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Letters of Objection to SJRWMD - 2021

The comments below are a few examples of objections submitted by residents to the St John's River Water Management District, which is responsible for evaluating the permit application for the project. Comments have been lightly edited for clarity and relevance.

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I am a resident of Heritage Oaks in West Melbourne. I am opposed to the Doherty Drive extension that the city is proposing. I am highly concerned that the flood risk will increase. I have witnessed the amount of water that pools in the tree areas after heavy storms and hurricanes.

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Currently, the green spaces help absorb most of that water. However, adding more paved surfaces will only make it worse. Removing the green spaces will prevent absorption of water and potentially lead to flooding. I urge you not to approve permit 162867-1.

 

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We have lived on Sylvia Rd for the past 42+ years, our (2) boys have grown up here and our grandchildren are our part of our community. Judge Platt grazed his cattle across the canal from our home, more than once we had to call the Platts because their cattle had wandered into the canal but that was a pleasant part of living in the country part of West Melbourne. We watched Doherty Rd created to serve a development of a single-family cul-de-sac community mysteriously turned into a multi-family apartment complex.

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We watched the Judge donate property for the post office, library and schools, and at that point, we knew the sale & development of his property west of us was not far away but that was progress. We also witnessed the extension of Henry Ave to Dairy, a move that we still can't comprehend because as far as we were concerned this accomplished nothing more than causing traffic backups and ruining the quality of life for anyone needing to access Henry and Hollywood or living along it. I'm sure the people coming to and from Palm Bay appreciated it, West Melbourne residents I'm not so sure. Now we're looking at the Doherty extension to Heritage Oaks to resolve complaints from citizens who claim they need more than one access in or out of their community. To calm their concerns, we are considering a road between South Sylvia and the folks on the west side of the canal, a project that would ruin the quality of life along both sides of that canal, disrupt existing wildlife, cause flooding by removing more runoff areas and remove long-standing trees to provide people with easier access to shopping. These people also have to realize that they won't be the only folks using that access road, once folks traveling on Minton Rd discover that there is another way around the traffic flow that road will be become as heavily used as the rest of the roads in that area. This is just our opinion but we feel that expending $1,000,000+ (which it will end up being because no initial estimates for projects like this ever come in under budget) for just another quality-of-life destroyer can be used elsewhere in our community.

 

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I implore you to not allow the subject permit to be approved until a valid impact survey is conducted to address the wildlife, flooding issues, and vegetation in this area that should be saved as a preserve. We have a home in the area and it is teaming with wildlife and vegetation which will be greatly impacted if you allow the permit to be approved for this project. The city is hell-bent on putting a road behind our house and they don’t care of the issues that we will have with flooding, the wildlife, and vegetation loss. When we get minor rain in our area, we are faced with very marshy ground, and minor flooding occurs during a mild tropical storm. A road added will only make the area more susceptible to flooding and I know that the city has not thoroughly investigated and validly studied the flooding concern. I have witnessed a council meeting where no valid impact studies were discussed or disclosed. The city failed a resident miserably when they assured a homeowner that her property would not be flooded, but it was flooded out when they permitted the “Mighty Mushroom” Restaurant to build at a very high-grade years ago, causing flooding of her home and property with mental anguish/stress to this owner just next door to the restaurant (south neighboring lot). The city cannot be trusted. Having worked for the SFWMD in WPB, I know of shady dealings when I see it and know a lot about impacts due to building and road construction to understand that this road will cause many residents with flooding issues, loss of wildlife, and beautiful vegetation. Should you like to discuss this issue with me, please call me, my phone and address are noted below. Thank you kindly for your time reviewing my plea.

 

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I am writing in objection to a permit being authorized for project: 162867-1 Project Name: Heritage Oaks Boulevard/Doherty Drive Extension. The area where the proposed road will go will remove green space that holds water during heavy rains. The removal of this greenspace will cause flooding to surrounding neighborhoods. This project will also destroy hundreds of trees and wildlife habitat that is becoming less available for birds, squirrels, and other wildlife. Spending around $2M to decrease the quality of life by increasing flooding risks should not be permitted.

 

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I am a resident of The Preserve at Heritage Oaks in West Melbourne and am writing to you to request that you vote no on the Doherty Drive Extension Project permit number 162867.

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My house backs up to what would be the Heritage Oaks Blvd extension. We now have beautiful old oak trees behind our house and it is quiet. If you drive down Heritage Oaks you will see tire tracks where people are speeding down the road jumping the curb and tearing up the grass. If the road is extended, I can only imagine how much worse this will be because then they will have two ways in and out instead of just one. Crime is very low in the four Heritage Oaks neighborhoods and I’m sure that will change too if the extension is approved. In addition, the extension may affect flood and water quality in our area which now is no issue to the residents. Please consider these issues and vote no on the permit.

 

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Along with many residents of the Heritage Oaks area, I am concerned that the Doherty Drive Extension will increase the risk of flooding in this area and/or in adjacent areas.

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It is well known that current weather patterns have resulted in an increased risk of flooding. Furthermore, the risk is compounded by rampant construction throughout West Melbourne. We need more green space and trees to absorb excessive water when hurricanes occur, but the road will destroy one of the few remaining areas of green space.  Therefore, there is a significant risk that areas that were formerly marginal for flooding will become areas of serious flooding after future storms.

These concerns have been brought to the attention of the city of West Melbourne and in response, they have changed the design of the proposed road to add some features such as berms and swales which they hope will mitigate the risk of flooding. I don't know if these features will be effective. However even if they succeed in mitigating the flood risk for areas immediately adjacent to the road (The Preserve and Eastwood), it raises the question about other nearby neighborhoods upstream or downstream within the drainage system. As a Dutch flooding expert said recently, building a wall around your house may protect you in a flood, however, it may also raise the water level in neighboring areas.

So the question is: Will the increased flood risk induced by the road be mitigated, or just moved to other neighborhoods? Specifically, will all of the water falling on the new road be channeled into nearby neighborhoods such as the existing Doherty Drive, Sylvia, Florida, Edward, Parker, Trend, etc., thereby worsening their flood risk? 

I urge you to address these questions in your evaluation, and reject the permit unless it is clear that there is no increase in flood risk in any neighborhood.

Thank you for considering our concerns.

 

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I don't want to delay it,... I want to cancel it. Let's just do that.

Love,

Tree lover in Eastwood 2

Wildlife that will be destroyed by project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3bvBYezZxs

 

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I live in the Preserve at Heritage Oaks. I do NOT want to see the Doherty extension developed. Please leave the land the way it is.

Thank you

 

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I think the amount of money to be spent on this road is unacceptable. This road will only benefit Heritage Oaks residents. It will affect the bike and walking path along Henry Ave., as well as the side streets east of Doherty causing more traffic problems. I really think that amount of money should be channeled to a project that would benefit the entire West Melbourne community.

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