TALLAHASSEE -- Florida legislators hit environmental advocates with a one-two punch in the final two days of the session, wiping out 30 years of growth-management laws and passing measures to restrict the public from challenging controversial development projects in the name of economic development.
“This will create jobs for Florida and this will help us turn Florida in the right direction,’’ said Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, as the Senate debated the growth-management bill in the waning hours of the session Friday.
The two bills were pushed through by Republican leaders, who used their majority to squelch Democratic attempts to weaken the bills.
The sweeping growth-management bill, HB 7203, was included in the state’s $68 billion budget bill, which was approved by the House and Senate late Friday night.
The bill dismantles the Department of Community Affairs and repeals the 1985 landmark law that requires developers to take into consideration the impact of their projects on the community and the environment. Its repeal was the priority of House Speaker Dean Cannon as well as Gov. Rick Scott, who campaigned on the promise of reducing regulations he believes hamper development in Florida.
The legislation shifts oversight of development from the state to local governments while giving the state the final say over development plans that affect regions or sensitive land considered “areas of critical state concern.”
“What we really want the state of Florida to do is provide assistance when they ask, not stuff it down their throats,’’ said Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, sponsor of the Senate bill.
But environmentalists warn that the changes will dramatically change the future of Florida’s land and water resources and harm quality of life.
“More acres of wetlands will be drained and more farmland lost while we neglect to provide adequate funding for infrastructure in our cities,’’ warned Janet Bowman of the Nature Conservancy. “Is this the Florida we want to leave our children?”
While the measure gives local governments added flexibility at imposing requirements on developers, it also restricts how far they can go. The bill bans cities and counties form imposing any impact fees for nonresidential development for two years and automatically extends all permits for large-scale developments for seven years.
Environmentalists tried and failed to soften the impact of the legislation, warning that it could open the door to unfettered growth in the name of economic development.
“People are going to wake up in a couple of years and see the results of this growth management and say ‘What can we do to keep our countryside from being chewed up by development,’ ’’ said Eric Draper of Audubon of Florida. “And the answer will be nothing.’’
The original growth-management laws were enacted to curb urban sprawl that burdened roads, utilities and water supplies. But legislators said that over the years the laws became too complicated and the layers of rules too deep.
The changes remove the requirement that schools, parks and roads be built along with the development that uses them, but it allows local governments to decide whether they want to impose similar requirements.
The bill was such a priority that House and Senate leaders took the unusual move of tucking the House’s growth-management bill into a must-pass budget document. The Senate approved it 31-8, while the House voted it 87-31.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/06/2205303/passage-of-growth-management-bill.html#ixzz1Ld5UgZye
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