About the Briger "Forest" and EEF in Palm Beach Gardens: Time to move on because "the fat lady sings"

Surprisingly, it appears it was a quiet night at the Palm Beach Gardens City Commission meeting last night. Was expecting a big show by the good folks at Everglades EarthFirst! (EEF) but apparently they didn't put much effort into making a ruckus. The vote by the city commission was unanimous to proceed with the in-fill and development of the Alton Tract (formerly known as the Briger Tract or Briger Forest). Here is a video of a past 'action' by EEF:
Beating a dead horse here (I've written about this extensively over the years) but think many people were confused by this multi-year effort by EEF to halt the development at the Alton Tract. The goal was forever changing: first it was to stop the biotech machine, then it was to stop the Kolter Group, then it was to save the Gopher Tortoises, urban sprawl, etc.

This tract is located along the I-95 corridor. From the beginning to halt development at the Alton Tract western sprawl in Palm Beach County has continued at breakneck speed towards the Florida Turnpike and beyond encroaching on the Everglades. And where was EEF? Nowhere to be found out west. This always bothered me because that's what I've always identified as the problem. Instead of encouraging future PBC residents to settle along the I-95 corridor and east towards the coast the opposite is happening. It's Westward Ho in PBC. And EEF, in my opinion, was/is the problem and not the solution.

Sarah Peters of The Palm Beach Post was the reporter covering the goings-on at the city commission meeting last night (10/8). Here are two excerpts:

     They said yes.
     On Thursday night, the city council unanimously gave approval to the request by Carrier Corporation, on behalf of property owner Pasteur Commercial Investments, for the Center for Intelligent Buildings at Donald Ross Road and I-95, on the Briger tract. The two, five-story towers will be connected by a large central atrium. The 241,400-square-foot complex is part of an overall 700,000-square-foot proposal, according to city documents.

[and. . .]

     A few protesters spoke [emphasis added] about a potential environmental impact. Vice Mayor David Levy, who teaches environmental geology at Palm Beach State College said their claims were unfounded. It’s not pristine habitat, but rather a development with a major highway going through it. Gopher tortoises will be taken care of by relocation, Levy said.
     “From an environmental standpoint, this is a great thing,” he said.

FYI to the residents of Lake Worth: before long Gopher Tortoises and the Park of Commerce are going to be in the news. Take a ride down Boutwell Road and you'll see what I'm talking about.

And don't forget! Tortoises are NOT TURTLES. If you try to save a Gopher Tortoise by throwing the reptile in the water you will kill the poor thing. GOPHER TORTOISES CAN'T SWIM.