In today's post, I would like to document letters we have written to a major developer of housing stock whose proposed development of up to 109 new homes on a sensitive piece of land adjacent to the Rosebud Continuum Sustainability Education and Eco-Science Center can be seen as a litmus test of whether the reality can live up to the rhetoric. So far we have received no response even though the hearing to consider rezoning of the area from A-R (Agricultural Residential) to R1 (dense housing) is in a few days.
The rhetoric is that somehow "our new homes are better for the environment".
(https://www.kbhome.com/tips-and-guides/how-are-our-new-homes-better-for-the-environment)
and the last sustainability report from the company makes a good case that the industry is willing to partner with and learn from the community and environmental and NGO groups and respond to their concerns.
They do have an ESG website as well (Environmental, Social and Governance) at https://investor.kbhome.com/environmental-social-and-governance-esg/overview/default.aspx
that is indexed by topic in the Sustainability Report on page 21, at https://s27.q4cdn.com/984711554/files/doc_downloads/esg/2022/2021_SustainabilityReport_Final_042722_Spread.pdf
These documents contain rhetoric that would seem to bode well for the fate of our community, however the pictures they use of previous developments claimed to be "sustainable" give no confidence in the outcome as they show a rather "cookie-cutter" housing plan with the business as usual exotic monoculture landscaping and no description at all of any attempt to eliminate herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers or other toxins or to maintain native biodiversity.
Of course, we are all afraid that, especially in the case of Florida, which has a reputation for railroading in (or bulldozing in) unsustainable practices, there is more greenwashing than greening going on, and so we are trying to find out just how responsive and responsible and reasonable and visionary KB Homes really intends to be.
Of particular concern to me of course, as a practitioner of zero-waste technologies and wildlife-friendly construction, is whether or not there will be any consideration for cutting edge waste-management techniques (we should say "waste ELIMINATION" techniques and technologies) and biodiversity improvements that we already feature and teach the public about just across the street from the proposed housing development such as Community Biodigester, HomeBiogas and Composting Toilet and Constructed Wetland and Septic Alternatives and Precious Plastics Hubs, green roofs, rain water catchment and permeable paving, that would completely obviate the need for Garbage Pickup and make the community a model for Recycling and Circular Economy and Ecological Restoration/Habitat Improvement Principles.
Here are the letters that we are awaiting response on:
Jacob Atalla VP Sustainability Initiatives jatalla@kbhome.com
Jeffrey T. Mezger Chairman, President & CEO
Jeff Kaminski CFO & EVP jkaminski@kbhome.com
William Hollinger Sr. VP Chief Acct. Officer bhollinger@kbhome.com
Nick Franklin EVP Strategic Operations nfranklin@kbhome.com
Dear Mr. Atalla, Mr. Mezger, Mr. Kaminski, Mr. Hollinger and Mr. Franklin,Our Climate Mitigation and Adaptation class at the Patel College of Global Sustainability has been spending the semester exploring Sustainable Development Initiatives in South Florida from the perspective of rankings in "Drawdown Solutions Implementation" and "Ecological Stewardship commitment".One of the chief documents we have been analyzing in our Perusall Social Annotation Platform (developed by Harvard University's Eric Mazur as a kind of "academic social media") and using to discuss issues with the Pasco County community we work in, has been your well-written and forward-thinking Sustainability Report for 2021l, "Better Homes, Better Communities, Better Future".
We note that in this excellent document, with an inspiring forward by CEO Jeffrey Mezger, there is a stated commitment to "reducing climate change" and "protecting the world we all share", noting that since 1957 KB Homes has been "built on relationships". We were particularly impressed by two paragraphs.
The first:
"Over 15 years ago, we decided to make a customer-driven, industry-first commitment to sustainability paired with affordability. Even then, we believed that sustainability could go far beyond building what many called “green homes.” It could deepen the relationships on which our success has always been based by building innovative homes for our customers and our planet, homes that have healthier indoor air environments and are more efficient, now and into the future. Building welcoming communities that enable people to put down the roots that sustain their social bonds and can help them with generating wealth over time."
The second:"As a leading voice for sustainability in the homebuilding industry, we partner with select national and local environmental and non-governmental organizations, both to learn from perspectives outside our industry and to join together on advocacy and awareness initiatives about important environmental and sustainability issues."I write today because for the past 6 years we have been working with a local non-governmental organization (The Rosebud Continuum Sustainability Education and Eco-Science Center) that sits across from a proposed KB Homes development. Last week we were asked to explore this development as a real-time case study and asked to take a position on the whether the reality can be expected to meet the rhetoric and so we wrote some letters in response to the public call for questions and comments put out by Mr. Beachy of KB Homes asking for a chance to meet or correspond with your sustainability managers before the upcoming rezoning hearing on June 2nd, now just a few days away, which many of our students intend to attend.So far, we have heard nothing, and so I was asked by our students and the community, and NGO if we could contact you directly to start getting clarity on what kind of environmental and climate mitigation measures were being considered for this ecologically sensitive area.I am forwarding you the letter we wrote to Mr. Beachy and the Commissioners in the hope that we can learn about the "mutually beneficial solutions that aim to strengthen communities" you intend for the area surrounding the Rosebud Continuum Sustainability Education Center if the rezoning is approved, and how they might become one of that "number of local nonprofits and community organizations" with whom you partner "to contribute to the long-term social fabric of the areas in which we build."We hope to hear from you!Sincerely,Thomas H. Culhane, Ph.D.
