Former House Speaker Jon Mills: Don't Create Chaos in Protection of Natural Resources
CIVIC Concern | | 
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Jon L. Mills is Dean Emeritus of the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he founded and currently serves as director of the Center for Governmental Responsibility. Mills is the former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. Among his many legislative accomplishments was the passage of the Growth Management Act.
Former Speaker Mills wrote this guest column to oppose the Legislature's current plan to dismantle the Department of Community Affairs and weaken Florida's growth management process.
After you read his column, please share your thoughts in the comments.
Dismantling Growth Management?
CIVIC Concern | | 1
Several bills moving through the legislature would greatly affect Florida's growth management process. Legislators are considering eliminating the Department of Community Affairs, the agency that works with local communities to help control and manage growth and protect the environment. There is also a bill to make it easier for developers to fill in wetlands and build on them.
Legislators argue the changes will spur economic development. Environmentalists and advocates of smart growth oppose the changes, pointing out the hundreds of thousands of new homes sitting empty and arguing that destroying Florida's environment and encouraging urban sprawl won't attract new jobs, residents or tourists to the state.
What do you think? For more information, visit CIVIC's article.
Industrial expansion exempted from DRI process in aquatic preserves
Isn't industrial development in Florida supposed to be watched closely? Isn't that particularly important on our coasts? What about in an area of the Gulf coast that is surrounded by aquatic preserves, wetlands, protected marshlands, conservation areas, archaeological protected areas and state parks and that constitutes one of the few really pristine areas of the southern Gulf Coast? They have some very powerful politicians behind it including Senator Bennett who just passed his own bill out of "his" Senate committee on Community Affairs--unanimously.
Five bills, SB 0424, SB 0856, SB 0932, HB 1021 and HB 0441 all have language in them that would exempt expanding port industrial facilities from the DRI process. The people behind the change are the folks at Port Manatee, and they want it because, while located in an area surrounded by aquatic preserves, wetlands, conservation lands and state parks, they would never be able to expand their port with DRI process oversight. This language is being hidden in the Senate and House Transportation bills as well as the standalone language being sponsored by the Senator (Bennett) and House member representing the Port Manatee area. The only thing they need for the exemption is to show that their industrial or commercial expansion is port-related.
wetlands, aquatic preserves, industry, exemptions, DRI, growth management (all tags)