State: Everglades land buying too slow, Bush told

TALLAHASSEE -- Environmental advocates urged Gov. Jeb Bush on Tuesday to step up efforts to buy land for the massive Everglades restoration plan, before escalating prices doom the River of Grass.

"We need to improve the speed of this land acquisition program," warned Charles Lee, senior vice president of Audubon of Florida. "Everglades restoration is either going to be real or Everglades restoration is going to be a mirage."

Bush and the Cabinet took no formal action, although Bush acknowledged a need for changes in the way the state handles land acquisition.

The governor used far stronger language in June, when the Cabinet split over buying an 18-acre parcel for Everglades restoration for $44,000 an acre, a significantly higher price than expected.

Bush was so angry then that he said his blood was boiling. The governor, who once worked in real estate, said no one could really develop the swampy property, but it was priced as if it could be.

He blamed local governments in South Florida, which he said were doing such a poor job of managing their growth that they were hurting the state's efforts to protect the Everglades.

"I just despise paying these prices because there is some kind of underlying assumption that counties are going to change their urban service boundaries to allow for development to occur, so we have to buy the land at that prospective price," Bush said. "I'm going to vote no on this . . . and it'll probably be used as a campaign ad against, you know, the crazy governor. But this is wrong. This is absolutely wrong."

Comptroller Bob Milligan agreed, noting that every time the state pays an outrageously high price for one parcel, it boosts the value of other properties in the area, further driving up the price.

The Everglades plan is supposed to restore the River of Grass, as it is called, to a semblance of its former glory, as well as provide enough water for South Florida's population to double. When approved last year by Congress and the Legislature, the plan's cost, which is supposed to be shared equally by the federal and state governments, was figured at $7.8-billion. But in recent months the estimate has crept above $8-billion, and last month federal officials said it could wind up closer to $11-billion.

Some of the increase is tied to rising land costs. According to Audubon's figures, more than 105,000 acres have yet to be acquired, at an estimated cost of $1-billion. But the estimate may be too low. Audubon officials pointed out that the plan calls for buying one 930-acre tract in Palm Beach County at a cost of $8.5-million, yet 640 acres of the property recently sold at auction for $13-million.

Frank Jackalone, co-chairman of the Everglades Coalition, urged Bush to tell the state Department of Community Affairs to closely review any land-use changes in South Florida that might harm the Everglades plan. Audubon officials suggested floating a bond issue that would provide money immediately for buying land.

At June's Cabinet meeting, state Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher suggested formally declaring land related to the Everglades restoration to be an Area of Critical State Concern. Such a move would give the state a far stronger say over local land-use decisions in South Florida. However, Lee said, that would take at least two years to set up, and the state needs to move faster than that.

- Times researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report.

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