USF faculty request to meet with your sustainability managers regarding development on Hale Road
smbeachy@kbhome.com
USF faculty request to meet with your sustainability managers regarding development on Hale Road
smbeachy@kbhome.com
roakley@pascocountyfl.net
mikemoore@pascocountyfl.net
kstarkey@pascocountyfl.net
cfitzpatrick@pascocountyfl.net
jamariano@pascocountyfl.net
Dear Mr. Beachy and Commissioners Oakley, Moore, Starkey, Fitzpatrick and Mariano,
For the past six years students and faculty from the Patel College of Global Solutions and Sustainability at the University of South Florida have been deeply engaged with the Land O Lakes neighborhood at the junction of Hale Road and Collier Parkway conducting landscape research, habitat restoration and wildlife surveys, and working with Dr. Craig Huegel and colleagues from St. Pete College, on the removal of invasive species and the repatriation of Florida native plants, butterflies and insect-eating bats and birds and other critical wildlife, including the protection of endangered sandhill cranes and gopher tortoise nests. Our students (and I) have scuba-dived the lake and observed the alligators and fish populations. Countless hours of labor and a substantial amount of money has been spent ensuring that the lacustrine environment on Hale Road is no longer threatened by bad practices.
Each semester for the last half-decade a half-dozen graduate students from classes such as "Systems Thinking", "Sustainable Tourism", "Sustainable Entrepreneurship", "Sustainability Policy and Environmental Law", "Concepts and Principles of Sustainability", "Water Resources", "Transportation Engineering", "Navigating the Food, Energy, Water Nexus", "Envisioning Sustainability" and "Climate Mitigation and Adaptation" have come to 22843 Hale Road to help create "The Rosebud Continuum Ecological Science and Sustainability Education Center", a 501C3 corporation run by the Bishop Family on their home property. On this splendid piece of historically valuable land, at the interface of suburban sprawl, rural heritage and wild Florida, these students have worked with Bishop Construction Company and local businesses to co-learn and implement sustainable building practices that meet all 17 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including demonstrations of state-of-the-art environmentally compliant technologies such as roof-mount, pole-mount, ground-mount, and mobile photovoltaic and agrovoltaic systems and water-conserving hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics
Working with regional and international experts they have implemented proof-of-concept agroforestry and no-till farming/gardening systems and innovated a Zero-Waste Backyard Composting and "Precious Plastics" system that eliminates the waste burden that would otherwise be placed on Pasco county. They have conducted workshops for the community and regularly engaged in teacher training about the "circular economy" and local zero-waste practices and they lead classes and tours for middle and high school students from Academy at the Lakes, Land O Lakes High, and several elementary schools in our county. Every Tuesday and Thursday they work with the teachers and students from LyF school for the disabled on gardening and other therapeutic and educational endeavors.
The success of this project at the interface of Hale and Collier has garnered the attention of many news outlets and has gotten the Rosebud Continuum and community featured on ABC Action News, Florida Focus (PBS), Losing Florida, Wildlife Encounters and, most significantly, National Geographic and Cengage Learning who now feature what is happening in the neighborhood in their World History and Social Studies and Science textbooks and series and in numerous videos published by National Geographic. They recently joked with visitors from Hillsborough Commissioners, the Hillsborough NAACP, and the Pasco Sherrif's Department that "we have literally made history here in Pasco county".
22843 Hale Road is now considered a "place of note" and an important "story to watch". PCGS held its graduation party on the premises with attendance by Commissioner Pat Kemp of Hillsborough County, students who are interning with SELF (the Solar Energy Loan Fund) the Patel Family Foundation for Affordable Housing, and Byron DeLear from Ygrene/PACE energy. The goal was to see how the innovative ideas being demonstrated in Pasco can be replicated in other counties in the Tampa area and in South Florida. We are partners with Florida Gulf Coast University looking at 3D modeling of the watershed and simulating the effects of changes to the landscape on the long-term resiliency of the region. Over the years our students have met at Rosebud with representatives from African governments and Haitian University Chancellors to share knowledge critical for sustainable development and hurricane resiliency. Recently the NAACP sent representatives to learn from what is happening at Rosebud so that our partnership with visionary construction companies and institutions can be replicated in Hillsborough to create a more resilient Florida, which is one of our Governor's goals.
