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Dear Friend —
It’s the second week of Florida’s legislative session, and Friends of the Everglades is locked in to stop bad bills. Good progress is being made, as several of the worst bills filed this year have already seen major amendments that strip them of their worst provisions.
Then again, a major bill that would allow for huge developments to be built with no public input seems to be moving — and if it passes, could change the way Florida develops forever.
First the good news: House Bill 479, sponsored by Rep. Randy Maggard, passed the House Natural Resources and Disasters Subcommittee with amendments that effectively neutered the worst aspects of the bill, which had sought to preempt all regulation of water quality, water quantity, wetlands, pollution and other issues to the state, bypassing local governments. That language was stripped out; what remains is a provision prohibiting counties from regulating “adjacent upland activities” beyond a wetland buffer that is a minimum width of 15 feet from the wetland and an average width of 25 feet from the wetland.
So it’s still bad — but nowhere near as bad as it was.
Another bill that was defanged via amendment was Senate Bill 208, “Land Use and Development Regulations” by Sen. Stan McClain; this bill initially forbade local governments from denying development proposals on the basis of “compatibility,” and allowed infill residential development to be administratively approved without public hearing. A strike-all amendment eliminated this language; new language requires local government comprehensive plans and land development regulations to include criteria to assess the compatibility of residential uses within a zoning district and future land use category.
Another McClain bill, however, appears to have a head of steam. Senate Bill 354, “Blue Ribbon Projects,” allows developments of at least 10,000 acres that check the requisite boxes to override existing land-use or zoning designations with no amendments or rezoning needed; and local governments must approve the plans administratively with no opportunity for public input.
This means that massive developments could be constructed right down the street from you — and you’d have no opportunity to have your voice heard.
A “committee substitute” bill for SB 354 without significant changes passed the Community Affairs Committee on Jan. 13 and is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development. The House companion bill, HB 299, will next be heard by the House Commerce Committee.
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