Should an Escambia County Man be Allowed to Develop on the Wetlands He Owns?

The PNJ printed a story in last Sunday's paper about a developer that wants to build retail space on his 20 acre parcel of land at the intersection of Highway 98 and Blue Angel. Local environmental groups have come out against the development because they say it violates the county's ordinance against building on wetlands. The Emerald Coastkeepers say the county would be breaking their own law if they approved the proposed development.

The Emerald Coastkeepers wants Mike Blanton to cut down on the size of the development and limit the impact on his lands' wetlands, even though he has already cut down on the proposed acreage. The developer has already cut down on 16,000 feet from the planned development, but the Coastkeepers say that this is not enough downsizing.

That area is somewhat of a small percentage of the develpment's planned acreage. The new retial area will be built on at least 250,000 acres of land. That wetlands saved will be a small percentage when compared to total numbers of acres in the development.

Now that you have the background information on the proposed wetland development, do you think Blanton should be allowed to build on them? Check out the PNJ article for further analysis.