2010-252A (17) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Prior to World War II, little development had taken place in Indian River County; however, several activities undertaken by the early residents set forces in motion for the eventual development of the county. The early settlers of the late 1880's were attracted by lush vegetation and an attractive land offer from the government. At that time, much of the land in the county was in a jungle state and largely underwater. The only transportation was by boats on the Indian River. By 1920, the county had a population of fewer than 800 persons; however, efforts were already underway which would change the landscape. In 1913, drainage work was begun in the vicinity of the main canal. Several years later, the Indian River Farms Water Control District and the Fellsmere Water Control District were established to serve the farming and agriculture needs of the area. These districts constructed numerous canals to improve the drainage and control the flooding of lands that had been underwater for all or part of the year. As in other parts of south Florida, the canal system provided much of the impetus for development. The other factors which contributed to the early development in Florida were the opening of the railroad and the construction of US 1 in the early part of the century. In the 1920's, South Florida experienced a land boom. During that time, the county's population swelled to just over 2,000. Two events, the depression during the 1930's and World War II, kept growth in check. An important activity during this period was the expansion and conversion of the Vero Beach Airport into a training station by the U.S. Navy. A comparison of land use patterns and land development trends over time provides information useful in establishing future land use plans. Data for this comparison were taken from two sources. Land uses for 1943 and 1969 were obtained from "Land Use in Indian River County, Florida; An Analysis"; by Louis C. Burney. This 1970 study was based on library research, aerial photographs, field surveys, and field interviews. Data for 1984 were taken from Landsat satellite images from the Florida Department of Community Affairs, "Mapping and Monitoring of Agricultural Lands Project 1984-1987". While the specifics of these sources cannot be compared, the information is useful for developing an understanding of overall development and land use patterns. Certain adjustments, however, were required to provide somewhat better compatibility and comparability of the data. Whereas the Burney study focused on specific land use changes over time in three general categories: Cultural Non -Agricultural (Urban type) Uses, Agricultural Uses, and Natural Uses, the 1984 Landsat study addressed more general uses, focusing on changes to the agricultural land base. Some reported uses from the latter study were placed into natural categories for consistency. One constraint of these data is that certain natural and agricultural classifications can easily overlap or be reported in one or both categories. Another constraint involves the total county Future Land Use Element 5