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Man won't sell paradise parcel - Jesse
Hardy still holding out against Everglades project
April 13, 2004
To submit a Letter to the Editor: mailbag@news-press.com Two dogs bark wildly as a visitor pulls up to Jesse Hardy’s house and the 68-year-old man emerges from the screened porch in brown fatigues, a blue T-shirt and flip-flops. Living in rural Collier County -- in the footprint of Everglades restoration -- Hardy doesn't see many callers. But these days, Hardy is talking to everyone he can manage. Today, the governor and Cabinet decide whether to force Hardy to sell his 160 acres of paradise, his home of nearly 30 years. The land is among the northern parcels of the Southern Golden Gate Estates restoration project, part of the $8 billion Everglades restoration plan. The estates project aims to restore historic water flows to the 94-square-mile abandoned subdivision south of Interstate 75. Hardy is the last resident holdout. He won't sell. The state offered $1.5 million for the land, then went to $4.5 million just last week. Hardy still won't sell. Why, a visitor asked. Why not take the money and go? “That street out there is named Naomi Street,” he answered. “That’s my mother’s name. I never could help her. She died at 52 of a heart attack.” Now Hardy is trying to help 8-year-old Tommy Hilton and his mother, Tara Hilton. They aren't blood relatives but they are like family and live with him in the house. A crayon drawing of Hardy on the refrigerator says “This is my dad.” Hardy wants to raise 8-year-old Tommy here. “This land means something to me,” Hardy said. “If I'm sitting in a condominium, I cannot walk outside and fertilize the orange tree and smell the fresh air.” He pointed out the front window. “I planted that oak tree,” he said. “Every now and then I see a deer come in the yard. I have that pond down there. “This is the place to raise a kid.” Officials with the South Florida Water Management District, the local agency in charge of Everglades restoration, said they cannot just leave a resident in the project area to fend for himself. In the plan, Hardy’s property would flood two feet during a 100-year storm event. “And we have to protect up to a 100-year storm,” said Janet Starnes, who is in charge of Southwest Florida projects for the district. “There are also management issues associated with leaving a piece of property in the middle of our management area.” Hardy’s presence would affect the district’s controlled burns and exotic plant removal. His access would be limited. “It’s just not feasible to leave him out there,” Starnes said. Hardy isn't giving up the fight. He hired a Sarasota attorney and said a professional engineer, a former district employee, had examined his land and said it would not interfere with restoration. “If they punch eminent domain on me, that just punches me to court,” Hardy said. The Navy veteran won't be in Tallahassee today. Hardy is recovering from cancer treatments. But Tommy and his mother will be there to talk to the governor. So will Hardy’s lawyer and a few friends who have been pulling for him. “He does not want to leave. He doesn't care how much they pay him,” said Pat Humphries. Humphries said she met Hardy in 1962 while her husband and Hardy trained to be among the first Navy SEALs. “He’s from the old school,” Humphries said. “When he was offered $1.5 million everyone said, ‘Uh, I'd think about that.’ And he said, ‘No, I don't want to leave.’” Hardy grew up near St. Joe in the Panhandle. When he was old enough, he joined the U.S. Navy. He served 14 years before being discharged with a disability. He was on maneuvers, a cast and recovery, he called it. The helicopter he was in was too high and travelling too fast when Hardy jumped into the water below. He broke his back, a leg and blew out his right ear. He eventually moved to Miami, worked for Dade County as a real estate appraiser, and later began operating a grove. Hardy knew he wanted a piece of land to call his own. He discovered how cheap he could get that land in 1969 while working as a salesman for Gulf American Land Corporation, the company that created Southern Golden Gate. “I eventually figured out that was basically a scheme,” Hardy said. “I left and went back to Miami.” But the desire to own land brought him back. He bought his 160 acres for $60,000 from the Collier family in 1976. No electric lines and no telephone lines ran to the property, but it was cheap, Hardy said. It was also the end of his relationship. “She didn't like it. It was too far out, too desolate,” he said. Hardy couldn't leave. “I loved it.” Hardy is now constructing an aquaculture farm on 90 acres of the land. One of four ponds is half dug. “If I lose, it puts the whole state of Florida in jeopardy,” Hardy said. “If we don't have property rights, it’s all done with. It’s over with.” http://www.news-press.com/news/local_state/040413holdout.html |