There are threshold moments that define a time, a place, a decision. We in the county experienced such a moment when debating the topic of the development west of State Road 7 in the Agricultural Reserve. Whether the county commission agreed to a change in the rules of land use was an issue that would define how the 22,000 acres of the Agricultural Reserve would develop. Like so many other critical decisions made by past county commissions, this one would have repercussions that would affect our community for many years in the future. Decisions such as the construction of a waste incinerator in west Boca Raton or allowing a “Bullet Train” to run along the western boundaries of the county, were controversial decisions that defined the leadership necessary to defeat unpopular ideas.
Today, those leaders include Dr. Lori Vinikoor and the members of the Alliance of Delray Residential Association, Steve Wallace and all the leadership team of the Coalition of Boynton West Residential Associations (COBWRA), Drew Martin and his crew from the Sierra Club, Attorney Heidi Mehaffey, Joe O’Donnell from Save Agriculture Reserve for Agriculture (SARA) and the riding club from Sunshine Meadows. People from all over the community came together with one message: respect the openness and fresh air of our beautiful Agricultural Reserve.
