self serving opinion, obviously you live North of I-4. Are you inclluding Central and South America in your opinion along with all the Carribean Islands , they are South.
If my memory serves me right there was a sink hole on the Northeastern exit ramp of I-4 at Disney world a few years back.
(where most of the damn yankees retire too),
Not to mention demographically biased. Why don't you put on a white pointy hooded robe and find a meeting to attend more fitting to your agenda.
For more info and directions, go to the Property Rights Action Committee web site.
Spread the word.
Joe. If you look at the closer up pic, all the way on the left is a canal (dark brown). Follow that canal down and you'll see a reddish line. Directly to the left of that reddish line is exactly where we go shooting when you come down.
I thought that was funny being that your post was right above this one.
The state also is asking for authority to pursue eminent domain to get ownership of roads and canals owned by Collier County, and 800 acres owned by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.
Using eminent domain against the Miccosukees could become a legal test of the property rights of an American Indian tribe that the law recognizes as a sovereign nation.
The Miccosukees and the South Florida Water Management District already are in a standoff over the District's decision to use eminent domain to get ownership to 375 acres the tribe owns in Miami-Dade County.
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In the past, the status of county roads in Southern Golden Gate Estates has been tied up in concerns about retaining public access to that part of the county.
Once the roads are in public ownership, a management plan written by the Florida Division of Forestry would spell out which roads would remain open to the public and which would have to be torn out for the restoration.
Access issues came to a head last year in a deal to settle the county's 1999 lawsuit asking a judge to declare the public's right to use Miller Boulevard extension, a dirt road that connects the southern end of the Estates with U.S. 41 East.
The state owns all of the road except one parcel, owned by the Miccosukee Tribe, where the extension intersects with U.S. 41.
The deal would have allowed the public to use the extension until it had to be torn out for the restoration. In exchange, the county would have been required to turn over other parts of Miller and Lynch boulevards when the state acquired the land along the roads.
The deal fell apart over the county's attempt to get more access rights written into the agreement.
Commissioner Jim Coletta, who represented the county in the talks, said at the time that the county would get a better deal on access by going ahead with the lawsuit. The lawsuit is pending.
Doesn't the Alamo sit in the center of a churning metropolis?
Now that you mention it...I am reminded of a small house that sits between two casinos in Atlantic City because a woman refused to be moved. Maybe there is hope.
Bastards!
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