Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
TALLAHASSEE - The father of the state's growth management act is urging Gov. Jeb Bush to veto a major transportation bill that he said could curtail local governments' ability to plan their communities.
Former Department of Community Affairs Secretary Thomas Pelham wrote Bush last week, urging him to veto the transportation bill, SB 676, because of its effect on local governments. Pelham's law firm represents the city of Sunrise.
"This legislation, if allowed to become law, will have a devastating impact on the ability of the state and local governments to more closely coordinate transportation and land use which has been one of the major objectives of Florida's growth management efforts over the last decade," Pelham wrote.
Pelham said the bill will exempt all "transportation facilities" and all "appurtenances" to the state highway system from all local regulations. Of particular concern, Pelham said, is that this could exempt the state from local concurrency requirements - rules that local governments establish to make sure key government infrastructure is in place before new developments are built.
Bush said this week that he hasn't decided whether he'll sign or veto the bill, but will take Pelham's suggestion under consideration.
"These transportation "trains' come up every year, and there's always one or two amendments that cause some consternation," Bush said. A train is a bill with numerous amendments tacked on.
In his letter, Pelham said the amendment, which DOT says merely codified existing law, was slipped into the massive transportation bill toward the end of the regular special session.
"As a result, there was little or no opportunity for discussion or debate about the impacts of this legislation on Florida's local communities and the state's growth management process," he wrote.
Bush has been inundated with e-mails from local officials, who fear the bill could neuter their ordinances governing trees, landscaping, signs, noise, bus benches and other things.
Bev Smith, vice mayor of the Village of Palm Springs, urged Bush to veto the bill, "as I believe it will significantly impact the home rule powers of our cities."
Several of the e-mails to Bush came from fellow Republicans, and they reminded the governor that the GOP believes in local control.
Pelham's law firm also represents Sunrise in a lawsuit the state filed against Broward County. In that suit, the Department of Transportation argues that local planning regulations do not apply to state transportation projects.