Indian River County buys $13.7M land

Indian River County buys $13.7M land
By HENRY A. STEPHENS henry.stephens@scripps.com January 24, 2007

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The last 163-acre tract of undeveloped land in Sebastian will stay that way, the County Commission decided Tuesday.
In a 5-0 vote, the commissioners agreed to spend $13.7 million to buy the Sebastian Harbor Preserve, northeast of Englar Drive and South Easy Street, from Lincoln Land Development LLC of Melbourne.
Easy Street resident Dale Simchick, who is running for the Sebastian City Council, recalled a pair of nesting bald eagles return to the property after Hurricane Jeanne knocked their tree down.
"And there are ospreys, great-horned owls, indigo snakes, gopher tortoises, scrub jays — and these are just the protected species," she said. "It's saturated with wildlife."
Another council candidate, Eugene Wolff, however, felt quite the opposite.
He questioned spending almost 30 percent of the county's $50 environmental-cultural bond fund to make Lincoln Land richer.
"This is like a poker game," he said. "The $50 million is the pot and the developer is calling our bluff."
County Environmental Planning Chief Roland DeBlois said the land is zoned residential, about five units per acre, and was appraised in October at $15 million if it were developed as a subdivision.

"If you don't buy that now, it's going to be houses," said Jens Tripson, with the Pelican Island Audubon Society. "Maybe not next year, but the year after or the year after that."
DeBlois said he expects the Florida Communities Trust, an agency of the state government, to approve a $6.6 million matching grant for the project.
The county's net expense would be "a small price to pay," said County Commissioner Joe Flescher, who made the motion.
Commission Vice Chairwoman Sandra Bowden said she hopes the city of Sebastian helps with the project.
She cited the example of Vero Beach and Indian River Shores, which helped the county buy the Lost Tree islands in 2001.
Commissioner Peter O'Bryan, however, said Sebastian has offered to help manage the land after the county's purchase.


SEBASTIAN HARBOR
Location: North of Englar Drive, east of South Easy Street, within Sebastian city limits.
Size: 163 acres, with 132 upland acres and 31 acres of wetlands.
Features: Palmetto prairie, pine flatwoods, freshwater marsh.
Wildlife: Bald eagles, ospreys, scrub jays, sandhill cranes and gopher tortoises among others.
Appraised value: $15 million if developed according to its residential zoning.
Negotiated price: $13.7 million, with about $6.6 million of that expected from the state.
Roland DeBlois, Indian River County environmental planning chief
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