Senate passes bill on growth management
TALLAHASSEE (AP) – The sponsor of a growth management law intended to curtail urban sprawl apologized because in the real world it had the opposite result as the Senate on Thursday passed a new measure he filed to fix that mistake.
Only for densely populated areas, Sen. Mike Bennett’s new bill would lift a requirement to have sufficient roads and other transportation facilities in place before development can occur.
To the dismay of Bennett and other growth management advocates, that transportation concurrency provision in the 2005 law encouraged development in outlying and rural areas because roads there are less traveled and cheaper to build than in cities.
“We actually encouraged sprawl,” Bennett told the Senate. “For that I apologize.”
The Bradenton Republican, though, made no concessions to critics who predicted his new bill will have a similar unintended consequence.
It would exempt entire urban service areas from transportation concurrency if they have densities of at least 1,000 people per square mile, but that includes sparsely populated parts of those areas, notably in Miami-Dade County.
The bill also in the densely populated areas eliminates additional state permitting requirements for large projects, known as developments of regional impact, and streamlines other permitting.
The intent is to channel growth into cities including undeveloped sections known as in-fill.
“You will be eliminating a lot of the controls on sprawl,” said Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. “So rather than actually promoting in-fill and promoting smart growth, which I think is the goal of the bill, you’ll actually be doing exactly the opposite in an area like Dade County.”
The Senate passed the bill 32-8 with Gelber among those opposed.
Bennett later said local officials already have the power to solve Gelber’s problem by changing the boundaries of the urban service areas. That, though, will disappoint some of their constituents who want to build in those outlying areas.
“They don’t want to face their developers and builders and property owners,” Bennett said. “They want us to do it for them. I’m not willing to do that.”
The bill next goes to the House, where a similar measure includes a provision to abolish the Department of Community Affairs and transfer its duties, including growth management regulation, to the Department of State.
“I’m not going to do that,” Bennett said. “That’s an absolute nonstarter.”
Charles Pattison of 1000 Friends of Florida, a growth management advocacy group, said such a move would “marginalize the whole growth management process” by putting it in an agency that focuses on such matters as elections, cultural affairs and corporate records.
Bennett said he has told House Speaker Larry Cretul, R-Ocala, the issues should be separated and was optimistic the House eventually will agree to that approach.
Pattison said he shares Gelber’s fears about the Senate bill but that it’s something his organization could live with.
“It’s better than some of the alternatives that have been suggested,” Pattison said.
Arguing for the bill, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said it would remove impediments to development Florida desperately needs to revive it’s sagging economy.
As an example, he said transportation concurrency is holding back plans by Pensacola’s Sacred Heart Hospital to build a new children’s hospital, creating 2,000 jobs.
Existing regulations were drafted when Florida was trying to manage its rapid growth.
“Now,” Gaetz said, “we wish we had some growth to manage.”
Others voting against the bill were Sens. Rudy Garcia, R-Hialeah; Nan Rich, D-Weston; Larcenia Bullard, D-Miami; Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa; Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, Paula Dockery, R-Lakeland, and Ronda Storms, R-Valrico.