An Indian River County resident is urging county officials to purchase more than 800 acres of environmentally sensitive land near Blue Cypress Lake to prevent its potential development into a solar farm.
County Commissioner Joseph Earman brought the proposal before the commission, saying the property near State Road 60 in Presley Ranch could be sold to Florida Power & Light.
The land is adjacent to property owned by resident Ramie Darling, who is asking the county to protect the area’s natural habitat.
"I'm not against solar. It just doesn't belong where it destroys native habitat," Darling said.
Earman said the property could qualify for preservation through the county's Environmentally Land Acquisition Program, known as ELAP, which uses voter-approved funding to purchase environmentally sensitive land.
The program's goal is to protect natural areas from development, and Earman said the property is a strong candidate for preservation.
"That's all just very pristine old Florida properties that have never been touched. We'd like to keep it that way, and that's basically what the ELAP said," Earman said.
He also said the program had identified nearby properties for further consideration after Darling raised concerns about the potential development.
Earman argued that the potential sale made the property an emergency acquisition, a designation that allows the county to move more quickly to consider a purchase.
Assistant County Attorney Chris Hicks said the property meets the criteria because of its proximity to a wildlife corridor.
"It is right next to a wildlife corridor, and any development could impact all of those natures, and so that's why it falls under the quote-unquote emergency," Hicks said.
Darling said development could send runoff into Blue Cypress Lake and the St. Johns River, destroy native forest habitat and block an important wildlife corridor.
Earman asked commissioners to direct county staff to appraise the property before considering a purchase.
He said the county would not move forward if the asking price was too high, but an appraisal would help determine whether a purchase was feasible.
"If they come back and they want $50,000 an acre, obviously we're not going to approve that," Earman said. "If we can come back with a deal and we can look at it and you decide it's a good property to buy, then we can move ahead with this, but we have to get the appraisals done before we do anything."
Commissioners Deryl Loar and Joseph Flescher opposed the measure, with Flescher questioning the process and the speed of the proposed acquisition.
"A couple of steps are missing. A couple of steps were not in line, in order, and I think that's pretty concerning," Flescher said.
He also questioned whether the commission had enough information to commit to an appraisal or potential purchase.
"We have a decision here. Are we going to commit funding? Are we going to commit appraisal? Are we going to be making an offer? What is that offer? And what are we looking at? I also find it odd that only one commission has visited," he said.
The commission voted 3-2 to begin appraisals. The proposal will return to the board for consideration of a potential purchase.
The county's ELAP program uses $50 million in bonds approved by voters in 2022 to purchase environmentally sensitive land.