1000 Friends' 2000 Growth Management Poll

Floridians Say, "Don't Weaken Growth Management" (Foresight, Summer 2000)

When some legislators during the 2000 legislative session contended that there was widespread public dissatisfaction with growth management, our ears perked up. When they went on to say that, therefore, the growth management process should be weakened to make it easier to develop in this state, our instincts told us that this was not the case. However, at 1000 Friends, we knew that "our instincts" would not carry much weight before a legislature bent on dramatic change. To get the true picture, 1000 Friends commissioned a professional statewide poll to find out what Floridians really thought. We found that our instincts were correct, as on a number of different fronts Floridians expressed their opposition to making it easier to pave over the Sunshine State.

Of the survey respondents:

• 80 percent were strongly or somewhat opposed to making it harder for citizens to challenge new development.
• 76 percent strongly or somewhat supported establishing a study commission to evaluate growth management and bring back changes next year, rather than making quick changes this year.
• 65 percent were strongly or somewhat opposed to making it easier for developers to build new projects in Florida.
• 60 percent were strongly or somewhat opposed to weakening local government's authority to pass laws to protect the public from agricultural and timber operations already in operation.

Perhaps most disturbing, the survey indicated that 60 percent of Floridians were totally unaware that the legislature was talking about changing Florida's growth management laws. Another 30 percent had heard only a little about it. Thus, nine out of ten Floridians did not fully understand what was, or may be, happening in the legislature.

More than 70 percent of respondents indicated that they would be inclined to vote against legislators who played a role in relaxing growth management and environmental laws in Florida. Not surprising, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents were almost equal in their opposition to weakening growth management, and women were more inclined than men to oppose such changes.

The longer the respondents had lived in Florida, the stronger their opposition to weakening growth management. Registered voters were more likely to oppose weakening the process, as were those age 40 and older. Native Americans and whites were the most likely and Asians least likely to oppose weakening growth management. Interestingly, level of income did not appear to impact views on growth management.

1000 Friends quickly shared these results with the press and the legislature. Over the coming year we will continue to use this information in our ongoing effort to promote reasonable refinement to Florida's Growth Management Act. Newspaper coverage of growth management and related issues was outstanding in most parts of the state during this past session. Still, 90 percent of Floridians had little or no awareness of the proposed changes. This indicates to us that over the coming year, it is essential that we explore other avenues and develop other mechanisms to reach the general public on this critical issue.

The survey was conducted of 439 adult Floridians who were year-round residents and at least 18 years old. The margin of error was 5 percent with a 95 percent level of confidence. Interviewing was conducted April 21-25, 2000, using Random Digit Dialing. Assistance on question wording and data analysis was provided as a public service by Dr. Lance deHaven-Smith of Florida State University. The poll was conducted by Cherry Communications Company in Tallahassee.

Due to time and funding constraints, this poll was limited in the number of questions asked. In the coming months, 1000 Friends hopes to collaborate with other supporters of effective growth management to conduct a more in-depth poll of attitudes on this vital issue.