You can’t fight progress?

Maybe so.

But you can hold it off for a while

Over the past several decades, varying groups of concerned citizens, just like JFR, have taken up the banner to protect where we live and to try to keep development and the ‘inevitable Western sprawl’ of Palm Beach County at bay.  Has that been a success?  You be the judge.

In the graphic below, we have taken a present-day map of the Jupiter Farms area (seen on the left side of the graphic) and created a juxtaposed image of what the area would look like if no one stepped up to protect our area (seen on the right side of the graphic). The juxtaposed image represents actual projects that were proposed and either stopped, changed, or mitigated because people spoke up.

Without groups like JFR, the Loxahatchee River would not have gotten its “Federal Wild and Scenic” designation. Riverbend would have been an RV Park. The Jupiter Farms Village Shopping Area would have been 150 acres.  The natural areas surrounding Jupiter Farms (Cypress Creek [North and South], Pine Glades), would have all been Planned Unit Developments (gated communities). There would be a power plant in the PBC Park of Commerce.  Also, keep in mind that the original path for I-95 was to have been right through the Indiantown Rd and Jupiter Farms intersection – miles west of where it is now. This list names just a few… the list goes on.

 
  • RISE FC Soccer Complex
  • Park of Commerce Power Plant 
  • 6 lanes –  Indiantown to Pratt Whitney
  • 4 lanes  –  Jupiter Farms Road
  • RV Park in Riverbend
  • Country Club Style Gated Communities (and golf courses) all along the Northside
  • Jupiter Country Club at three times the current density
  • I-95 Interchange at Indiantown Road and Jupiter Farms Road
  • Middle/High School at Reynolds Ranch (50 Buses twice per day, on JF Road)
  • Publix Shopping Development would be 150 Acres (3x the current size)
  • The Loxahatchee River would not have been designated “Wild and Scenic”

“There would be no dirt roads whatsoever. The entire area would have city water and sewer. You can bet that if it weren’t for fighting the good fight, Jupiter Farms would have said goodbye to its livestock rights and AG zoning a long time ago. In fact, we’d look a lot more like South County than we’d ever like to think. Your taxes and assessments would probably be close to double what they are now.

Are we done? No. As Jupiter Farms is a part of unincorporated Palm Beach County, we are a moving target. Preserved lands are only preserved as long as someone says they are preserved.  It takes constant diligence for us to stay on top of proposed projects and to fend off the eye of a county that always seeks to increase its tax base.

This is why JFR does what it does.

Without people volunteering their time, attending meetings, and fighting for Jupiter Farms and our rural agricultural designation, we would have lost our rural character a long time ago.

To see the above maps in greater detail

CLICK HERE and use the slide feature.