Florida Lawmakers Bow to Land Developers
(Posted June 03, 2011 07:59 pm)
TALLAHASSEE,
Fla. - Land use management advocates say Florida's real
estate 'bear market' is having a bullish effect on
natural resources. Last month, state lawmakers passed
several bills, claiming that fewer rules are needed in
order to revitalize the gloomy construction industry.
David Guest, regional director and lead attorney for Earthjustice Florida, points out that the deregulation outlined in such legislation as HB 7207 also means developers can build where they could never build before. In his view, lawmakers have practically reversed three decades of land-use progress.
"Essentially, all of the growth management laws in
Florida were repealed, under the spurious premise that
development is being inhibited by growth management
laws."
According to Guest, it is not growth management laws
that hinder development, but the gutted Florida housing
market, with its thousands of homes and condos sitting
empty. He disagrees with the deregulation strategy,
noting that deregulation is one of the factors that
sparked the recession in the first place.
"We've seen what the unfettered market does in
triggering this recession. It was the total absence of
government regulation and the market going wild. It was
casino capitalism at its very worst, and it nearly took
down the world economy."
Guest calls the last legislative session the "most
sewage-friendly in 50 years," although what he
classifies as some of the worst legislation in the House
was stopped in the State Senate. His list includes a
bill that would have allowed utilities to dump
partially-treated sewage in the ocean, and even a bill
to allow septic tank pumping companies to spread sewage
on the ground.