News from the White House: This will have big ramifications for cities and western sprawl in Palm Beach County

The blog post below is getting a lot of attention.

If there's any chance of saving the Everglades for future generations and stopping western sprawl then many of those in the environmental community will need to stop being obstructionists, re-think their tactics, and bring new ideas. A casual glance at any newspaper's Real Estate section is proof enough the tactics by the enviros have been a complete failure. 

Possibly what's needed is an entirely new leadership from the top down within many environmental organizations. The current course, a case could be made, is causing more damage to the environment rather than less. Without further ado. . .

There's a good reason why Drew Martin only got 31% of the vote last August. Read more about that after the news coming from the Obama Administration.

From an article by Robert Steuteville, dated September 26th in the CNU Journal titled, "Zoning reform is national priority, White House says"; the first 4 paragraphs:

The Obama Administration is calling on cities and towns to reform land-use regulations to allow denser development by right while recommending actions that new urbanists have long supported.
     The administration released a “toolkit” on housing development that recommends eliminating off-street parking requirements and allowing accessory dwelling units.
     The toolkit also calls for more “high-density and multifamily zoning,” “streamlining or shortening permitting processes and timelines,” and allowing “by-right development,” which are consistent with many form-based codes and new urban reforms.
     Antiquated land-use regulations, often dating from the 1970s or earlier, are holding back economic growth and increasing housing costs across America, says the administration. [emphasis added]

Many in the Palm Beach County (PBC) environmental community, and in cities like Lake Worth too, are becoming more and more irrelevant all the time. You simply cannot hold these positions and be a legitimate partner in the debate:

1. Oppose western sprawl
2. Oppose more development and density in coastal cities (a moratorium on development?)
3. Oppose more development and density along the I-95 corridor

Probably nothing illustrates this better than the multi-year effort by Everglades EarthFirst! (EEF!, headquartered in Lake Worth) to stop development of the Alton tract (the former Briger "Forest") in Palm Beach Gardens. All the while they protested, marched, and had tree-sits in Palm Beach Gardens, further west the 39th city in the County was well on its way to being formed, Westlake. Many more communities out west are being constructed and even more are in the planning process.

The answer to slowing down western sprawl is a simple one. More in-fill development and more density in the cities along the coast and along the I-95 corridor. But what do we hear when new development and density are proposed on Dixie Hwy. in Lake Worth, in the Downtown, or in the Park of Commerce? NO! Not in my back yard (NIMBY). That's where the YIMBY's come into play. YIMBY means, "Yes In My Back Yard".

Here's a quote from the video below: "Housing is a national crisis. And I think just bringing everyday people together to work on this is the most effective way because it's uniting people rather than dividing people."
The debate in Lake Worth, for example, should be where to put in-fill development and density, not whether it should occur or not. If density isn't added to already established urban centers then the population will increase further out west. Period.

Where can density go in Lake Worth? See for yourself: Use this link to the City's Zoning map.

We need everyone, including the Drew Martin's in the environmental community, to be part of the answer to slowing down western sprawl. More people are coming to live in South Florida. A lot more people. The question is this: do you want them living in cities like Lake Worth or in a new community out west somewhere, adding more roads, new infrastructure, and taking much-needed tax dollars from our established cities?

Also note Martin didn't help himself much with his comment at the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council that the City of Lake Worth was cutting down mangroves. A very serious accusation. Also very false.