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An uncertain future for DCA© St. Petersburg Times published January 7, 2003 In appointing a respected Cabinet aide to head the Department of Community Affairs, Gov. Jeb Bush invites a question of intent. Is Colleen Castille supposed to take charge of growth management or preside over its demise? Either possibility remains. Bush has said he wants to fold DCA into the Department of State, which will soon be directed by Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood. Hood told the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday that, "We're just looking to make the transition as smooth as possible. Colleen will be great in that role." But neither Bush nor Hood has presented any details of the proposed merger, which will require legislative approval. More to the point, Bush has spent four years delivering little more than speeches as it relates to controlling Florida's real estate growth. He has called growth management his greatest disappointment in his first term, but even his mea culpa creates uncertainty. Is he disappointed that he did too little to control growth or too much? With growth management, the governor has complained he can't overcome special interests in the Legislature, and he has espoused less oversight for local governments, not more. Under Bush, the DCA has mostly distinguished itself for cordiality. In the first three years, DCA planners approved local development plan changes at seven times the rate of the previous decade. Meanwhile, the only legislation that Bush touts is a bill that asks school boards and county commissions to cooperate when building new schools in high-growth areas. He has fought every attempt to provide more money for cities and counties to build roads and services necessary for new development, and his only idea for improving growth management revolves around a cost-accounting formula no one seems to fully comprehend. Castille has won friends in both the environmental and development community, owing to her command of the issues, and she might be in a position to help the governor. If he needs a reminder of what is at stake, he need only look to the south and west of the capital, across the Panhandle, where St. Joe Land Co. owns some 940,000 acres of land and 39 miles of Gulf of Mexico coastline that it is actively marketing for development. This is the Florida that can't afford another four years of inaction.
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From the Times Opinion page |
