ORMOND BEACH — Nearly 50 protesters gathered outside City Hall on Tuesday night, carrying signs demanding among other things, that the mayor resign and the City Commission be fired.
Residents, many of them members of Citizens and Neighbors Dedicated to Ormond (CANDO 2) were angry because they felt like city officials haven’t listened to their concerns on what they consider development run amok.
“Developers are paving over our paradise,” 35-year Ormond resident Robert Renforth said. “What we want to do is bring attention to the City Commission that we want to put a screeching halt to this unbridled growth that seems to be operational between city government and developers and local people are kind of told to stand in a corner and be quiet.”
Tuesday’s protest was a retort on the city’s lack of response regarding the group’s requests to restore prior wetland development rules and instate a six-month moratorium on the approval of all commercial development, CANDO 2 co-founder Julie Sipes said.
“The current commission has been very dismissive and condescending of our concerns,” Sipes said. “A lot of people feel like they don’t want to waste their time talking to the commission anymore. It’s not just direction of turning Ormond Beach to Anytown USA, it’s the attitudes, that they’ve forgotten that they work for us. They’re public servants. They needed to be reminded who they work for.”
However, the protest largely fell on the deaf ears and blind eyes of those targeted. During the bulk of the demonstration, commissioners were in a capital projects workshop.
“I think it’s a great way for the public to share what their (protesters) thoughts are on the direction in which the city is going,” Deputy Mayor Kent said after the workshop. “I personally disagree with their message. I know that Ormond Beach has been, currently is, and through the careful planning of this commission, will continue to be the most-sought-out place to live in North Central Florida.”
CANDO 2 advocates for responsible development — something based on the protester’s signs, the city hasn’t done.
They included:
Save trees. Fire commission.
Commission sold us out.
RIP Granada forest.
Wetlands yes. Strip malls no.
Tree city my a$$.
Partington resign now.
Mayor Bill Partington said he wouldn’t comply with that last request. He also said the city hasn’t ignored its residents and that city officials have offered to meet with the group on multiple occasions, but the group declined.
“I would flat out reject that the city has been nonresponsive because, in fact, we’ve been very responsive and created an entire civic engagement process on a variety of different topics involving city government that they will be able to have input and share ideas on,” Partington said.
The workshops, dubbed the OB Life, will begin at the end of June and cover aspects of core government, a primary goal of CANDO 2, Partington said.
The UCF Institute of Government will moderate the workshops, which will each cover a different topic such as planning, economic development, leisure services, police and fire services, etc., Partington said, adding that industry experts or city staff will provide information to citizens that attend.
In regard to the group’s requests on wetland rules and a commercial development moratorium, Partington said he wanted more information before deciding what the city should do.
“Government never moves real quick anyway, but I feel like we’ve kind of gone leaps and bounds to try and create this process which they’ve requested and attempted to be responsive to whatever their suggestions and ideas are,” Partington said. “We can’t just do it because a group says you have to do this. Those are ideas or concepts or things that they think might help the city and we have to vet those and put them through a process where they can be determined whether that’s the route we really need to take or not.”
Kent was more set in his decision.
“A moratorium on business and commercial construction in Ormond Beach is a terrible message to send to business,” Kent said. “People need to know that Ormond Beach is open for business, not closed for business. I think the worst thing that we could do is put an end to or even a moratorium to any type of commercial development.”
Kent said the city’s current wetland rules were appropriate.
“Ormond Beach has some of the most stringent building and wetland rules, when you’re talking about development, that are out there,” Kent said.
However, residents felt like the city should be doing more.
“I saw the destruction of many things down in South Florida,” resident Kelly Remark said. “It’s a concrete jungle. There’s no wildlife. It’s all destroyed. I don’t want to see that happen here.”
However, with an election coming up, it might not matter if the commission adjusts its stance on development.
“Every year we vote, things change,” Renforth said.
Partington said he wasn’t concerned about negative publicity in light of the upcoming election.
“There’s so many positive things happening in Ormond Beach right now that having a citizenry that cares about the city and is willing to try to improve the process, that’s a positive to me. I can’t really say I’m critical of that at all.”