GROWTH MANAGEMENT 101

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1 GROWTH MANAGEMENT 101 Under Florida s 2011 Community Planning Act Cartoon courtesy Dana Summers

2 Cartoon courtesy Jim Morin

3 Community Planning in Florida Vibrant cities and towns. Protected natural and agricultural lands. Sparkling rivers on which to kayak and swim. Many Floridians would agree that these are some of the features that make our state a special place. But as Florida continues to grow, these attributes increasingly are threatened. How can we protect Florida s quality of life for ourselves and for future generations? Community planning provides a powerful tool. This document provides a brief overview of Florida s growth management process as revised under the 2011 Community Planning Act (CPA). Please take a few minutes to read this and get involved! Remember, communities are only as good as the people who help shape them. Local Comprehensive Plans The local comprehensive plan is a community s legally binding blueprint for how it will develop. Under Florida law, each city and county must adopt a comprehensive plan to guide future development, deal with problems associated with the use and development of land, promote public health and safety, and protect human, environmental, social and economic resources. Any development approval must be legally consistent with the plan. The comprehensive plan includes elements which deal with capital improvements, future land use, transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable water and natural groundwater aquifer recharge, natural resource conservation, recreation and open space, housing, coastal management, and intergovernmental coordination. Local governments may also adopt additional optional elements. Each element includes goals, objectives and policies that identify how the local government will accomplish the intent of the element. Each local government also must adopt a future land use map (FLUM) that shows the proposed distribution, location, and extent of the various categories of land included in the comprehensive plan. The FLUM now must be able to accommodate projected growth for the next 10 years using the University of Florida s mid-range population projections. The comprehensive plan must be amended if the local government desires to change its patterns of future growth or to allow a proposed development that is inconsistent with the current plan. The local government now may amend the plan at any time over the course of the year. Citizen participation. It is difficult to win a challenge to a comprehensive plan amendment once the local government has adopted it, making citizen participation early in the local planning process more important than ever. Florida law requires opportunities for public participation. First, a local government must give adequate public notice, such as publishing notices in the local newspaper or on its website regarding meetings and public hearings. Second, the public must be allowed to participate in a meaningful way at these meetings and hearings. Plan amendment review processes. It is important to know to which review process the plan amendment is subject, and understand deadlines for public comment, other agency comments, and citizen challenges. The CPA includes three review processes for amending a plan. Small-scale amendments -- Small-scale plan amendment review is for parcels of land 10 acres and smaller. This review requires at least two local public hearings, one before the Local Planning Agency (LPA) and one before the local governing body (city or county commission or council). Once a small-scale plan amendment is adopted by the local government there is no subsequent state review.

4 Large-scale amendments -- The two other review processes are for large-scale amendments covering areas greater than 10 acres in size. They include both local and limited state review. State coordinated review is for plan amendments associated with larger state-defined planning initiatives, including Sector Plans, Rural Land Stewardship Areas, Areas of Critical State Concern, Evaluation and Appraisal Reports (EARs), and plans for new municipalities. Expedited state review is for large-scale plan amendments not associated with one of these larger planning initiatives. Expedited and state coordinated review each has two phases, proposed and adopted. In the proposed phase, at least two local public hearings are held on the proposed plan amendment. The first is before the LPA and the second, called the transmittal hearing, is before the local governing body. After the transmittal hearing, the local government then submits the proposed amendment to the Division of Community Development (DCD), for limited state review (see below). Other commenting agencies also may comment. Based on its review and relevant comments from other agencies, DCD then outlines any concerns about the proposed amendment and sends the local government either a comment letter for expedited state review, or an Objections, Recommendations and Comments (ORC) report for state coordinated review. In the adopted phase, the local governing body has the option to incorporate changes based on DCD and citizen comments. It then holds at least one more local public hearing, the adoption hearing. Once adopted, the amendment is sent once more to DCD for final review. Those agencies that commented during the proposed phase may submit follow-up comments to DCD at this time. DCD then either allows the proposed amendment to go into effect or initiates a challenge through the Division of Administrative Hearings. Limited state review. Large-scale amendments undergo limited state review by the Division of Community Development. Other state and regional agencies may also comment as appropriate. Division of Community Development -- DCD serves as the state s land planning agency. While previously DCD could comment on any aspect of large-scale plan amendments, review is now limited to adverse impacts on important state resources and facilities. The 2011 Community Planning Act fails to define this term, meaning that additional legislation and/or litigation will be necessary to determine the scope of state review. Further, DCD is only allowed to comment on important state resources and facilities outside the jurisdiction of other commenting agencies. DCD is interpreting this to mean that its comments shall be confined to such issues as Coastal High Hazard Areas, hurricane evacuation, and urban sprawl. Concerned citizens may call, write or meet with DCD staff to identify concerns with a plan amendment, but DCD is not required to include those concerns in their review. Other commenting agencies -- Other agencies may also (but are not required to) comment on large-scale plan amendments, but can only comment on issues directly related to their statutory mission. Citizens should contact the appropriate review agencies with any concerns about plan amendments immediately after the first governing body public hearing in the proposed phase and the adoption hearing in the adopted phase to ensure that there is sufficient time for them to comment. Typically, during the proposed phase agencies have approximately 30 days after the first public hearing to submit comments. During the adopted phase, those agencies that commented during the proposed phase have approximately days after the adoption hearing to submit comments. DCD may challenge adopted amendments based on these comments. State commenting agencies include the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation (through its district offices), Department of State, Department of Education, Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Governor s Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. Regional commenting agencies include the appropriate Regional Planning Council and Water Management District. Other commenting agencies may include county(s), municipality(s), and military installation(s) impacted by the proposed amendment.

