During the waning hours of the legislative session SB 360 was amended in such a way as to significantly undermine growth management by allowing land use changes to escape review by the Department of Community Affairs. Please contact Governor Charlie Crist and urge him to veto this bad bill. He may make the decision on this legislation very quickly, so act today.
BACKGROUND ON SB 360: Amendments attached to SB 360 at the last minute allow a city or county to bypass the normal comprehensive plan amendment process and oversight by the state’s Department of Community Affairs. By establishing an “urban service area” a local government can avoid state review of large scale development projects under the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) process. Review by state planners often stops environmentally destructive projects. Under the new so-called “alternative state review” a decision by a city or county would only receive cursory review by the Department of Community Affairs. Once an “urban service area” is established, the state’s DRI process would cease to apply. This would allow large scale residential, commercial and industrial developments to escape state scrutiny.
This legislation was originally designed to encourage growth in existing “dense urban areas” by easing development restrictions in urban settings. Unfortunately, the House added bad last minute amendments that created a giant loophole in state planning laws that will drastically reduce state growth management safeguards perhaps even in rural areas.
