Conservation Groups Call for
Florida Sustainable Communities Act
March 16, 2009
Just three weeks into Florida’s 2009 Legislative Session, a series of sweeping bills have been introduced to bring radical change to this state’s growth management process. Some would dismantle or abolish the Florida Department of Community Affairs, while others would eliminate impact fees, reduce state oversight, change concurrency requirements, expedite permit and plan amendment approvals, and make other changes under the guise of stimulating the economy. (Click here for a list of growth management legislation as of March 16, 2009).
“Instead of tossing growth management out, we should be using it far more effectively to remedy some of the many problems that have led Florida to its current downfall,” explains 1000 Friends President Charles Pattison. 1000 Friends and other groups are instead calling for creation of a Florida Sustainable Communities Act. “While some provisions could be adopted this year, we think the bulk of it needs thoughtful and careful deliberation to bring it to fruition during the 2010 session,” says Pattison.
He notes that Florida’s current economic woes are in part the result of too much sprawling development in the wrong places. “If we promote sustainable, smart growth, we can save the taxpayers dollars, stimulate meaningful and sustainable economic growth, address climate change, and improve the quality of life for Floridians,” Pattison continues.
“Now more than ever, we need a strong and effective Department of Community Affairs and good local planning,” notes Lester Abberger, Legislative Representative for the American Planning Association, Florida Chapter. “Just as good businesses prepare and implement plans to ensure their long-term success, so too should our state and local communities.”
Eric Draper, Deputy Director of Audubon of Florida, explains, “Growth management was and is a response to the loss of the environmental resources that make Florida special.” He continues, “We now have a mature set of rules that limit the impact of out of control growth on our coasts, water and open spaces. Rules and laws are essential to our quality of life.”
“Numerous studies have indicated that having a high quality of life is one of the best economic development tools a community can have,” says 1000 Friends’ Pattison. “I have yet to see a study that indicates that people like to spend hours in their cars driving on overcrowded roads from their homes to work, shops, and schools,” Pattison continues. “If Florida is serious about long-term economic recovery, it must create livable communities and protect those very natural resources that attract new residents, businesses, and visitors to our state.”
“In this era of economic uncertainty, we need to be making smarter choices on how we spend taxpayer dollars,” says Manley Fuller, President of the Florida Wildlife Federation. “Should taxpayers really be subsidizing roads, schools, and sewer systems that sprawl into and destroy Florida’s rural lands and natural habitats, or should the focus instead be on saving taxpayer dollars and supporting less costly development in existing communities?”
The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Legislative Policy and Strategies, Janet Bowman, explains that smarter growth patterns can also help reduce Florida’s carbon footprint. “Florida can be a national leader in efforts to address climate change if it develops more compact, multi-modal communities and better protects its rural lands from sprawling development,” Bowman says.
Pattison notes that, according to 1000 Friends, the jury is still out on SB 360. “While 1000 Friends supports many of the concepts underlying SB 360, the devil is in the details,” he explains. The idea of encouraging infill development to protect our rural lands is sound, he notes. Unfortunately, the bill defines “dense urban areas” as 1000 people per square mile, which equates to less than one house per acre. “Unless this provision is changed to something more realistic, it will serve to lessen meaningful state oversight.”
Over the past few months, 1000 Friends of Florida has worked with some of this state’s leading conservation and planning organizations to identify how smart growth and sustainable development are key to a sound future for all Floridians. “In light of the events of the past few weeks, there is no better time than now to release these,” notes 1000 Friends’ Pattison.
1000 Friends partnered with the American Planning Association, Florida Chapter, Audubon of Florida, Florida Wildlife Federation, and The Trust for Public Land to develop Smart Growth for Florida’s Future which contains calls for creation of the Florida Sustainable Communities Act. It includes smart growth recommendations for transportation, rural lands, new communities, community design, state land planning, and sustainable development. “We are not calling for a complete overhaul of growth management this session,” explains Pattison. “Instead, we offer these recommendations to provide guidance for thoughtful and informed future action.”
Under the proposed Florida Sustainable Communities Act, any new development or redevelopment in Florida should meet the highest standards in terms of energy efficiency. They should be required to keep greenhouse gas emissions to 1990s level, be certified to be drought tolerant, be LEED certified, and meet other such standards. They should be compact, with a mixture of shops, homes, offices, recreation, and community services. Homes should be affordable to those with a wide range of incomes, and transportation alternatives should be available to all ages and incomes. New communities and infill development should be transit-oriented and walkable in design. They should incorporate sensitive natural areas and significant historic resources. Such growth and development should pay for itself. In return, new development meeting these criteria should be eligible for a shorter, streamlined review process and should be priorities for state funding.
In its second report being released today, Why Florida Needs Smart Growth, 1000 Friends compiled a series of essays by developers, environmentalists, elected officials, planners and economists on how smart growth – and growth management – can be part of the solution to Florida’s current economic crisis.
1000 Friends also partnered with numerous statewide organizations to send a letter to Representative Dorothy Hukill, Chair, House Military and Local Affairs Committee, expressing strong concerns about the proposal to transfer planning and other programs at DCA to the Department of State. The groups also sent a companion letter to Governor Crist, Senate President Atwater, and House Speaker Cretul, regarding the importance of maintaining a strong and effective growth management program for Florida.
“Now more than ever, Florida needs effective growth management and a strong Department of Community Affairs,” says Pattison. “We encourage citizens across Florida to contact their legislators and let them know they will not stand for the dismantling of DCA and the destruction of growth management in Florida.” Pattison concludes, “We need strong, decisive and visionary leadership, not just a return to the status quo.” Established in 1986, 1000 Friends is Florida’s statewide, non-profit growth management watchdog.
