Is an apology in order?

At a joint meeting of the Anna Maria City Commission and Planning & Zoning Board on March 4th, City Commissioner JoAnn Mattick publicly delivered this rebuke of our city’s Comprehensive Plan (quoting from the recorded transcription):

We need a vision for ultimately what we want to have on Pine Avenue. All of these terms we keep coming up with on the LDR’s [Land Development Regulations] and Comp Plan  …  is a boilerplate that got dropped in by Tony Arrant that not one person commented on. I mean I participated in all the meetings when we were looking at the Comp Plan review. I don’t think anybody really understood what some of those things were. If they did, they weren’t concerned about it. I think we need to make decisions based on what we want to ultimately see on Pine Avenue. If it means rewriting the LDR’s and the Comp Plan, that’s what we should do to get the final vision of what we want...

This castigation is remarkable, to say the least, especially from an elected official who took part in the process.

First and foremost, Mattick's remarks totally demean the gargantuan effort expended over five years by numerous of her more than very concerned neighbors and fellow commissioners. How dare her: There were boatloads of questions asked throughout the process; every goal and policy was challenged, ad nauseam; 100% of everyone’s efforts were aimed at getting the Plan right. We all wanted to make sure it reflects what we want our community of the future to be. And it does.

Secondly, to suggest Mr. Tony Arrant’s input was “boilerplate,” is similarly egregious. He is recognized as one of the premiere planning facilitators in the state. He patiently guided us well. The result is proof: There is nothing in our Plan that does not apply specifically to our community and the wishes of those who helped amend it. In the end, it withstood the legendary, onerous scrutiny of the Department of Community Affairs in Tallahassee. Approved--lock, stock, and barrel!

For anyone to bring our Plan down—ostensibly because a code’s compliance is the subject of heated debate or out of favor with supporters—is irresponsible and just plain wrong. It’s as if to say, “Our Supreme Court ruled that Congress passed a bad law, so let’s throw out the U.S. Constitution.” (Remember, by statute, all codes on Anna Maria’s books that do not comply with our Comp Plan are deemed invalid. You know, sort of like a Constitution.)

And what of the commissioner’s suggestion that we rewrite the LDR's and the Comp Plan “to get the final vision of what we want?” Wait a minute, Ms. Mattick: Didn't we just spend five years accomplishing that?! You participated in the process. You voted for it. And we all understood following its enactment the mandate to bring the LDR’s into compliance with the Plan—not to sit around and second-guess the content and call for revisions to fit the needs of a few.

The paving over of Florida by developers is often attributed to the fact that so many communities over the past umpteen years changed their Comp Plans often, some monthly, bending to the demands of developers and tax-revenue-hungry bureaucrats. Take this to the bank: All who participated in the City of Anna Maria’s planning process, with possibly one exception, understand that will not happen here. No way. No how. Never! Look no further than last November’s landslide election for validation that a super majority of citizens are on board with that thinking. Let's look forward to this year’s election for Chapter 2 of same.