As our area grows, we’re focused on understanding and addressing the real-world impacts of new development—safety, traffic flow, congestion, environmental strain, noise concerns, and long-term livability. We’re here to raise questions, examine data, and ensure changes support a smart, safe, sustainable, future. Development should enhance our way our life and focus on economic growth and vitality without overwhelming communities.
Smart Growth Principals
Smart growth is a community-focused approach to development that emphasizes balanced sustainable planning:
- Community-Driven Planning
- Involve residents early and consistently so development reflects local voice, needs and identity
- Facilitate Transportation
- Reduce congestion by planning development around safe, efficient travel patterns for cars, pedestrians and cyclists.
- Strong Sense of Community
- Support development that feels cohesive, welcoming, and fitting to the communities existing scale
- Create Community Value with Low-Impact Development
- Our vision for the old Seafood Shack property focuses on improvements that enhance daily life, support local businesses, and bring economic value without putting safety at risk or overwhelming traffic, noise, or the environment.
- Restaurant: acts as a social hub strengthening community identity while creating jobs, attracting tourists and increasing property values and bringing in tax revenue. The Seafood Shack was a good example of minimal impact on traffic, noise and environment.
- Bait & Tackle Shop: provides steady income, supports Cortez’s fishing heritage, and draws recreational fishers who spend money in the community without creating large crowds.
- Marina (Modest & Managed): a well-planned, low-impact marina can bring in meaningful revenue and encourage complimentary small businesses while remaining compatible with neighborhood scale and thoughtful design.
- Passive Waterfront/Park accessible green space attracts both locals and tourists, improves water quality through natural filtering and offers a peaceful area that compliments restaurants and small businesses rather than compete with them.
- Our Position on Boat Ramps: We support improvements that enhance the community value with long-term implications in mind. Boat ramps do not align with this vision. Safety is the primary issue. Our narrow residential streets with sharp turns cannot safely accommodate this traffic, which will put residents and vehicle operators at risk. Noise from boat ramp operations 24 x 7, increased pollution, the negative impact to our marine life which includes manatee and dolphins, and increased crime, are also major concerns. You can read more on this on the Boat Ramps page.
- Our vision for the old Seafood Shack property focuses on improvements that enhance daily life, support local businesses, and bring economic value without putting safety at risk or overwhelming traffic, noise, or the environment.