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Harold NeDuffey, president of the -Treasure Coast Builders <br />Association, an organization of 900 businesses in Martin, St. Lucie <br />and Indian River Counties, announced that last month he attended <br />the governmental affairs committee meeting of the Florida Home <br />Builders Association in Orlando. The Environmental Land Management <br />Study Commission's (ELMS III) report was discussed at that meeting. <br />A group of 50 members, including builders, developers, state and <br />local government agency employees and dedicated environmentalists, <br />took two years to complete the report. The only reason given in <br />the report for keeping regional planning councils was to assist <br />small counties with no planning staff. The Treasure Coast Builders <br />Association supports abolishment of the TCRPC. <br />Dean Luethje, a local engineer with Carter Associates, was of <br />the opinion that the TCRPC's job is done and that local planning <br />departments can handle growth management, intergovernmental <br />situations and developments of regional impact. He disagreed with <br />the statement that services are provided free of charge and <br />emphasized that taxpayers pay a great deal for them. <br />Dennis Mathurne, director of development for the Grand Harbor <br />project, related that it is hard for a developer to speak at a <br />meeting like this because a developer has to go before governmental <br />agencies with hat in hand. However, he wanted to let the Board <br />know that over the past seven years he has dealt with planning <br />staff at Indian River County and during that time Grand Harbor has <br />developed into an excellent project. He felt that county planning <br />staff is able to administer a DRI project without the help of <br />another layer of government. <br />J. B. Norton, representing the Chamber of Commerce of Vero <br />Beach and Indian River County, reported that about five years ago, <br />his office asked State Representative Dale Patchett to introduce <br />legislation eliminating regional planning councils. Legislation <br />was introduced two years in a row, but there was a powerful <br />backlash. Regional planning councils will be eliminated this year <br />under the sunset law unless some action is taken. Mr. Norton <br />commented that even though Mr. Carey insists regional planning <br />councils are not state agencies, they reportedly received more than <br />$40 million dollars last year from the State. He reported that the <br />Florida Chamber of Commerce is in favor of letting the regional <br />planning councils sunset this year. <br />7 <br />BOOK�� F'� r 80 <br />