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Hardy rejects
state plan to let him stay on part of land
May 8, 2004 By Eric Staats Naples Daily News 1075 Central Avenue Naples, Florida 34102 239-263-4773 Fax: 239-435-3451 To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@naplesnews.com
Jesse Hardy http://mas.scripps.com/NPDN/2004/05/07/N-HardyJ108_d.jpg Holdout landowner Jesse Hardy rejected a
state plan Friday that would have allowed him to stay on part of his
homestead in the middle of an environmental restoration project in
rural Collier County.
The proposal calls for Hardy to stay on 35 of his 160 acres in
Southern Golden Gate Estates south of Interstate 75. The state would
have bought the rest of Hardy's land, under the proposal.
A proposed berm would surround the 35 acres to keep Hardy from
being flooded out by the restoration, which aims to return natural
water flows to 55,000 acres in the abandoned subdivision as part of
the $8 billion federal-state plan to restore the Everglades.
Officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection
delivered the proposal during a meeting in the Sarasota offices of
Hardy's attorney Bill Moore.
The meeting was the first between the two sides since Gov. Jeb Bush
and the Cabinet deferred a decision last month on whether to use
eminent domain to force Hardy to sell his land. Instead, they told the
DEP to try to find a way for Hardy to stay on his land.
Hardy said Friday's offer from the DEP did not comply with the
wishes of Bush and the Cabinet.
"They (DEP officials) were totally trying to rip me off,"
Hardy said Friday.
Hardy, 68, lives in a modest wood-frame house he built himself. He
lives there with Tara Hilton, a family friend, and her 8-year-old son,
Tommy. Hardy is digging lakes on the property and has permits to start
a fish farm.
The disabled Navy veteran has refused the state's offer of $4.4
million for his land. His refusal to leave has made him a hero to
property rights advocates.
Bush and the Cabinet have deferred a decision since January 2003 on
the DEP's eminent domain request in the hopes of negotiating a
resolution to the impasse with Hardy.
The request was set to be heard again at next week's Cabinet
meeting in Tallahassee, but the DEP plans to postpone the request
until May 25 to give both sides more time to talk.
"We're going to try our best to work this out if at all
possible," Moore, the attorney for Hardy, said after the meeting
Friday. "I think both parties are trying very hard."
DEP spokeswoman Kathalyn Gaither said restoration planners will
return to the drawing board.
"We're still discussing options with Mr. Hardy and his
attorney," she said. "We want to negotiate with him and have
everybody be satisfied with the outcome."
Restoration planners have expressed concern that allowing Hardy to
stay on his land will force adjustments to the project that will
reduce its environmental benefits.
The lakes at Hardy's proposed fish farm would further frustrate
efforts to restore natural water flows, planners say.
The restoration plan calls for tearing out miles of roads, plugging
canals and installing pumps to spread the water over the landscape.
The DEP has acquired or has agreements to acquire, mostly through
eminent domain, some 54,000 acres in the project area. Hardy is the
sole homesteaded holdout.
The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians is fighting the DEP's attempt to
use eminent domain to force the tribe to sell land it owns in Southern
Golden Gate Estates. http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_2869787,00.html Related stories: April 13, 2004 http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_2804937,00.html Property-rights advocates praise Estates holdout Hardy
April 12, 2004
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/news/article/0,2071,NPDN_14940_2799898,00.html
Related Links: Map: Site of Jesse Hardy's 160 acres in Southern Golden Gate
Estates http://web.naplesnews.com/04/04/graphics/041204-hardymap.GIF |
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