The Future of the Community
“Aren't
you a cracker?" I was asked at a Christmas party in Cape Coral
last month. I was raised in Miami and the only crackers I ever met
were at Monroe Station out on Loop Road. I was being asked this by a
fellow who had moved here from Pennsylvania who raised cows on a
farm. I hated to tell him what I thought a cracker was.
I'm
not sure if the majority of northerners share this same misplaced
definition of Cracker, but I assume it is fairly prevalent. No, we
grew up in neighborhoods that look exactly like Port Charlotte. I
went to elementary school in Westwood Lake in Miami, one of many
Deltona or Mackle Brothers developments that populate the state.
Most of those communities, however. have changed and moved forward.
Port Charlotte has not. We have an opportunity now to help change
that image. and the business community should take the initiative.
The
economic development process is taking a new, definitive shape.
Charlotte County has expanded its economic development with a
department of four full-time employees. These people arc actively
meeting with business groups to ask for planning input.
With
the involvement of local organizations such as the Committee of 100,
business input is finally being fed into the economic development
process. The economic alignment with Lee and Collier counties is
misplaced. especially Collier County, and the vacuum of not
associating with Sarasota County will hopefully he corrected.
Business organizations
that are basically social or quasi-independent
from government may have good intentions when it comes to networking
their products locally, but they don't have the foresight to drive
the economic foundation that is required for 10, or 20, or even 50
years from now. One of the most naive approaches suggested is to ask
a small business to assist its future competitors. How about a
reality check here?
The
fact we need business input now is evident in the new proposal for
commercial building design standardization. The new Charlotte County
proposal doesn't appear to be well thought out. It is simply a
cookie-cutter approach used somewhere else. and it doesn't
necessarily solve the problem of aesthetics, nor does it offer
inducement to new firms to relocate here.
Literally,
under the new guidelines. there will be no more supermarkets such as
Publix or Winn-Dixie. simply because of the parking requirement in
which no more than 40 percent of parking can be in front of the
building. The County Administration Building at 18500 Murdock Circle
doesn't even comply with the new facade and roof guidelines!
The
business community knows we will suffer from terminal stagnation if
the current approach dominates our future political and economic
thinking. The segment of retirees who vocalize their opposition to
any kind of growth won't be around to suffer the inadequate
infrastructure they will leave as a legacy. Neither will
their children. They take one look at the houses
they inherit and turn them into rentals. Then they move to Cape
Coral.
George Mindling ©
2002
