One of the latest such battles in suburban Palm Bach County hasapparently been won by a builder. G.L. Homes of Fort Lauderdale hasjust outbid a government agency to buy a 440-acre farm west of thiscity for a new residential tract. The county had hoped to add thesite to its 21,000-acre so-called Agricultural Reserve where littleor no development is allowed.

In the last two months, the county has purchased 967 acres ofsuch land for $35 million ($36,194 per acre). But builders arereported to be plunking down as much as $77,000 an acre. Localvoters have approved spending money to buy up more open land andkeep it that way, but the county fears that it will deplete itscurrent $100-million war chest too quickly if it goes toe-to-toewith the private sector in bidding for the most desirableconstruction sites.

The only other hope the anti-growth people and theirenvironmentalist allies have in slowing, if not stopping, thearea's rapid expansion is planning and zoning board action. But onthis front, more builders seem to be finding a way to get theirplans approved.