SEBRING — When Ave Maria opened last year in Collier County, two large landowners in Highlands County started working on a plan to conserve their land so they could organize the same kind of city, minus the controversies that surround that development. But after a series of fits and starts, the Rural Land Stewardship Area Program appears dead in Highlands County. First, Lykes Bros. dropped out of the program. Now, Atlanticblue has put in a more traditional rezoning request. Susie Bishop, an Atlanticblue spokeswoman, said Atlanticblue got tired of waiting for the state to review the program rules, and was discouraged by what she described as a new leadership in Tallahassee that stripped the program of incentives. ...more

June 8, 2008

SEBRING — Forty percent of Florida's greenhouse gases come from tailpipes. So cities, counties and the state need to plan better, says Charles Gauthier, director of community planning for the Department of Community Affairs. "Is there a way we can work with rural land stewardship to get people out of their cars?" asked Gauthier, who spoke Tuesday at the statewide Rural Tourism & Economic Development Summit in Sebring. People keep coming to Florida, Gauthier said, so the need to manage the demand for travel continues too. Other Side But instead of more responsiveness, expect less from DCA, Gauthier told the crowd of 75 people at Four Points Sheraton, who included economic developers, local planners and home builders. Budget cuts demanded by the Legislature will reduce 20 percent of the workforce for the DCA, ...more

May 10, 2008