In 2002, Florida passed new laws for local planning, with input from Governor Jeb Bush and the Department of Community Affairs. The changes were made with input from many groups and focused on things like school planning, water supply, and land use. One important change was that local governments and school boards must now work together and have their agreements reviewed by the state. If they don’t follow the new rules, there are consequences. These new agreements have to be submitted by a certain date. New agreements between local governments and school boards need to address how new schools are chosen, how many students are expected, and how to work together on planning and building schools. Both school boards and local governments will have a say in these decisions. They also need to figure out how to improve roads and safety around schools, and share things like parks and libraries. There will be rules in place to solve disagreements and make sure the agreements are followed. This new law doesn’t change the option for schools to be a part of local plans, and it doesn’t let local governments stop new buildings just because of crowded schools. This is all happening because of a case in Orange County, where a landowner was denied a new building because the schools were too full. The new legislation allows for the creation of educational facilities benefit districts, which will help fund the construction and maintenance of school facilities through a non-ad valorem assessment. It also requires local governments to better integrate their comprehensive plans with regional water supply plans and to include a 10-year work plan for building necessary water supply facilities in their comprehensive plans. There is also a new focus on reusing reclaimed water. The plan process for making changes to the local comprehensive plan is being made simpler and faster. This includes making it easier for local governments to request reviews of noncontroversial changes. The public will also be notified of these changes through both newspaper ads and online postings. There are also new rules about controlling population and building densities in future land use plans. Local governments can waive certain requirements for urban infill and redevelopment areas to promote development, as long as it doesn’t pose a risk to public health or safety. They also need to study the impact of past land use density reduction on property rights in coastal high hazard zones, and come up with strategies to balance redevelopment feasibility and property rights with public safety. Additionally, neighboring property owners can now have a say in proposed changes to future land use maps, not just property owners in the same jurisdiction. Local governments can now get certified if they commit to planning for growth in a specific area, have a good track record of following their plans, and are committed to good planning practices. If they get certified, they have less oversight from the state and regional government when they want to change their comprehensive plan. But they can still be reviewed for certain types of plan changes. There are different ways that local government decisions on development orders are reviewed in court. Third parties can challenge these orders using a specific law, while landowners have to use a different process. The standards for reviewing these challenges are also different. A commission has suggested making the process more consistent. This year, a new process was created to improve how local governments handle challenges to development orders. Local governments can choose to use a special master to help with these challenges, but they don’t have to. If they do, the special master makes a recommendation to the local government, which then makes the final decision. If someone disagrees with the local government’s decision, they can only go to court by filing a specific kind of petition within 30 days. If the local government doesn’t use a special master, the person can still go to court, but it’s a different process. This new law changes the rules for big development projects to make them more consistent across the state. It also makes the process faster and cheaper by only requiring reports every two years and allowing developers to skip a report if nothing has changed. There’s also a small change to the rules for utility work on power lines. Lastly, the law now lets the state pick one regional planning council to handle big projects that involve more than one council. Certain developments are now exempt from undergoing a review process called DRI. This includes redevelopment of a development on the same land parcel without changing land use or intensity, removing acreage thresholds for office and retail development, and exempting certain developments overseen by federal, state, and local agencies such as petroleum storage facilities, marinas, and airport facilities if they meet specific criteria. This means these developments don’t have to go through the usual review process. In the future, there may be changes to the laws that control how cities and counties grow. One change will require big counties to report on how they provide services, like police and fire, and figure out how to work together better. Another change will look at how new developments impact the local budget and try to make sure they don’t cause problems in the long run. There are also plans to make it easier for cities and counties to work together on big projects. These changes will help make Florida’s growth laws better as time goes on. This text contains references to laws and bills in Florida, as well as information about two lawyers and their law practice.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/2002-reforms-to-growth-management/
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