Lake Worth resident Drew Martin at the podium yesterday...

These comments were made during the discussion on the Agricultural Reserve issue at the Palm Beach County Commission meeting. The county is taking another look at the program since its inception about 13 years ago. Around that time, voters approved a bond issue that would allow Palm Beach County to acquire agricultural land and lease it to farmers. It also developed regulations that would limit commercial development to certain areas and that require other lands be placed with a agricultural restrictive easement. There may be some adjustments made now that address the concerns of smaller property owners in the area. The County Commission agreed to create a "roundtable" discussion that would bring various stakeholders to weigh in on what needs to be done. This process will take a while. Yesterday was just the beginning. The hearing lasted most of the day.

Drew Martin is a Lake Worth resident who is the conservation chair for the Loxahatchee Group of the Sierra Club and an elected member of the Palm Beach County Soil and Water Conservation District. He ran for a Commission seat in Lake Worth in 2007. Note that at the 2:40 mark he is ordered by the chair to direct his comments to the County Commission and not to the audience.