Don’t sacrifice farmland for suburbia in Ag Reserve

What part of “Agricultural Reserve” is so hard for developers and politicians to understand?

Palm Beach County decades ago designated 22,000 acres west of Delray Beach and Boynton Beach as the “Agricultural Reserve” — using taxpayer money and tougher building rules to preserve land for farming amid the new neighborhoods spreading between Florida’s Turnpike and the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.

But county commissioners since the 1980s have bent the rules in favor of development, allowing more suburbia to overtake the vegetable farms and landscape nurseries that once dominated the area.

Nearly 7,000 homes have already been built in the Agricultural Reserve, with another 4,000 approved and awaiting construction.

Now comes a proposal by GL Homes to build nearly 3,900 more homes in the reserve, in exchange for dropping plans to build on farmland in Loxahatchee. Its pitch goes before the Planning Commission on Friday, and before the County Commission on Jan. 29.

We encourage members of both boards to say no to this switcheroo and recommit to planting something other than For Sale signs in the Ag Reserve.

Let’s remember that at the county’s urging, voters in 1999 overwhelmingly agreed to spend $100 million to acquire about 2,400 acres in the Ag Reserve — keeping it safe for farming.

Likewise, the county’s tougher building rules in the Ag Reserve require developers who build there to set aside privately owned preserves. That has resulted in maintaining another 7,100 acres of open spaces available for farming.

GL Homes’ proposal threatens to weaken the commitment to preservation in the Ag Reserve.

The county’s planning staff recommends denial.

Approving this plan would set a precedent for building more homes than envisioned, decrease available farmland for preservation and open more territory west of State Road 7 to industrial development, its report says.

Plus, shifting thousands of approved homes from one geographic area to another is a policy change “with potentially very significant repercussions,” the report warns.

If the county opens this door, look for more prized land near Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton to be gobbled up by developers who promise a patchwork of far-flung northern properties in return.

Just look to Broward and Miami-Dade counties for proof that developers eager to cash in on South Florida’s inflated real estate market will push to build on every square foot of available space.

Under the proposal, GL Homes would transfer its development rights from the Indian Trails Grove property in Loxahatchee — where it has approval to build about 3,900 homes — to property in the Ag Reserve.

That part of the pitch is a welcome alternative for Loxahatchee-area residents afraid of losing their rural lifestyle to GL Homes and other developers. The 4,500-home Westlake development already under construction in Loxahatchee is beside the property where GL Homes would replace rows of tomatoes, lettuce and cabbage with rows of homes.

After pushing for years to build in Loxahatchee, GL Homes now says it makes more sense to build those homes near its existing neighborhoods in the Ag Reserve because the roads can better handle the new traffic.

It’s also offering 75 acres for a new high school and 30 acres for an elementary school in the Agricultural Reserve, plus $10 million to help pay for construction. The company would also donate 160 acres for a park. And it proposes road improvements, including making Lyons Road four lanes, from Boynton Beach Boulevard to Atlantic Avenue.

Company vice president Larry Portnoy says that in the end, more land would be set aside for agriculture, just not within the Agricultural Reserve. And it would put the new neighborhoods in an area better suited for development, he said.

“Growth is something that is inevitable,” Portnoy said. “Building was always part of the plan for the Ag Reserve.”

Yes, building is part of the plan for the Agricultural Reserve, but it was meant to be low-density — and never the driving force.

Preserving farmland west of Delray Beach and Boynton Beach not only helps produce local vegetables for us to eat, it protects agricultural jobs and serves as a buffer between suburbia and the wildlife refuge — the northern reaches of the Everglades.

Sacrificing more farmland in the Ag Reserve simply isn’t worth the prospect of adding thousands of new homes.

Nearly 7,000 homes have already been built in the Agricultural Reserve, with another 4,000 approved and awaiting construction.