New chairman renews fight against massive industrial development

My name is Raphael Perrino, and I am pleased and honored to serve as your TV NEXT Steering Committee Chairman.

The task ahead is a challenge, but not insurmountable. I am confident that with eager, dedicated and determined citizen volunteers, we can defeat the ill-advised and objectionable proposal put forward by Greenleaf Development to build two 72-foot-tall open-rack boat storage towers next to the Tierra Verde bridge.

I hold a master’s degree in public administration and a doctorate in education. As a civic activist in Arlington, VA, I led an effort to revitalize South Arlington. In that capacity, I lobbied local elected officials, businesses, developers and county staff to seek funding for an area adjacent to the Pentagon. The process worked there. It was done in a cooperative, constructive, ethical manner. I also served as chief of staff for an elected official in Fairfax County. This taught me the true inner workings of local government.

I am going to use every ounce of my knowledge, experience and skills to defeat this effort to besmirch our island paradise. We cannot permit this developer to run roughshod over more than 4,000 homeowners.

This fight is far from over, I assure you. We have a plan to defeat this absurd proposal. Since becoming chairman, I have quickly established a strong committee structure that delegates various tasks to five committees – Land Use Advisory/Legal Action, Political Action, Communications, Environmental Stewardship, and Fundraising.

If you have expertise in any of these areas and would like to serve on any of the committees noted above, please call me at 703-307-5309 or email astronomer49@yahoo.com.

As chairman, I will ensure efficiency, effectiveness, orderliness, structure and results. Nothing gets the attention of elected officials more than an organized, unified, determined, and informed group of citizens.

We must remember that developers seek to create citizen fatigue. We lost the initial vote at the Development Review Commission (DRC) by a narrow 4-3 margin. The vote was close; and we have strengths and opportunities yet to use. 

We have retained the services of a highly regarded land use law firm here in St. Petersburg and we will have more information for you soon regarding our attorney’s recommendations.

We understand residents are discouraged and fear our battle is over. This is not true. We cannot allow citizen fatigue to set in! If that happens, then Greenleaf has indeed won the battle.

This is both a legal and a political process. Your Steering Committee is taking action on both fronts.

Qualified law firms are not inexpensive, as you well know. We need your financial support. Please consider giving as much as you can afford.

Raphael G. Perrino, PhD, MPA

To donate you can:

- Write a check to Tierra Verde Next and mail it to TV Next, 979 Landmark Circle S., Tierra Verde, FL 33715

- Use Zelle to transfer a donation to TierraVerdeNext@gmail.com. The account owner is our treasurer, Paul Lee.

- Send money to our GoFundMe account here: https://gofund.me/eb4611566

- Donate directly through our website using credit card, PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay here: https://www.tierraverdenext.org/donate