10 Principles for Smarter Growth in Florida

Adopted by 1000 Friends of Florida's Board of Directors, December 8, 1999

Established in 1986, 1000 Friends of Florida serves as the nonprofit watchdog over this state's growth management process. Its bipartisan board of directors agrees that Florida's economic vitality and quality of life is dependent on how wisely we plan for growth and development. 1000 Friends supports responsible planning to protect natural areas and historic resources, fight urban sprawl, promote sensible development patterns, and provide affordable housing. Above all, 1000 Friends strives to give citizens the tools to keep Florida's communities livable. As Florida's leaders debate changing the 1985 Growth Management Act, 1000 Friends hopes that the following 10 Principles for Smarter Growth in Florida will play an integral role in the dialog.

1. Better implement the laws that are already on the books. While there is certainly room to refine Florida's Growth Management Act, attention should also be paid to encouraging better implementation of the existing laws. For example, the Florida Department of Community Affairs has approved more than 90 percent of all comprehensive plan amendments ever requested. A comprehensive evaluation of how the growth management act has actually been implemented to date at the state, regional and local levels is in order before we jump to the conclusion that the law itself is irretrievably broken.

2. Maintain reasonable state oversight of local planning. Florida cannot afford to return to the days of 476 local governments individually deciding the collective future of our state. That is what got us into so much trouble in the first place. Additionally, the state should provide the financial and technical resources to local government to do better and more innovative planning, and help with the costs of infrastructure to support quality planning.

3. Thoughtfully evaluate Florida's Growth Management Act to refine and improve it. This state's approach to planning for growth traditionally has been reevaluated every decade or so. It is certainly appropriate to once again evaluate the Act. However, this should be a thoughtful and deliberative process that includes meaningful input from concerned citizens, local governments, development interests, and others who are concerned about Florida's future. 1000 Friends strongly opposes a rushed process dominated by special interest groups. 1000 Friends recommends that the Governor establish a broad-based and representative panel to reach consensus over the coming year on how to further refine Florida's growth management system.

4. Improve the ability of citizens to help enforce their local comprehensive plans. Increased public participation is essential so that accountability at the local level becomes a reality. Current conflicts between residents, developers and local governments are often thrown into lengthy and costly court proceedings. Shift the resolution of land use conflicts from the local circuit court to special administrative law courts. This will offer quicker, more timely and efficient answers to citizen-initiated appeals.

5. Think regionally. Local decisions often have regional implications. We need to pay better attention to those decisions that cross political boundaries such as school siting, annexations, affordable housing, and transportation decisions. We need to help local governments work more cooperatively with neighboring municipal and county governments to develop solutions that promote the common good and protect regional environmental linkages. We need to provide regional planning councils with more authority to compel better intergovernmental coordination. We should also promote better coordination between regional planning councils, water management districts, and regional transportation office. We must ensure that regional offices have the professional expertise needed in all substantive areas, including affordable housing. We should also substantially revise, if not repeal, the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) program in favor of enforceable sector plans, providing affordable housing needs continue to be addressed. Sector planning offers a better approach to design large scale development consistent with local, regional, and state concerns.

6. Take a hard line on sprawl. Sprawling development causes higher taxes, traffic congestion, and disinvestment in established communities. Taxpayers can no longer afford to subsidize or tolerate this expensive and inefficient form of development. We need to develop tighter and more realistic urban service areas for our communities. State infrastructure dollars should be targeted to those communities that contain sprawl, promote redevelopment, and focus growth into existing developed areas. We also need to provide state incentives to local governments that establish land development regulations that encourage walkable, livable communities. We should also explore other means to promote quality community design where children can walk to schools and parks, and people have easier access to work and shopping.

7. Encourage better movement of people and goods, not just cars. Our current transportation planning system heavily favors the needs of the automobile over those of people. Fix transportation concurrency so that it better promotes livable communities. Provide the public with more transportation options. Build new communities and retrofit established communities to provide more pedestrian access and internal connectivity.

8. Establish a statewide rural policy to better help rural communities protect their distinctive lifestyle. The 1999 Legislature established a State Urban Policy. Florida also needs a State Rural Policy that promotes economic vitality and lessens the impacts of sprawl in rural areas, while continuing to respect private property rights. Rural comprehensive plans that allow the same density countywide do not work. They should be revised to make long term protection of agricultural lands feasible.

9. Establish green connectors. With Preservation 2000 and Florida Forever, this state is the national leader in funding for the acquisition of environmentally-sensitive land. However, this acquisition is often undertaken in a piecemeal manner based on what is easily available instead of what is most needed. Florida should better coordinate land acquisition and land use planning. As an example, local governments that adopt comprehensive acquisition plans that provide for significant open space and establish regional connections with neighboring communities should receive less state oversight of their land use decision-making. At the state level, we need to establish a strategic plan that identifies and prioritizes important environmental systems to better target state acquisition of key portions of those systems.

10. Improve the process to evaluate local comprehensive plans. By law, all local land use plans must be updated every seven years. The current process, known as the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR), allows too much ability to weaken and undermine the local comprehensive plan. The process should be modified to ensure that the issues of transportation, land use, environment, economic development, and housing are addressed every time the local plan is updated. Other issue areas should be evaluated at the discretion of the local government.