In a memo to his fellow County Commissioners dated Oct. 15, Bob Solari wrote that he found significant parts of a letter from Michael Busha, executive director of the Treasure Coast Regional Planning Council, to Sebastian Mayor Bob McPartlan, to be “disingenuous and insulting.”
Solari indicated in his memo that during today’s Commission meeting he will ask Commissioner Peter O’Bryan, current Chairman of the TCRPC, for an opportunity to rebut Busha’s letter during the organization’s December 13 meeting, to be held at the Indian River State College Chastain Campus in Stuart.
Solari led the County’s withdrawal from the Seven 50 regional planning effort, raising a number of objections, including the assertions that Seven 50 did not represent Indian River County’s core values and that it is a process largely controlled by the the federal government.
In his letter to McPartlan, Busha rebutted Solari’s criticisms of Seven 50, concluding, “It has been a long and frustrating process dealing with detractors of the effort based on political emotions and anger that have nothing to do with a regional planning exercise.”
The full text of Busha’s letter to McPartlan is presented below:
Indian River Guardian 
This is exactly the info I have been searching for to be able to intelligently rebut what the “Glenn Beckians” say at local government meetings and in the papers. While I am more interested in good planning at the local level, I don’t see why taking a seat at the regional table would hurt us. If we’re not willing to discuss what is important to our community in the coming years (50 years might be a bit much!), then we can’t complain if decisions are made that we don’t like.
When I heard Andres Duany called radical with crazy ideas at a city council meeting, I was speechless. I actually became angry when a couple of women said that traffic calming on the Twin Pairs was taking away our American freedoms. Really??! They went on to say that words like sustainability and smart growth were catch words for an insidious plan to take away our rights. We actually have the community we have because of smart growth decisions made in the past. I have been a Republican ever since I could register to vote 33 years ago, but I sometimes feel like I’m in an alternate universe in this Far Right town.
Mayor McParlan has done a real public service in attempting to educate people about the goals and objectives of the Seven50 organization. A very small minority in this community have been allowed to hijack any fact based discussion of the issue because of a relentess campaign of false propaganda.
Seven50 is just a basic common sense idea for communities to discuss mutual problems. There is no monopoly on good ideas or opportunities to have more objective input on issues affecting all taxpayers. It is sheer nonsense for the detractors to claim that participation in the Severn50 organization is a threat to our “freedom.” It is equally absurd to claim that it is controlled by the Federal government.
Our elected leaders should not be close-minded individuals who are opposed to 21st ideas for discussion and communication with our neighboring governmental entities. Failure to be a part of regional solutions to problems is the surest path available to destroy the core values of our community.
I don’t follow Glen Beck.
Regional Planning has been going on forever.
You really need to educate youselves about Andres Duany.
Seven/50 is not controlled by the Federal Government? It is made up of ” Housing and Urban Development, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation”.
I’m all for discussion and communication, love free enterprise and capitalism.
I’m not interested in O’Bama’s executive order to implement Sustainable Development or Regionalization nationwide. Big brother needs to butt out.
Additionally, attempts to mind control participating citizens with (the Delphi method) in a charette is insulting. Who in the h does business that way?
regional, local and state its been done for years.all one has to go to is planning and zoning and see what was planned and you will see.thats the best. twin pairs taking away freedom.im for local control as much as possible.for example where the alma lee loy bridge is today was planned back in the 30’s. the very way 17th st goes was planned as well. but I guess that just communistic. we have to be reasonable.