Regarding the Feb. 18 letter to the editor by Jessica Monti, who wrote in support of building wind turbines on Hutchinson Island:
We who oppose this proposal are not trying to stop St. Lucie County from being green; on the contrary, as longtime residents we tried to look to the future and hoped that the public land that was bought for conservation would be protected from development. The problem is not the wind turbines; it is the commercial use of public land.
Decades ago, St. Lucie County taxpayers voted to purchase parcels of pristine beach to preserve for the sake of the environment.
If we now allow public land to be used commercially, we’ll set a precedent for all publicly-owned land. What would be the purpose of buying green space if the land to be protected could be used for any purpose?
Let Florida Power & Light put as many wind turbines as it can fit on its own land. It is the company’s to develop as it wishes, assuming the planned use has been approved.
Letting FPL develop public lands this way is, by definition, stealing.
Mike and Linda Cosgrove
Fort Pierce
24 February 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/02/25/fpls-use-of-public-land-would-be-stealing/