In defense of developers

It was certainly a cringe moment recently when former Sarasota County Sheriff Tom Knight, who is running for the District 3 Sarasota County Commission seat, made this comment about the region’s most prominent developers:

“They have a stranglehold on our county. They are as bad as the gangs I dealt with as sheriff.”

Oh dear. Really? C’mon, Tom. Gang members?

Unfortunately, that apparently is the sentiment of many people. Well, that’s at least the impression you get. And that is the perception and has been the theme of the current primary election cycle in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

It appears pretty black and white. There are only two types of candidates running in the primary. 

The black hats: the candidates who are referred to derisively as the “bought-and-paid-for-by-developers.”

And the white hats: the candidates who don’t have developers’ contributions and who constantly rag about “greedy developers” causing “over development” and harping that the black hats candidates, if elected, will just do whatever the developers want.

We’ll know in two weeks after the votes are tabulated whether that anti-developer sentiment is the majority or minority. But we’re going to pray — not hope; hope is not a strategy — the majority voting in the primary thinks rationally; thinks beyond the campaign rhetoric; and rejects the notion that developers are greedy, evil bad guys.

Sure, there are always bad apples. But if you have ever gotten to know developers or homebuilders, in all likelihood, you know they are like most good people and most good business people: They’re calling is to fill a noble need — to provide comfortable places to live. And like all business people, they have a self-interest in doing what they do well. If they didn’t do their jobs well, they wouldn’t exist. They and their employees would lose it all.

Likewise, it is in their interest to make the communities in which they build (and live themselves) good places to live. They don’t want to live in a crummy place. They don’t want their names associated with lousy products.

But, of course, the argument goes, they’re building too many houses and apartments! They’re the cause of over-development, crowded roadways and lack of infrastructure! It’s all their fault!

When we shared those charges with Pat Neal, CEO/owner of Neal Communities, the region’s largest home-grown homebuilder, he said: “What we do is serve the market for people who want to be in this wonderful state.”

Adds Medallion Home owner Carlos Beruff, viewed by many as Enemy No. 1 in Manatee: “We didn’t create the fact people keep wanting to move here. Maybe remind everyone they live in a house that one of us probably built for them.”

It’s not the homebuilders; population growth — over which developers have no control — is driving the so-called “over development.” Neal told us 57% of his customers do not have a Florida address when they make their first purchase; 22% are from elsewhere in Florida.

What’s more, when you’re inclined to huff nasty expletives at developers, flip the coin. Think about what life would be if developers didn’t develop.

“The alternative to developers is for individual homeowners to hire contractors to build their homes. But one-off homes provide no amenities like sidewalks, parks, roads, bike trails, etc.,” says Adrian Moore, a resident of Sarasota and vice president of the Reason Foundation.

“There simply is no way to build significant apartment buildings or condo complexes without developers,” Moore adds. “The economies of scale of building housing in large developments means the cost per home is much cheaper than one-off housing construction. If you want lower cost housing, you are only going to get it with developers.”

Charge No. 2 against developers — and the charge that seems most volatile during election season: Developers buy politicians.

Yes, they contribute hundreds of thousands to city and county commissioner and state legislative campaigns. Asked to respond to this, Neal sent a memo, and in big bold letters the conclusion to his explanation was: It’s “a matter of survival.”

“I think real estate developers are the only people whose lives really, really live and die on what the County Commission does,” Neal says. “The commission is in charge of land use and county policy and culture.”

We have noted this before. Local commissioners and state lawmakers have extraordinary power over individuals’ properties. Every time they make a decision on a property, they are changing the cost for the individual who may want to sell his property; for the developer and homebuilder; and for the consumer. 

Says Beruff: “I have spent my adult life supporting people who think like I do. We won’t agree 100% of the time, but if eight out of 10 times we’re on the same page, why shouldn’t I support those people?”