A Watchdog Group Is Formed

We (and a whole lot of others who live here) saw our island as representative of relatively undiscovered pristine beauty and we wanted to keep it that way. Others saw it merely as a way to make an easy buck. When they see "undiscovered pristine beauty" an equation immediately pops up: housing developments + shopping centers = $. Clear cut a hill so you get a water view from most everywhere, throw up mediocre houses and sell them for twice what they're worth and in a few months you've got yourself a fortune! Pretty simple. No rocket science there. So who cares if runoff causes landslides and damage to neighbors' property! It's what property rights are all about! 

I happen to be a believer in property rights, but along with those rights come an individual responsibility not to rape the land, and responsibility is a word some have never heard or think doesn't apply to them. These people are everywhere, but, naively, we had higher expectations for this island when we moved here.  

The county seems to be erratic and ineffective much of the time in enforcing their own rules, so the result finally was that a watchdog group was formed to put pressure on the county to adhere to their own building codes and zoning laws. The group is a thorn in everyone's sides--the county's as well as the violators--but I, for one, don't feel completely helpless when I know, as a cohesive group, we are no longer compelled to just sit and watch as violation after violation make a mockery out of orderly growth.

We are making a difference!