Nimbys, Caves & Bananas

Every so often, a community meeting fills up so quickly that late arrivals end up lining the walls or standing in the hallway. You can feel the tension before anyone even speaks and the topic is almost always the same. Something new is being proposed nearby.

A subdivision. A storage facility. A Costco. A commerce park.

And the list of fears and objections is always the same.

Traffic. Noise. Flooding. Water use. Loss of habitat. Pollution. Declining property values. “This will ruin the character of our community.” “This is not why we moved here.”

There’s a name for this phenomenon. Actually, several. NIMBY. Not In My Back Yard. CAVE. Citizens Against Virtually Everything. BANANA. Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone.

The acronyms are amusing because they contain a grain of truth.

What makes it especially complicated in Florida, and in Martin County in particular, is that many of the people raising these concerns moved here themselves. Sometimes recently. They came for our beautiful waterways, the open space, the slower pace and the belief that Martin County is different.

Then, once settled, the instinct and desire is often to quietly close the gate behind them.

It’s understandable. When you finally find your little price of paradise, you want to preserve it. Change feels risky. Uncertainty feels threatening. But communities aren’t static. People keep arriving. Children grow up and need homes of their own. Businesses follow rooftops. Services follow people. Even the most carefully managed counties cannot freeze themselves in time. Nor should they.

There’s also a reality that rarely gets airtime in community meetings where emotions run high. Property rights still exist. If a landowner proposes something that complies with zoning, meets regulations, and checks the legal boxes, local government often cannot simply deny it because neighbors dislike it.

So the more productive question isn’t “How do we stop this project?” but “How do we shape and improve this project?”

In my professional life, I’ve seen what happens on both sides of that equation. I’ve watched neighbors arrive worried and leave cautiously reassured once their questions were answered. I’ve also seen how quickly misinformation spreads when people feel shut out or surprised.

When conversations happen early and directly, projects often change in meaningful ways. Access points shift. Buffers grow thicker. Lighting becomes less intrusive. Environmental protections are strengthened. More public benefits are added. None of those improvements appear by accident. They come from engagement.

When the first interaction is a social media pile-on or a room full of people shouting at strangers, those opportunities shrink.

Most neighbors are not unreasonable. They are worried. They fear being ignored or blindsided. And to be fair, not every proposal deserves automatic trust. Skepticism has its place. But assuming the worst from the start rarely produces the best outcome.

Another uncomfortable truth is that many of the dire predictions never materialize. Property values don’t decline. Communities don’t suddenly become unlivable. Life goes on, often with new amenities, jobs, or services that residents end up using.

None of this means every project is perfect or that growth should happen with no input from residents. But it does mean that blanket opposition can be as unhelpful as blind approval.

So here’s a gentle question for all of us:

Have you ever been a NIMBY, a CAVE, or a BANANA, even just a little?

Have you worried about what something new might mean for your street, your commute, your view, your peace and quiet?

Of course you have. We all have. Caring about where you live is not the problem. It’s a sign of pride and investment.

The opportunity is to channel that concern into engagement rather than rigid opposition. Show up early. Ask questions. Listen. Offer constructive ideas. Treat the people across the table as neighbors, not adversaries. Because in many cases, they are.

Growth is not going away. But thoughtful growth, shaped by informed citizens, can look very different from growth driven by fear and misinformation.

Paradise does not stay paradise by accident. It stays that way when the people who love it most stay involved, stay civil, and stay open to the possibility that someone else might be looking for their own piece of it too.

Do you have a NIMBY story you’d like to share with me? Send me an email at stacy@fireflyforyou.com.