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M ROBERT B. SWIFT Real Estate c— is 00, January 17, 199 � ��F,p�,p Carolyn Egert Chairwoman, Board of County Commissioners Indian River County 1840 25th Street Vero Beach, FL 32963 Dear Carolyn: I am writing to express a concern regarding the proposal to impose a 25% land set aside under the revised CLUP. I understand that this element is being strongly advocated by the DCA, however I hope the commissioners will assert their right to govern the affairs of Indian River with a careful eye towards the protection of private property rights. While few could argue against the desirability of preserving unique habitat, the current proposal - as I understand it - is essentially an advesarial condemnation of one-quarter of an owner's property without compensation. Please consider the economic impact on the landowner. You know that at least one-third of any parcel is taken out of development due to allowances for road and utility rights-of-way, storm water management and retention, and wetlands preservation. Removing an additional 25% reduces the developable acreage to less than one- half of the original parcel. The real economic impact is even greater since the set aside areas are carved from only developable, upland property. The -.landowner has only three options: forego development and Moose)completely the economic benefits of his land ownership; in net density on the remaning property; or raise prices to realize a comparable return. And, the county already has one of the highest costs of housing in the state. There are fair and effective means of identifying and preserving unique habitat should +Iio commissioners determine to set aside land for conservation puposes only. A few approaches that should be considered are: Establish a trust fund from general revenues for land identification and purchase; Bond programs for immediate purchases that are repaid through a similar trust fund; Incentives for voluntary set asides through tax abatements or other relief; Aggressively pursue outside funding through state or private programs such as CARL, the Nature Conservancy or other foundations. Such acqusition strategies would have the additional benefit of assembling preservation parcels of significant size rather than scattered bits and pieces that yield no real conservation benefit. DCA's mandate is bad policy. I hope the commissioners will find the proper balance between conservation of habitat and the protection of private property rights. Sincerely, 55 FES-", I L