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Redefining 'utopia' in Marion County
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Location: Blogs Now We're Talking |
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| Posted by: Joe Byrnes |
5/16/2007 11:16 PM |
Sometimes I'll come upon a word or expression that suddenly brings together a scattered assortment of old ideas.
This happened to me when I was reading the County Commission meeting agenda online and found the phrase "Utopia of Marion County."
It's just another planned development springing up in Summerfield, a proposed Community Development District where new homeowners will pay a fee for a quality lifestyle. Commissioners voted to skip a workshop on the subdivision, which is planned north of County Road 42 and just east of U.S. 301. The next step is a public hearing to create the CDD.
Utopia is owned by Ecclestone Signature Homes of Marion and involves prominent developer Thad Boyd III. These guys have a strong track record.
But the name they've come up with encapsulates for me so much of what is wrong with how we're treating Marion County - this 1,663 square miles of sand and soil and water, this glimmering jewel of natural beauty and human possibility set in the Earth at 29 degrees north latitude and 82 degrees west longitude.
"Utopia," as you may know, is a philosophical book written nearly 500 years ago by Sir Thomas More - a Renaissance scholar, a chancellor to King Henry VIII of England and, in the end, a Catholic martyr. The island he imagined and the word itself have come to represent an ideal society.
More was a supremely clever man, and, though others have imagined actual utopias, scholars say his name for the island is a Greek pun meaning "good place" and "no place."
Now a developer comes along and labels 950-plus homes on 341 acres as Utopia of Marion County.
It makes me think about the vision - the ideals - that shape our progress.
First, what we're looking for is not a "No Place" built on tropical retirement fantasies or escapist dreams of rolling green pastures with no connection to this county's physical and human realities.
Instead, I believe we should say "yes" to this matter-of-fact place where we live, to the land itself and the well-being of our neighbors.
We've got subdivision after subdivision of sprawling lawns and golf courses ill-suited to Marion County's thirsty soils, plagued by extremes of flood and drought, that feed the dwindling Floridan Aquifer and its freshwater springs.
We should promote xeriscaping with native plants suited to low-water conditions. On Top of the World, one of our largest developments, is advertising Indigo East homes with yards that are 50 percent xeriscaping.
That's a step in the right direction.
Our water use is way out of whack. And last week County Commissioner Jim Payton - after hearing from south Marion residents - said we have no appetite for conservation. Baloney! Payton should shake off the fatalistic attitude and commit himself to programs and policies encouraging water conservation.
Second, we'll never begin to approach an ideal society by hiding from our social woes. We must tackle them head-on through our jobs, our politics and our volunteering. Project Hope - which several charities seek to build for the homeless in Ocala - comes closer to a true vision of Utopia of Marion County than plush lawns and wide-screen TVs.
Finally, there are indeed Marion County utopias to win or lose - in the volunteers building houses for Habitat, in the laughter of healthy children, in the exquisite stillness of Lake Lou at sunset.
We'll find them by how we choose to dream.
Joe Byrnes may be reached at joe@ocala.com or (352) 867-4112.
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