I myself have been asked over these years to present on what is happening in Pasco County at conferences and symposia in Tampa, St. Pete, Orlando, at the Yale Club at the Sarasota Yacht Club, at the Climate Symposium at USF Sarasota, and numerous times at the National Geographic Explorers Symposium in Washington DC. This June Indigenous Elders and Families from First Nations groups all over the United States will come to Rosebud Continuum to celebrate their annual "World Peace and Prayer Day" conducted each year in a different sacred location in the world by hereditary chief Arvol Looking Horse, who chose this "sacred location" because of the Pasco County's significance in native American history. This August the Harvard University Rockefeller Fellowship committee and 45 alumni from this auspicious 75 year-old international cultural exchange fellowship tradition will hold their annual retreat at Rosebud to experience the beauty, tranquility, and exciting forward-thinking environmental best practices that Pasco's uniquely rewilded and technologically advanced sustainability location has to offer.
Starting this fall semester, several graduate students who work with the DEP, with sustainable businesses and government agencies, will be working on ACE/Capstone Research and Internship Projects to analyze the trajectory of Pasco County's development plans, starting with the lands surrounding the Rosebud Continuum.
I write to you in such detail because I and the other faculty at USF who have been following the student's work over the past half-decade of intense investment with the property have been asked to take a position on the development you have proposed for the land directly across from and adjacent to Rosebud.
The fate of the environments surrounding the intersection of Hale and Collier is now considered a high-profile interdisciplinary case-study that will span multiple classes at our college and we will be responsible for guiding students to the right resources for analysis so that they can publish their results and present on them to a plethora of entities.
As professionals in sustainable development with an obligation to teach best practices, we are reluctant to make any formal statements until we better understand what is being planned and how coherent those plans are with the broader goals we teach at the University.
I would be most obliged if you could put us in touch with your corporate sustainability manager and staff, and with relevant policy-makers who understand environmental and social justice issues and can guide our students in understanding how the proposed re-zoning and the intended housing project will affect the long term prospects for Pasco County's ecological, economic and social resiliency, health and sustainability.
Specifically, our research teams are interested in the following questions:
From students in the water concentration and our Nexus classes who will be doing robotic environmental sensing and taking water samples throughout the year:
1) Given that the story given to the media and the public was that the original owner of the land, who owned horses, was passionate about wildlife and rural life and had demanded of the previous purchases of her property (including the Bishops and neighbors on the lake) that "no motorized vehicles ever be placed in the water" to avoid any possible contamination of the lake, how will KB Homes ensure that no discharges of motor oil, gasoline, or diesel fuels ever contaminate the lake?
2) How are the original owner's wishes regarding water purity, wildlife, trees and landscape being incorporate into the current plan, if at all? What would be the rationale offered for not honoring her wishes?
3) How does KB Homes and the County propose to keep pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers and automobile/parking garage pollution from contaminating the lake and watershed? What environmental mediation measures are being considered for the proposed development?
4) Given that Rosebud has regular visitors from the neighborhood who fish in the lake to supplement their diets and could be harmed by runoff or discharge, and that there will be regular monitoring of the watershed's purity, who bears responsibility for pollution should proposed mitigation procedures fail or the properties be found to be out of compliance?
From students in the Sustainable Development Goals and Tourism concentration (who are making annotated Matterport scans of the area and using photogrammetry and drone videography to document landscape changes and impacts):
1) What steps are being taken to ensure that no indigenous trees or vegetation over 5 cm dbh are felled or damaged during the development?
2) How is the density and layout of dwellings being planned so as to avoid harming trees and, most importantly, root systems and rhizosphere communication?
3) How will existing wildlife trails, nests/dwellings, breeding and shelter areas be maintained or compensated for if intentionally or inadvertently damaged?
4) What costs/fines/penalties are imposed and what remediation measures will be taken should mistakes be made regarding habitat disruption and tree removal?
From students in Sustainable Transportation and Policy (who are creating ArcGIS maps and data layers for the area)
1) What considerations have been taken to ensure the huge increase in vehicle parking surfaces does not adversely affect stormwater runoff, flooding, drainage, and groundwater recharge?
2)Will there be permeable pavement? Berms and swales? Backyard wetlands and reed beds?
3) Given that Hale Road has been determined by both the community and independent engineers and visitors from law enforcement after numerous accidents to be substandard, how will the dramatic increase in vehicular traffic be dealt with to ensure that the hundreds of schoolchildren and visitors and disabled adults and community members who normally come to Rosebud for school field trips and volunteer opportunities, fishing, row boating, citizen science and gardening and community meetings are not placed at risk?
4) What safety accommodations for the numerous visitors and children who arrive by bicycle will be made given that there is currently neither a sidewalk nor bike lane on Hale Road?
Our students have numerous other questions they would like to pose as they begin their analyses, and I'm sure the list will only grow, which is why we would be grateful to be connected with your sustainability managers and environmental planning professionals.
I and other members of our faculty hope to join our students and the community at the June 2nd hearing and look forward to meeting you there and learning more about your plans in the hopes that we can in turn provide valuable ideas from our base of expertise that might help Pasco County and KB homes best reflect the values that can make our region a beacon for residents and visitors seeking to live and demonstrate "the good life", a life that, with a proper partnership between builders, planners, community members, and educators, can meet the challenges now posed by the legacy of so many poor practices in the past which we know can be improved.
Sincerely,
T.H. Culhane, Ph.D.
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