Clean water
Today, I am grateful that a small group of citizens in Titusville, Florida managed to fight our own city to force them to give us the right to clean water. Two years ago, we began collecting petitions from Titusville voters that said, we have the legal right to clean water. We got over 4,000 of these signed. Our non-profit, “Speak Up Titusville” turned these in and forced a ballot measure. The voters in Titusville voted over 82% in favor of this amendment last November (2022.)
The City Council of Titusville voted unanimously to sue us in court rather than certify the results of their own election regarding the right to clean water. They lost the first round in court but appealed. They were paying THEIR attorney with OUR TAX Dollars. WE were paying OUR ATTORNEY with our own money. The appeal resulted in a new judge re-opening the case.
A week ago, our Lawyer, the fabulous Richard Grosso, won in front of the new judge and that judge, gave a summary judgement. The City of Titusville has one month to bring the case to the supreme court of Florida for a final ruling. It seems unlikely that the city will succeed.
Why would any city do this? Greed! The greed of developers, realtors and politicians is killing off the manatees, the fish, the birds, and the trees that once made this part of Florida and the Indian River Lagoon one of the most bio-diverse places on this planet. Thousands of manatees have starved to death in the Indian River Lagoon as the sewage dumping from Titusville, in particular, killed off the sea grass that they need to survive.
Thanks to me, my husband and a small group of friends, it looks like we have become the first city in all of Florida to win the right to clean water. My husband, Tom Perez, worked harder than anyone on this project. It remains to be seen if the City of Titusville, its mayor, Dan Diesel and its city manager, Scott Larese, have any other tricks up their sleeve.
There is hope now. We are re-grouping for a renewed initiative that would cover all of the waters of Florida. The forces against us are powerful. Our governor is a dangerous sociopath. But we dare to hope that our efforts will eventually prevail. We must have clean water, air and mature trees for the good of our children; all of the children! We do not own this land; we borrow it from them. If all of the trees and the creatures are destroyed, the land with its hot, hot pavement and ornamental palm trees will be worthless.
Most palm trees are a type of grass. They do not provide shade, they do not filter polluted storm water. The live oaks are being clear-cut here but we fight to save them.
Foridians, come fight with us! People from other cities, join the fight for our children’s heritage; a healthy environment. Once destroyed it will be next to impossible to fix.
The press here is mostly ignoring this lawsuit and our victory. The City Council, the mayor, the city manager do not feel the shame of what they have done. They are applauded and honored here by those who are impressed with their wealth and popularity. Our mayor is a popular football coach who reminds us of it constantly by saying things in meetings like, “It’s time to call the play!”
If you have any way to amplify this fight, please, please do so. We will not stop fighting them. We cannot stop. We must attract younger fighters into this battle. Join us!
Central Florida Nature Tribe