Seven/50 is the regional plan for Southeast Florida. Running from the Florida Keys north up the east coast, it encompasses seven counties and is the regional plan document for fifty years---that's why it's called Seven/50. Although the planners, consultants, and staff of these counties said that the plan has nothing to do with UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development, that is not true. In fact it is a plan to regionalize the huge southeast Florida area municipalities and merge them into an 'economic powerhouse that would be the 5th largest economy in the US'---as the planners say. Andres Duany, the project designer, said in one of his presentations that fascism was certainly the most efficient form of government, and this merging of local governments and corporate entities will surely bear that out.
Now for the good news. All of the seven counties will be voting to decide whether or not to join in with this regional plan. After citizens in Indian River County educated their county commissioners by going regularly to commission meetings and speaking one after the other about UN Agenda 21 and the impacts of regionalization, the Indian River County Commissioners voted to opt out of participation!
Last night, at the request of American Coalition for Property Rights (www.ac4pr.org) I spoke in St. Lucie County. It was a terrific meeting with a wonderfully committed group of active citizens eager to hear more about UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development and what it looks like in St. Lucie County. I talked about mega-regions and the plan to aggregate 42 Florida counties into the Florida MegaRegion. The Seven/50 Plan is an interim step.
After my speech most of us went over to the St. Lucie County Commissioners meeting where the Seven/50 planners were presenting the draft plan for approval. The room was packed with about 250 - 300 concerned citizens (many of whom had been organized by AC4PR) there to give their input to the county. The energy in the room was electric as one after the other of us got up and spoke to the commissioners about our concerns and about the inherent weaknesses of the plan. The consultant planners sat in silence as they listened to people who refused to be delphi'd and manipulated into accepting a plan that would subsume their voices into the huge 7 county region. The commissioners (two of whom had attended my speech) expressed gratitude that so many of their constituents were taking such an active part in the process of governing. Truly the turnout was overwhelming. Many of the commissioners acknowledged that they already work regionally when necessary and they don't need a document that somehow would merge them formally. Then, one by one, four of the five commissioners rejected participation in the Seven/50 Plan. St. Lucie County, Florida has opted out!
I suggested that the consultants (who have not even acknowledged that Indian River County opted out) should now change the plan name to Five/50!
What does it take to re-erect your sovereignty? Just ask the American Coalition For Property Rights: you show up and do the work. Educate your elected officials. Get the information out to fellow citizens. Hold informational meetings. Support other activists in cities and counties that are working on plan implementation. Anti-Delphi meetings. Make it fun for yourself and each other by appreciating the wonderful new friends you've made --each of whom finds what they're best at doing and then does that. Whether you're a researcher, or a writer, or a speaker, or an organizer, or a flyer distributor, or a website creator; whatever your skill and passion you'll find a place in this movement. And when you win in your county, keep going and help the others get out. That's teamwork. That's 'participatory democracy.' I think we can get consensus on that ;>
Now for the good news. All of the seven counties will be voting to decide whether or not to join in with this regional plan. After citizens in Indian River County educated their county commissioners by going regularly to commission meetings and speaking one after the other about UN Agenda 21 and the impacts of regionalization, the Indian River County Commissioners voted to opt out of participation!
Last night, at the request of American Coalition for Property Rights (www.ac4pr.org) I spoke in St. Lucie County. It was a terrific meeting with a wonderfully committed group of active citizens eager to hear more about UN Agenda 21/Sustainable Development and what it looks like in St. Lucie County. I talked about mega-regions and the plan to aggregate 42 Florida counties into the Florida MegaRegion. The Seven/50 Plan is an interim step.
After my speech most of us went over to the St. Lucie County Commissioners meeting where the Seven/50 planners were presenting the draft plan for approval. The room was packed with about 250 - 300 concerned citizens (many of whom had been organized by AC4PR) there to give their input to the county. The energy in the room was electric as one after the other of us got up and spoke to the commissioners about our concerns and about the inherent weaknesses of the plan. The consultant planners sat in silence as they listened to people who refused to be delphi'd and manipulated into accepting a plan that would subsume their voices into the huge 7 county region. The commissioners (two of whom had attended my speech) expressed gratitude that so many of their constituents were taking such an active part in the process of governing. Truly the turnout was overwhelming. Many of the commissioners acknowledged that they already work regionally when necessary and they don't need a document that somehow would merge them formally. Then, one by one, four of the five commissioners rejected participation in the Seven/50 Plan. St. Lucie County, Florida has opted out!
I suggested that the consultants (who have not even acknowledged that Indian River County opted out) should now change the plan name to Five/50!
What does it take to re-erect your sovereignty? Just ask the American Coalition For Property Rights: you show up and do the work. Educate your elected officials. Get the information out to fellow citizens. Hold informational meetings. Support other activists in cities and counties that are working on plan implementation. Anti-Delphi meetings. Make it fun for yourself and each other by appreciating the wonderful new friends you've made --each of whom finds what they're best at doing and then does that. Whether you're a researcher, or a writer, or a speaker, or an organizer, or a flyer distributor, or a website creator; whatever your skill and passion you'll find a place in this movement. And when you win in your county, keep going and help the others get out. That's teamwork. That's 'participatory democracy.' I think we can get consensus on that ;>
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