Audubon Friends,

Thank you for forwarding me your proposed policy statement on

Restoration DRI.  Frankly, I'm very disappointed that the writer of this

policy did not include the long list of items that the developers have

agreed to do primarily because of the outstanding recommendations of

Charles Lee and other chapter leaders.  Indeed, my involvement in this

matter is a direct result of Charles' recommendation to the developer

and we know that many changes have been made to the Restoration plan

over the course of the last year.  Restoration strives to be a model of

sustainability.  Here are some points that are not mentioned in your

policy statement that are a direct result of recommendations from

Audubon:

1.    Over 66% of the Restoration Project, which is over 3000 acres,

will be protected in permanent open space for habitat protection.  The

monetary value of the lands that are going to be permanently preserved

is $58 million.  The exceeds any other private project in the history of

Volusia County and greatly exceeds any project purchased through Volusia

Forever.  This protection area greatly exceeds the MAP A essential

Environmental Core Overlay recommended by Volusia County. It includes

all habitats identified in the Natural Resources of Regional

Significance map generated by The Nature Conservancy.  We have offered

that Audubon of Florida be the holder of the conservation easement to

insure its protection in perpetuity.

2.    Included in the areas to be protected are a Bald Eagle nesting

area that greatly exceeds what is required by law.  In addition, with

the help of many Audubon volunteers, we have identified Swallow-Tail

Kite nesting areas that will be protected.  Swallow-tail Kites are NOT

listed species but Restoration is willing to dedicate lands to protect

their nesting areas.

3.    We have provided an extensive habitat protection plan and site

mitigation and conservation management plan for review by Audubon and

continue to seek your comments of this extensive conservation management

plan.

4.    At the recommendation of Audubon, Restoration reached out to the

Office of Sustainability at the University of Florida and brought in

their experts to apply new standards of sustainability for this project.

As a result, the Developers have brought in Dr. Pierce Jones who has

recommended a series of actions to make this project the model for

sustainability.  This includes, Florida Green Building Home

Certification Process,  United States Green Building Council Leadership

in Environmental and Energy (LEED) provisions, Florida Water Star, and

Energy Star Programs.  This will result is significantly greater energy

and water conservation than any other project in Volusia County.  The

University of Florida would like for this project to be used as a

laboratory for the ongoing study of low impact development techniques. 

5.    Restoration has filed a proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendment

which establishes a new Sustainable Community District.  These standards

for sustainability are the highest standards ever proposed for a project

in Volusia County. 

6.    As a result of specific recommendations from Audubon and The

Nature Conservancy, all planned golf courses have been eliminated and

the town center will be relocated to near the I-95 interchange.

7.    As was stated in the City Council workshop, the developers will

have an environmental interpretive center and trail system on site and

continue to extend the offer to work with Audubon for it to become an

Audubon Center.

Restoration strives to be a model for sustainability.  As it is

currently proposed, it greatly exceeds all current standards for habitat

protection, water and energy conservation, and environmental design. 

We look forward to continuing our conversation with Audubon staff and

chapter leaders and will continue to listen to your recommendations for

how to make this a better project.  Indeed, we would still like the

opportunity to present these plans to the chapter and have a broader

conversation about these issues.

We sincerely appreciate the amount of time given to this project by

Charles Lee and Karyn Hoffman and Audubon volunteers from several

chapters who have helped us identify important natural resources on the

site.

If you have specific questions or comments or recommendations or would

like more information, please let me know.

Regards,

Clay Henderson