5 Citizen challenges. It is difficult to mount a successful citizen challenge of a plan amendment but it can be done. In order to have standing (the legal right) to challenge a plan amendment, the challenger must be an affected person. This includes persons who own property, reside, or own or operate a business within the boundaries of the local government that adopted the plan amendment or who own property which abuts the property affected by a future land use map amendment. Additionally, the affected person must have submitted comments during the period of time beginning with the transmittal hearing and ending with the adoption of the plan amendment. This may be satisfied by oral and/or written presentation(s) at local governing body public hearings, and/or letters sent to elected officials at or between the transmittal hearing and final adoption of the plan amendment. In both small- and large-scale plan amendment review processes, affected persons have only 30 days from the adoption of the plan amendment to file a challenge with the Division of Administrative Hearings. As this does not provide much time, the groundwork must be laid early in the process if a challenge is contemplated. Plan implementation Local governments implement their comprehensive plans through land development regulations and development orders, which must be in compliance with the plan. Successful challenges at this stage are particularly difficult. Land development regulations (LDRs). Land development regulations are the local ordinances that make the comprehensive plan work. These deal with the subdivision of land, land use (zoning), compatibility, well fields, flooding, drainage and stormwater management, environmentally sensitive lands, signage, and concurrency management of public facilities. Typically, the LPA conducts at least one public hearing and the governing body must hold a public hearing prior to adoption. While most LDRs are not challenged, a process is in place should a substantially affected person believe that the LDR is inconsistent with the plan. Development orders (DOs). The final step is the local government s approval or denial of a development order (DO) for a specific project. DOs include zoning changes, variances, subdivision plat approvals, planned unit developments (PUDs), and building permits. DOs must be consistent with the plan and land development regulations. In most cases, there are no public hearings and often local elected officials are prohibited from discussing DOs with anyone other than the applicant and their legal representative. Permitting. Permitting is not part of the state s growth management process, but is often mistaken as part of it. Permitting decisions are based on the impacts of a specific development on a specific location and may be issued by local governments and state and federal agencies. For example, zoning may allow a manufacturing plant on a parcel of land, but the city may require an environmental permit showing that its anticipated pollution emissions are at a permissible level. Make a Difference. Get Involved. This provides a brief overview of Florida s growth management process under the 2011 Community Planning Act. For more information on how to become an active participant in your community s planning process, please see Citizen Participation Under Florida s 2011 Community Planning Act and other information available at 1000friendsofflorida.org.

6 1000 Friends of Florida thanks the Batchelor Foundation and the Education Foundation of America for their funding support for this publication. About 1000 Friends of Florida Since 1986, 1000 Friends of Florida has been saving special places, fighting sprawl, and building better communities in our state Friends is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization. For more information on Florida s planning process and 1000 Friends, please visit 1000friendsofflorida.org. 100% Recycled and 100% Post Consumer Waste as well as processed Chlorine Free.