In Florida, local governments have the power to govern themselves but must follow state laws. In the future, new regional governments will have more power and responsibility, especially in areas like water, transportation, and economic development. There will also be more focus on managing growth and planning for the future. This means being careful about approving new developments and making sure there are enough public facilities to support them. A new set of rules for development was needed, and each area had to put all the rules into one single code. The rules had to cover things like how land is divided up, what kind of buildings can go where, protecting water sources, handling floods, taking care of natural areas, and making sure there are enough public services for new developments. No new building permits can be given if they would make the public services worse than what the area’s plan says they should be. Concurrency is a law that ensures there are enough public facilities like roads, sewer systems, and parks to handle new development. It requires local governments to have a plan for providing these facilities and makes sure that new development doesn’t lower the quality of these services. It’s meant to prevent things like traffic jams and overcrowded schools in growing communities. The laws around enforcing public policies like concurrency require compensation for affected landowners and must follow certain guidelines. These guidelines include finding less burdensome ways to achieve public goals before restricting development, holding public hearings before imposing restrictions, providing solutions for inadequate facilities, paying for property takings, and applying policies uniformly.
In the future, we may see online standards and requirements for development approval, along with incentives for efficient service provision and capacity reservations. There will also be safeguards against hoarding of resources. Florida has exempted some large projects from certain mitigations, instead looking at all affected resources and facilities in a new sector plan. Current rules about what can be built and where will change. Instead of charges and fees, there will be new ways to manage growth and use resources. The focus will be on what needs to be provided to build now. The Florida Department of Community Affairs will no longer be in charge of making sure growth follows the rules. Instead, new methods will encourage building in certain areas and offer incentives for development. There will be more creative solutions, like allowing a big housing project in exchange for a new water treatment plant. In some areas, there are not enough public facilities like roads and water for new development. In these places, development will be focused where there is enough capacity or where it can be added easily and cheaply. State laws will require rules for when and how development can happen. Some areas will have lower fees to encourage building, while others will be too expensive to develop. Development assessments will consider things like protecting natural resources and making it easy for people to walk or take the bus. Some places also have rules to reduce the fees developers have to pay based on how far people will travel to reach their new project. The government may also pay developers or help them get permits faster to encourage development in areas with existing facilities. If the government wants to protect certain areas from development, they may pay developers not to build there. This payment can be in the form of cash, development rights, or waivers of minor rules. If a regulation disproportionately affects a property owner, the government may have to compensate them. The government can also develop areas itself in line with its policies, like environmental protection and improving public transportation. The government will work with new local governments to plan affordable housing and public facilities in areas where no one else is doing it. They will use technology to track development and set prices, and each region will decide how to use its resources. The government will only step in if a region doesn’t meet standards for things like water or public facilities. Local areas will have more control over services like police and schools, and they can decide how much they want to pay for them. Solutions will be found locally, and limits on development can be lifted as long as local areas protect their resources. One-stop permitting for development will come, but it will be phased, meaning developers might have to wait for resources to catch up before building everything. Some developments may be stopped at 50% if there’s a problem with resources. Development opportunities will be rationed and offered online, like buying a car. Permitting will be delayed and there will be deadlines to use resources.
In 1993, permits were made easier when a unified wetlands definition was adopted. In 1997, the Department of Community Affairs gave some development authority to five test communities.
Experienced officers will program the computers to control development. Development will continue, but with strict rules and high compensation.
In the end, “land use courts” will balance development priorities and property rights. Florida will be divided into seven regional governments with power over local governments, water management, and planning. This is in response to the strain on public services from the growing population and falling spending on infrastructure. The new system will use technology to regulate development and address the infrastructure deficit. It will also require communities to support and fund the vision outlined in the comprehensive plan. New forms of funding will be used to spread the costs of solutions to regional problems. Florida’s Growth Management Act has taught us important lessons for the future. Communities need to create a vision for their future and consider the cost of development. Plans should be easy to understand and take into account individual land rights. We also need to consider market forces and make sure development aligns with what people actually want. Ultimately, the goal is to create a vision for growth that is both realistic and affordable for the community. Ronald L. Weaver is a lawyer in Tampa who specializes in land use law. He works at the law firm of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. They help with legal issues related to the environment and land use. The Environmental and Land Use Law Section also supports their work. They focus on promoting justice and improving the legal system.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/a-vision-of-the-future-of-florida-land-use-law/
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