‘Local government control’ does not mean that wishes of the majority of people who actually live and work in a county will prevail.
The most important solution for change is the political solution and the will of citizens to vote.
It is important to support and get out and vote for candidates who share your values about conservation of resources, preserving green spaces, responsible growth vs overdevelopment, sustainable planning, the importance of respecting the fabric and history of our communities. and the integrity of a community’s Master Plan for trust in its future.
Rampant overdevelopment impacts nearly every aspect of our lives:
Traffic | Water | Parking | Taxes | Infrastructure | Flooding | Schools | Housing | Public Transportation | Air Quality | Agriculture | Wetlands | Nature Preserves | Tax Burdens for Added Infrastructures Not Absorbed by Developers.
Why Your County Commissioner Is Critical
Because Palm Beach County votes by district instead of at-large, none of our commissioners have to worry about votes from the other six districts outside their own, even though their votes have far ranging impact on the daily lives of those residents who cannot vote for them.
With the enormous power of the Palm Beach County Commission, which can dismiss advice from its Planning and Zoning staffs and ignore hundreds of residents packing the hearing rooms, the single biggest influence you have are the values and commitment of the representative for whom you can vote.
Compare Your Commissioners’ Record Across District Issues
In every election, compare the positions and voting records on the issues of density, managed growth, traffic congestion and conservation of natural resources and wetlands, and vote accordingly.
If one politician bends to his or her constituents’ interests but ignores the same interests and issues for residents in another’s district, that official is working against your values and investment in the county as a whole, for what impacts one area of the county affects us all in the aggregate.
What Changed in 2011 for Ordinary Citizens vs Uncontrolled Development
In 2011, the Florida legislature gutted the landmark Growth Management Act to greatly diminish the power of state watchdogs over the impact of local development projects and greatly expand the control of local governments.
Local government control does not mean that wishes of the majority of people who actually live and work in a county will prevail.