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As shown on FAPA's Legislative Web
Page, there are two major Growth Management
Bills moving rapidly in the House
and Senate: Senate
Bill 360 and House
Bill 1865. HB 1865 was heard on second reading in
the House this week and several amendments were adopted.
It is scheduled Monday for 3rd and final reading. SB 360
passed the Senate Ways and Means Committee as a
third committee substitute and is on its way to the Senate
Floor.
These lengthy, substantive and
transformational bills, each over 100 pages, address similar
growth management issues, but in many ways, not surprisingly,
are very different. For instance, SB 360 provides
incentives for local governments to conduct visioning
exercises and adopt urban service boundaries. By doing
so, they are then authorized to levy local option taxes by
majority vote rather than by a citizen referendum. The
bill also limits the ability of citizens to challenge certain
amendments; requires a stringent (hard) "pay-and-go" method of
concurrency; and exempts proposed development within an urban
service boundary or a Rural Land Stewardship Area from the DRI
program. HB 1865 does not provide incentives for
establishing urban service boundaries or the authorization to
levy local taxes to fund infrastructure. It does exclude
development within Rural Land Stewardship Areas from the DRI
process and includes different concurrency provisions.
We encourage you to click on the bill numbers or go to http://www.leg.state.fl.us
to review the proposals. Your feedback is important to
us. If agreement cannot be reached between the House and
Senate in the remaining days of the session, it is possible
that a special session on growth management could be called by
the Governor.
With regard to the infrastructure
component of the growth management legislation, the Speaker of
the House and President of the Senate have agreed to allocate
$1.5 billion this year for infrastructure funding and
approximately $750 million annually on a future recurring
basis for roads, schools, and water supply. Local
options for generating revenue continue to differ between the
two growth management bills. The House has indicated
that it will not support allowing a majority vote rather than
a citizen referendum to levy local option taxes. The
April 27, 2005 Mike Vasilinda report, Growth Management Plan
in Doubt, provides a good synopsis of this growth management
debate. It is available at http://www.flanews.com/news3.html.
Other news articles on this topic are listed
below:
House
growth bill may affect local planning
Charter counties
would be affected
By Bruce Ritchie,
Tallahassee Democrat, April 28, 2005
Governor
told to 'watch what he says'
Growth bill frustrates
Senate president
By Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat
Political Editor, Printed in Bradenton Herald, April 28,
2005
Bush
Comment Fires Up Senate Chief
By Garrett Therolf,
Tampa Tribune, April 28, 2005
Senate
leader reproaches Bush for recent remarks
By Lucy
Morgan, Tallahassee Bureau Chief, St. Petersburg Times, April
28, 2005
Growth
doesn't pay, but taxes and fees help
Brian Gleason,
April 27, 2005, Sun Herald
Growth
overhaul showdown set
By Aaron Deslatte,
Tallahassee Bureau, The News-Press, April 27,
2005
Governor's
Growth Bill May Spur Special Session
By Mark Holan,
Tampa Tribune, April 26, 2005
A third significant piece of growth
management legislation, SB
716, Agricultural Economic
Development, also continues to move
forward. Although some of its more onerous effects have
been ameliorated through amendments, FAPA continues to have
concerns that the bill will result in the premature conversion
of agricultural lands, promote urban sprawl, and weaken
Florida's growth management process. As
you may recall, this bill overrides local planning decisions
if agricultural land is surrounded on three sides by property
zoned for residential, commercial or industrial uses and the
land owner seeks a land use change consistent with the
surrounding uses. These "agricultural enclaves" can be
up to four square miles or 2,560 acres. Furthermore,
parcels between 2,560 acres and 5,120 acres are eligible if
the parcel is in active agricultural production and is located
in a county under a declared agricultural quarantine.
We thank Senator Constantine for
filing a good amendment to protect lands that are within or
adjacent to the Everglades Protection Area, the Wekiva Study
and Protection Area or the Florida Keys, Big Cypress, Green
Swamp or Apalachicola Areas of Critical Concern, by excluding
the use of "agricultural enclaves" in these area. This
amendment passed and is part of the Senate Bill. FAPA
fully supports the stated intent of the Agricultural Economic
Development legislation and legitimate aid to small farmers
(according to the US Department of Agriculture, the average
Florida farm is only 236 acres). However,
due to the size of the enclaves proposed in this bill, FAPA's
stated concerns remain. Furthermore, FAPA opposes the
provision that preempts local government decision making
authority with regard to regulating land use. You are
encouraged to contact your Senator and Governor Jeb Bush (jeb.bush@myflorida.com)
to oppose SB 716. The original version of this bill was
vetoed by Governor Bush last year. Associated news
articles are as follows:
Farm
bill encourages sprawl
The state should not make it
harder for local governments to control urban sprawl by making
it easier to rezone farms for development, especially when
nobody knows how much land is affected.
Op-ed, The
News-Press, April 27, 2005
Enclave
Bill Gets Ahead, Has Opposition
By Lloyd Dunkelberger,
Tallahassee Bureau, Lakeland Ledger, April 26,
2005
Lakeland Ledger Tallahassee Bureau
Legislature
struggles with development bills
By Aaron Deslatte,
Tallahassee Bureau, The News-Press, April 26,
2005
Modification
of measure to help farmers develop land may save it
By
Joni James, St. Petersburg Times, April 26, 2005
Bill
may make farms ripe for development
By Angela Hill, The
News-Press, April 12, 2005.
