My team built a monster highway through nature preserves and wetlands, over my dead body. Then they defiled the rural landscape with urban sprawl.
300 growth gods-for-a-day at Reality Check Tampa Bay were divided into 32 tables of 8 to 10 people – each table shaping future development on their own map of the 7-county region around Tampa Bay— and I was stuck arguing with a table full of developers, a county commissioner, and other Friends of Sprawl. Story of my life.
Community activist Anita Jimenez came over and rescued me. Led me by the hand through the Convention Center to her table’s map: a vision of Smart Growth compacted in cities connected by multi-modal transit corridors—a land where agriculture still flourished in central Florida and vast stretches of green space were unmarred by development.
All the growth forecast for the next 50 years was given to each team in the form of Legos. Yellow Legos represented housing, red Legos were commercial development. We placed the Legos on our maps where we would direct growth, and pinned colored ribbons down where we would build roads (purple) or rail (orange).
With 90 minutes to cram a jillion legos in SOMEWHERE—while a facilitator prods you to “HURRY!”—you can’t engage in real planning. You are given certain unquestionable assumptions as rules of the game. The exercise is designed to teach people the Reality Check lesson that we have only 2 choices in the face of massive growth:
Thankfully the majority rejected #1. Most teams left great swaths of agricultural & natural areas undeveloped. But everyone was forced to “accept the reality” that we are going to have to allow development of much higher densities than most of us really want in our communities. Reality Check leads its participants to spread the gospel that people must stop complaining about high density proposals in their neighborhoods. It is the only way, they say, to accommodate all the “inevitable” growth, yet save some green space AND make mass transit viable.
Check out the results of the Reality Check exercise. Looking at the 32 maps created, you can see that some teams built a beltway or two, some didn’t. Some sprawled more than others. Some built up the cities more than others. (You weren’t allowed to drown your legos in the bay.)
I cynically expected the 300 carefully selected invitees to be overweighted with developers and politicians, compared to the general population, and I was right about that. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that this group as a whole was determined to avoid the horrific prediction which 1000 Friends of Florida says we are heading for if we don’t change our ways. I was heartened to hear the keynote speakers talk of preserving community character and protecting all we love about Florida from overdevelopment. I found a ray of hope in this group’s top 6 “guiding principles” for growth (Power Point!), listed here in order of priority:
I agree with the message that we have to start building up instead of out, and we need to mix housing with jobs & services to cut down on commuter traffic. Still, I question the assumptions of this exercise. More on that later. But whatever your thoughts on the subject, I encourage you to participate. A lot of influential people are involved, and their ideas will carry considerable weight. So should yours.
Sign up at myonebay.com to be included in the conversation that will help shape our region’s future development.
Other blog posts about the excercise:
Anonymous
1 year ago
No wonder. The first thing that group did after they were elected: wipe out the town’s ethics and conflict of interest laws. They voted to delete those laws from the books. Then, they moved on from there.
Anonymous
1 year ago
They voted to take the ethics laws off the books? And they succeeded at covering that up with smokescreens about county laws etc and town residents slept thru it all and now million dollar deals smell and anyone wonders why
vetsneedtosee
1 year ago
All U.S. Military Veterans need to read:
http://www.restoresurfsideshonor.blogspot.com
Anonymous
1 year ago
Howard Weinberg and Marc Imberman lead(?) the way in Surfside to jack up sanitation and water and sewer fees? Triple the cost to all town residents? And they high five themselves with their lies and propaganda? How insane is that, especially with Mayor Burkett starting all the evil and then trying to “position himself” along with his usual hypocrisy?
Surfside in November of 2008 sees its elected officials moving towards cutting the town sanitation department by firing all of its loyal long term employees and giving a huge contract to a ‘favored’ outside company for a big big big amount of town money. In 2008 the Surfside Town Commission is all about greed and incompetence. Surfside used to be a model for great government! Now it is a model for incompetence and corruption.
Here was the town report in 2004, compare with the current state of crisis in all departments, red ink, fiscal fiasco, and now firing all sanitation employees, and so much more not yet in the public eye. From just back to 2004 here is what it WAS: from official publications:
2004 Keeping Surfside Clean and Attractive
The Town of Surfside places a high priority on keeping the community clean and attractive. In fact, Surfside’s sanitation services have been lauded as among the best in America. The Sanitation Department does an excellent job under the management of the Town administration and the policies of the Commission.
