The Economic Prosperity Stakeholder Committee (EPSC) is operating under the guise of expanding economic development but it is a sham, created by the county commission at the request of the land development.

Since home building and land development is one of our chief economic engines, this committee is looking to stimulate more building. The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) is hoping to create jobs, but what kind of jobs will they create? How long will those jobs last? What will it end up costing taxpayers? Will these efforts degrade our quality of life?

Developers don't like the regulations that are currently in place. The land development lobby thinks that the rules are too restrictive and that the fees are too high. It eats up too much of their profit. They'd like the fees to be reduced or even eliminated so, in effect, they would pay nothing to develop land. If we reduce or eliminate their fees, the taxpayer will end up paying for all of what is normally the developer's responsibility. Would this be fair to taxpayers who already subsidize a large portion of the development costs?

The committee has submitted their recommendations to the BOCC for approval. These recommendations include a relaxation of rules. They also suggest eliminating fees for building.

We think that this is the wrong approach. It may create some jobs initially but those type of jobs are short lived, at best. Relaxation of rules will cost us in quality of life. We urge citizens to contact the BOCC and tell them not to adopt these proposed changes.