Growth Management

Opponents of growth ballot measure take new aim at Florida enviro groups

1 Comment / Advocacy, Conservation, Growth Management /

The group that led the opposition to the “Hometown Democracy” Amendment 4 last November said Tuesday that environmental groups continue to “wage a campaign of unchecked misinformation.” Amendment 4, which was voted down by 67 percent of voters, would have required local voter approval of changes to comprehensive land use plans. Business groups, cities and […]

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New Florida agency chief calls for refocus on growth management

2011 Legislature, Government, Growth Management, Growth Management Law /

The new chief of Florida’s growth management agency on Tuesday made some suggestions that sound like what some statewide environmental groups have been advocating — an increased focus on long-range planning and less oversight of growth in urban areas. Gov. Rick Scott has repeatedly called the Department of Community Affairs a job-killer and on Monday

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Scott would reorganize DCA, DEP under proposed budget

2 Comments / Budgets, Economic Opportunity, FDEP, Gov. Rick Scott, Government, Growth Management, Growth Management Law /

Gov. Rick Scott is warning his supporters that unnamed “special interests” will his attack his 2011-12 budget recommendations and the cuts they include for growth and environmental programs. Scott proposes substantially reducing the number of state planners who oversee local growth management decisions and would move them to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He

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Scott plans realignment of Florida’s growth management agency

2011 Legislature, Gov. Rick Scott, Government, Growth Management, Growth Management Law, Misc /

Gov. Rick Scott said Monday he plans to cut $1 billion in government spending over two years by consolidating and streamlining government including the Florida Department of Community Affairs. Scott’s plan — which included only a few details — would remove all regulatory functions from DCA and move them to other state agencies. Scott also

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House panel approves growth rewrite to address court ruling

2011 Legislature, Cities & Counties, Government, Growth Management, Growth Management Law /

A House panel on Wednesday passed three bills that are intended to address a court ruling that threw out 2009 legislation that revamped the state’s growth management laws. SB 360 in 2009 removed a requirement that developers pay for new roads and schools in designated areas and it removed state oversight of large developments in

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Century Commission says it should develop Florida strategic plan

2011 Legislature, Growth Management, Misc /

The Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida says it wants to help Florida develop a strategic plan as suggested by Gov. Rick Scott. Scott in November told the Florida Council of 100 that the state “lacks a sufficiently focused strategic plan,” according to a copy of a prepared speech. The Century Commission for a Sustainable

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Scott: We “clearly need” better growth management

2 Comments / Energy, Gov. Rick Scott, Government, Growth, Growth Management /

Gov. Rick Scott on Wednesday said he supports growth management but says it needs to be improved. Scott was among several Cabinet officials and legislative leaders along with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who spoke at the Associated Press Florida Legislative Planning Session in the Capitol. They answered questions on a wide range of topics.

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New DCA secretary says he doesn’t have marching orders on agency’s future

Gov. Rick Scott, Government, Growth Management, Growth Management Law, Land-use Planning /

Department of Community Affairs Secretary Billy Buzzett told reporters on Tuesday during his first day on the job that he had been given no specific orders by his boss, Gov. Rick Scott, as to the future of the agency. Buzzett attended a meeting of the Senate Community Affairs Committee but he did not address the

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Growth management legislation clears first committee

2011 Legislature, Government, Growth, Growth Management, Growth Management Law /

Three growth management bills that are intended to address a judge’s ruling last summer passed their first Senate committee stop on Tuesday. In August, Circuit Judge Charles Francis in Tallahassee ruled that the 2009 growth management overhaul in SB 360 was unconstitutional because they represented an unfunded mandate for cities and counties and because the

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Groups back off merger criticism in growth recommendations

Advocacy, Conservation, Gov. Rick Scott, Government, Growth, Growth Management, Growth Management Law /

Environmentalists on Monday issued growth management recommendations to state leaders but stopped short of criticizing a proposal by Gov. Rick Scott’s transition team to merge state growth management and environmental protection agencies into a new “Department of Growth Leadership.” Scott’s transition team last month recommended creating the new agency by merging the Department of Community

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