GL Homes’ development won’t ‘dismantle’ or ‘ruin’ Ag Reserve

GL Homes has been building in Palm Beach County over the past 30 years. We are committed to the residents of Palm Beach County. That is why we are proposing a plan that benefits the county as a whole. GL Homes’ Agricultural Preservation Plan will increase farmland and preserve farming in Palm Beach County and add significant public benefit.

We will set aside nearly 5,000 acres of preservation in the Acreage, where we are permitted to build approximately 3,900 homes. Instead we are proposing to build homes on roughly 1,300 acres in the West Boynton/Delray area, where infrastructure and roadways already exist. This plan will result in nearly four times the preservation of farmland and preservation, and add significant community benefit to Boynton, Delray, and West Boca, including land and $10 million toward an elementary school and high school. Included in the 5,000 acres set aside for preservation in The Acreage, will be 640 acres for water storage to relieve flooding in the Acreage, along with a 46 acre donation to Samuel Friedland Park in Loxahatchee.

We want to set the record straight, because some activists are making false claims that we will “dismantle” and “ruin” the Ag Reserve. That’s simply false.

The Ag Reserve is well planned, with roadways and infrastructure, a hospital, schools, shopping centers and dozens of existing communities. The Ag Reserve still has plenty of active farms and will always have active farming. In fact, the majority of land in the Ag Reserve is still in preservation or county-owned — that will not change. The facts show that our plan will increase the amount of farmland in Palm Beach County — at no cost to taxpayers.

Palm Beach County spent over $100 million from a bond issue. A portion was used to buy 2,530 acres of land in the Ag Reserve. Our proposal does not affect that publicly owned 2,530 acres and our Agricultural Preservation Plan will preserve twice as much additional land — for free.

This will provide more locally grown food, support agriculture, strengthen Palm Beach County’s economy, and maintain the quality of life for residents. Local farmers have said that the Acreage land is just as good as Ag Reserve land, and they produce just as many tomatoes, beans, sweet corn, sugarcane, and other vegetables per acre as they grow in the Ag Reserve, near 441 and the Florida Turnpike. So extra farming acreage from our Agricultural Preservation Plan means more locally grown produce. The Agricultural Preservation Plan is consistent with Master Plan objectives for the Ag Reserve as well as Palm Beach County’s goals to preserve farming.

Our plan increases farming, adheres to planning tools in the county, uses existing infrastructure, and will fuel one of the County’s biggest economic engines — agriculture — and creates needed public benefits.

The Ag Reserve still has plenty of active farms and will always have active farming.