HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 08 09 - IRNA Board Chairman Honey MinuseINDIAN RIVER
NEIGHBORHOOD__
ASSOCIATION dedicated to qualin grmcth
August 9, 2019
Paul Carlisle, City Manager
City of Sebastian
1225 Main St.
Sebastian, FL 32958
Dear Mr. Carlisle:
The Indian River Neighborhood Association has discussed the pending annexation of the Graves
Property into the City of Sebastian at several meetings of our Water and Lagoon and Land Use
Committees. Members of the IRNA have been speaking to many of the principals of this issue on
Sebastian's City Council, the County Commission, and staff.
In this process, we have come across several concerns from land use, water use, environmental,
and growth perspectives. We are not against the annexation; however, our position is to work with the
principals to get a mutual agreement on going forward. We acknowledge landowners have their rights
and so do the people who live here. We aim to avoid a hostile environment. To this end, we seek to
promote working together for mutual benefit.
We feel that an Interlocal agreement, similar to the one between Fellsmere and the County is a
very important step in this direction. With any annexation and the potential of development, there will
be impacts. Traffic is a major concern near the area of the annexation, and the potential impact that this
annexation of agricultural land to urban zoning will cause some change. Much of the land is outside the
County's Urban Service Line, and thus may not be able to be connected to sanitary sewer. Septic tanks
are already very prolific in Sebastian and have been a concern of the IRNA and others for a very long
time. Adding potentially thousands more is not something to be done lightly.
Further, green space needs to be taken into account. With several large annexations, there have
been high green space requirements of the annexed property to help mitigate any future development
and prevent the worst of sprawl. The current requirement is low; we suggest you make the total
greenspace requirement closer to 50%. This land was traditionally agricultural and so the change for the
local environment of over 1000 acres to developed land is a drastic departure from history.
All in all, we feel this process has moved too quickly. We need to spend more time working
together to come to a resolution with which everyone concerned is comfortable. There is no true rush,
and going slower may help address many concerns in and of themselves.
Sincerely,
Honey MinuseDan Lamson
Board Chairman Executive Director
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