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Orange County District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents the area, says she’s looking into another option of the county taking over jurisdiction of the utility from the state, but those talks are very preliminary.
As many as nine airboats use the State Road 50 county ramp on the St. Johns River. Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents the area, said limiting permits at ramps would put airboat captains out of business.
Based on that recommendation, District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla called on commissioners Tuesday to discuss rescinding the board’s approval of the project. “We have to ask, ‘When is enough enough?’ Help me offer some peace of mind to this community,” Bonilla said to commissioners Tuesday.
Orange County Commissioner Emily Bonilla on Tuesday morning asked the Board of County Commissioners to rescind last year’s vote that approved construction of “The Grow.” Residents told Channel 9 they’re concerned that the proposed development would clog the area’s narrow roads and harm its natural lands and wildlife.
Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who represents eastern Orange, said she backs the idea of enforcing permits. But she opposes bidding and restricting business at ramps countywide because of what she called an “isolated issue” among St. Johns captains. “It’s not fair to the businesses in the rest of the county, that they have to be punished because one business owner wants to create a monopoly on the river,” she said.
Commissioner Emily Bonilla said the judge’s recommended order against the project known as “The Grow” in Lake Pickett labeled the development as “inconsistent” with the county’s regulations.
Bonilla, a former activist against increased development in east Orange, said she was “really excited about the judgment. Finally the people’s voices have been heard. … The next step is my putting this on the agenda for the next meeting. We need to make sure this is set in stone.”
Nearly two dozen elected officials are standing in solidarity with the transgender community after President Donald Trump’s tweets last week announcing a ban on trans people serving in the U.S. military.
“While there is still work to be done, there were some gains made today in the plight to achieve environmental sustainability and overall safety in the County,”
“The issue of the summertime ban was the biggest sticking point, with Commissioner Emily Bonilla asking why the county couldn’t just ban non-commercial users during the summer, especially since only 250 non-commercial users in the entire county had applied for certification anyway.”