Bill
promotes sprawl
OUR OPINION: STATE SENATE COMMITTEE
SHOULD REJECT SB 716
Miami Herald, April 11, 1005
The Impact Fee
Bills, HB
1173 and SB
2302, for which many FAPA members have expressed their
concern, appear to be stalled. The House Bill was
temporarily postponed by Representative Sorensen, Chair of the
Local Government Council, with no indication that it would be
put back on the agenda. The Senate version has not moved
since April 13. However, it is possible that an attempt
will be made to amend the impact fee language to the growth
management bills. The Florida Home Builders
Association's assessment of the situation is posted to http://www.fhba.com/index.cfm?referer=content.contentItem&ID=357.
The following was printed in today's press:
State
Impact Fee Bills Lose Steam
By Michael D. Bates,
Hernando Today, April 29, 2005
With
regard to Water Supply
Planning, SB
444 seems to be taking the lead. This bill by
Senator Dockery, encourages alternative water supplies,
provides for the implementation of the TMDL program, and
identifies new revenues to fund alternative water supply
development. The bill incorporates the water concurrency
and consistency provisions of the growth management
bills. It also requires that local government
comprehensive plans be consistent with regional water supply
plans based on water availability and that adequate water be
available to serve new development prior to approval of a
building permit. However, amendments heard on
Thursday may have adjusted some of these provisions but we are
still reviewing the bill for those changes. The bill has
now moved to the Senate Floor.
Please remember that these are but as
few of the numerous bills that FAPA is tracking. Again,
please refer to FAPA's bill tracking report referenced at the
beginning of this electronic newsletter for information on
those bills. In addition, FAPA's legislative web page is
kept up to date and now includes links to the growth
management bills as well as position statements recently
adopted by FAPA's Executive Committee on the 2005 Legislative
issues and themes.
Keep your comments and input
coming. They are useful and
appreciated!
--Lester Abberger, FAPA Legislative
Representative
--Sheri Coven, FAPA Executive
Director |
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TEA-21 REAUTHORIZATION AWAITING ACTION
IN THE SENATE
This week, the Senate
Finance Committee is expected to clear its portion of the $284
billion TEA-21 reauthorization bill. The Finance
Committee is one of four committees with jurisdiction over the
legislation. Approval of the funding section of the bill
by the Finance Committee will allow the bill to move to the
full Senate for action. Despite the fact that the current
extension is set to expire on May 31, prospects for
consideration by the full Senate are still uncertain. Majority
Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) remains concerned about attempts to
increase overall funding for the bill. Although the bill
has moved quickly through committee, many Senators in both
parties have indicated a desire to boost funding once the bill
moves to the floor. Sen. Frist does not want to move any
legislation above $284 billion and may delay action in order
to defend against attempts to raise funding. The House
has already passed its version of the legislation. A
conference committee would have to reconcile some significant
differences in structure and policy between the House bill and
any eventual Senate measure. Congressional aides have
indicated that another extension may be
necessary.
(Source: APA's "From
Washington")
TRANSIT SHARE, STORMWATER PROGRAM
AMONG KEY ISSUES IN SENATE
DEBATE
While it is still unknown
what amendments will be offered during the Senate action on
SAFETEA, the funding share for transit and funds for
stormwater-related improvements on the federal aid system will
be part of the Senate debate. Senate proponents of
transit investment are pressing Senate leaders to correct the
funding imbalance between highway and transit programs. When
the SAFETEA legislation was considered by the Environment and
Public Works Committee last month, the funding commitment to
transit programs was reduced from $53.3 billion to $51.6
billion. Since that time, Senators, particularly those on the
Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, have
asked for adjustments to the transit share during Senate
action on the legislation. Joining with the American
Public Transportation Association, STPP and its many partners
have made the transit share a top priority for this renewal,
with many groups urging a higher share for transit programs,
particularly in this period of rising fuel prices and
uncertain gasoline supplies.
The bill's stormwater provisions have
been targeted by state transportation departments and highway
groups, who are urging Senators to strike this small set-aside
of Surface Transportation Program funds. Under the original
amendment that was championed by Senators John Warner (R-VA)
and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) and adopted during action last year
in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, states
would reserve about 1/3 of a penny on each dollar provided in
this bill for state and local projects on existing highways on
the federal aid system, making improvements to modernize
drainage and other facilities to minimize stormwater pollution
impacts.
[Source: Surface Transportation
Policy Project]
SENATOR HARKIN INTRODUCES "SAFE AND
COMPLETE STREETS ACT OF
2005"
Last week, Senator
Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the "Safe and Complete Streets
Act of 2005" (S. 794), legislation that proposes several
changes to strengthen the institutional commitments of U.S.
DOT, state transportation departments and metropolitan
planning organizations to safer walking and bicycling and
raise federal resource commitments to related infrastructure
improvements and research. In addition to key
provisions that promote the adoption of "complete streets"
policies by state transportation departments and MPOs, the
legislation incorporates the Safe Routes to School and the
Non-motorized Pilot programs from the House-passed TEA-21
renewal bill (H.R. 3). S. 794 also directs the U.S.
Transportation Secretary to set goals for walking and
bicycling and focus research dollars to make these choices
safer. The legislation gives states more flexibility to use
current law authority on safety (full federal share) on
qualifying projects that promote the safety of pedestrians and
bicyclists. Senator Harkin is working to incorporate
provisions of S. 794 into the Senate's SAFETEA proposal. For
further information on S. 794, go to - http://thomas.loc.gov/.
[Source: Surface Transportation
Policy Project] |