The Town takes great pride in its Solid Waste service and the cost at which it is provided. The Town picks up garbage (household wastes) and trash (bulky waste and properly disposed of yard waste) every day of the week except Sunday. The cost for this is only $155 per year for a single-family home. Condominium units pay only $145 per year for the same service and schedule. Most other municipalities provide much less service for much more money. All of the Town’s streets are swept regularly, and continuous attention is paid to all public areas including parks, playgrounds, sidewalks, recreation areas, public facilities, drainage systems, and underground utilities.
The Town is also a leader in promoting clean, save and attractive public beaches. Environmental, recreational and public health priorities are essential to the Town’s management of all public areas. The State, County and Town are now cooperating on the removal of non-native, intrusive plants from the beach, in improving cross-over paths to the shore, in enhancing the views and protection of the beaches’ natural state, and in planning for improvements to the walking path.
The Town continues to prevent any commercial activities or businesses from operating on the beach. The sand is cleaned and maintained by Miami-Dade County, and the beach areas are monitored and patrolled by Surfside. Our beaches are amongst the most beautiful and tranquil beaches in the world. Our public beaches are used by residents and visitors every day of the year.
Recycling is provided to the Town by Community Recycling through a county wide effort, and costs $19 per year for single-family and condominium units and most businesses. Every Wednesday, newspaper in one bin and mixed plastics, glass, aluminum, and ferrous metals in the other bin are picked up. The Town is proud to recycle well over 500 tons of material a year and that number is increasing each year. Surfside also recently initiated a pilot program in composting with volunteers working together on creating this additional means of participation in environmental conservation and preservation efforts.
Surfside leads the way in efficient, outstanding services in the areas of sanitation and environmental protection. Surfside’s level of service – amazingly high – and its cost – low and efficient and understood as one of the Town’s priorities for overall results – the facts speak for themselves.
Anonymous
1 year ago
Forget it because corruption calls the shots now. They will hike and hike and hike garbage fees and then they will say that the town could save money by privatizing. (= contract to Mafia.) They will fire all the sanitation dept employees. They will pay millions to the “private company” and town residents will get LESS service for MORE money. Kickbacks funded though!
Anonymous
1 year ago
True! Surfside city garbage fees hiked up. Surfside city property taxes hiked up. Surfside water fees hiked up. Surfside sewer fees hiked up. Surfside utility tax fees hiked up. Community Center building demolished. Public pool demolished. Library soon to be closed and eliminated. Garbage department soon to be closed and eliminated. All services to be cut way back but all fees to continue to go way up. Private contracts. Lawyers fees. All up. City tax money savings almost gone. Red ink. Red ink. Officials voting to pay themselves and to ignore the city charter saying they just cant do that. Zoning changes made. Ethics laws wiped off the books. Agenda of city officials in Surfside Florida has emerged from the smoke. Tear the place apart. Sell it out. Wipe it out as a place that had protected its integrity as a model of communities all over the world. Until the gang of carpetbaggers got into office in 2006 and began the destruction and lies. The city is already crashing financially and so much harm has been done. When it was truly great it was not appreciated and while it is being destroyed it is not being recognized. Big money squashes little residents.
resident
1 year ago
http://www.restoresurfsideshonor.blogspot.com/2008/10/surfside-veterans-memorial-park-and.html
Honor
1 year ago
Restore Surfside’s Honor!
Indeed!
Can every single resident find a way to make that happen?
Honor
Integrity
These do NOT have to be only in Surfside’s past — it can be in its future also –
Anonymous
1 year ago
discover the facts that Howard Weinberg does not want you to know.
Anonymous
1 year ago
http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/33154-fl-howard-weinberg-1458256.html
internet search for SOBONITO and Howard Weinberg
Anonymous
1 year ago
No longer does any state official really take a CLOSE look at a city’s financial situation. Too much trouble at the state level to bother to see what is going down the hole at the city level. Comes down to the voters too. If Surfside voters and residents and taxpayers did not appreciate the good government they used to have, and did nothing to stand up and recognize its service and record and results and honor, then if voters and residents and taxpayers were silent while greedy selfish deceivers got elected to office and plunged the town into disgrace and near bankruptcy, then what can be done to avoid the ultimate crash of a great community? Surfside was efficient and responsible. It was ethically sound. Now it is none of that. And it goes without anyone doing anything. And so it goes. And goes.