There is some speculation that the question of whether the Sumter County Commission would be willing to take a stand on the Northern Turnpike Extension that could run through portions of the county, the Villages News reports.
The newspaper reported that a number of residents from the Villages and other sections of the county wearing green No Build T-shirts showed up at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting to urge commissioners to take a stand as commissioners in Citrus, Levy and Marion counties have.
So far Sumter County commissioners have refused to take a stand.
Because of the removal of two commissioners from office over criminal charges earlier this year, four of the five seats on the commission will be up for election this year.
The turnpike extension has been a focus of Sierra Club’s No Roads To Ruin campaign because of concerns that the extension will encourage urban sprawl, threaten traditional agricultural lands and conservation lands and has no real justification from a transportation planning standpoint.