Responsible Growth
I was sitting in one of my favorite beach establishments the other afternoon enjoying another day in paradise along with a cold beer when I found myself in a conversation with some other locals about how bad vehicle traffic had been during this past tourist season.
As the complaining continued it didn’t stop with the fact Gulf Boulevard had been filled with cars and trucks with license plates purchased from the governments of every state and province in North America but that the operators and passengers of these foreign based vehicles were also causing long lines at the super market checkout, automatic teller machines and cluttering the more popular restaurants.
The conversation then turned to the fact that there were enough tourists and we certainly didn’t need to build any more hotels and we needed to stop all development on the beach. That’s when the light bulb went on over my head. Granted the bulb was pretty dim, but none the less it lit up.
It suddenly came to me that those who argue the loudest against development may not be as dedicated to saving the whales and preventing the polar ice caps from melting away as they proclaim to be. They may not be as concerned about protecting the beach or over taxing our infrastructure as they are about the fact that they don’t want their drive to the super market slowed by some sightseeing tourist in a rental car.
Now don’t get me wrong. There are plenty of folks who live on the beach who are legitimately concerned about impact any development has on ecology of our beach. Their point of view is important and needs to be included in any discussion about any development. But, there are entirely too many people who are against any development not because of what that development may do to the sea turtles but what that development will do to interfere with their early bird special.
Those hotels that line our beaches bring tourists who bring dollars which create jobs and contribute to the taxes that help keep our local governments afloat. To deny someone a job or drive up local taxes which prevents average guys like myself from being able to afford to live on the beach because it may take you an extra three minutes to get to the super market is simply wrong. What you are actually saying is that you have your piece of paradise and you don’t want to share.
Those of us who are lucky enough to live here are not the owners of the beach; we are in fact the guardians. It is our difficult responsibility to protect the beach while making the beach available to our neighbors and guests. Responsible growth is determined by the impact on the ecology and infrastructure not on the wait at the check out line.