Bush: Babcock preservation a highlight of term

Gov. Jeb Bush said today that he expects the Babcock Ranch preservation and development deal will be one of the highlights of his two-term tenure, and that the Sierra Club is "marginalized" and "outside the mainstream" for trying to derail it.

Bush and a plethora of state and local officials were at the 91,000-acre ranch in southern Charlotte County to sign the bill appropriating $310 million to buy 74,000 of those acres for preservation. Developer Syd Kitson, who's buying the ranch and selling to the state, would build 19,500 homes and 6 million commercial square feet - a city of 45,000 - on the rest.

The plan found a new hurdle Friday when the Sierra Club filed a challenge to comprehensive plan amendments made by Charlotte County commissioners to accommodate the deal. The complaint says the plan amounts to urban sprawl and its infrastructure demands will cost taxpayers millions.

Ernie Cox, Kitson's land use attorney, said that a best-case scenario would see a decision on the challenge in September. That means the closing with the state, scheduled for late July, will be delayed.

Kitson says those concerns have been discussed at great length, and all levels of government have signed off. Bush said that if the deal falls through so does the hope of preserving Babcock.

"There is no alternative in conservation," he said.