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Department In Cross Hairs

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By MIKE SALINERO

msalinero@tampatrib.com

Published: March 12, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - A bill that would abolish the state's growth management agency passed a major legislative committee Wednesday but probably won't be supported by Gov. Charlie Crist.

The bill, supported by developers and opposed by environmentalists, would fold the functions of the Department of Community Affairs into the Department of State.

Supporters of the measure say it will shrink bureaucracy by doing away with a department while keeping most growth management regulations in place.

"This legislation does not ... strip away growth management principles," said state Rep. Chris Dorworth, a Republican from Heathrow and vice chairman of the House Military and Local Affairs Policy Committee.

Opponents of the bill, however, say it is a ploy to weaken state oversight of growth management actions at the local level.

"I think it's a sleeping dog issue," said Charles Pattison, director of 1000 Friends of Florida, a growth management group. "The real effort is to marginalize the whole process by getting rid of the department and department secretary."

Crist, asked Wednesday whether he supports the legislation, said, "Probably not, but I haven't seen the bill."

Business groups such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce praised the bill Wednesday for sections that streamline approval of land-use changes, extend the life of building permits by three years, and allow local governments to remove or reduce impact fees paid by developers without waiting the now-required 90 days.

"We built a regulatory system governed by 1,000 people moving into the state every day," said Adam Babington, representing the Chamber of Commerce. "Today we're at zero population growth."

But Tom Pelham, secretary of the Department of Community Affairs, said the 64-page bill would seriously undermine the state's growth management structure with no improvements in government efficiency.

"It would be demoting it from its status of a department of state government to a cog in a bigger machine," Pelham said. "I don't think that would improve the efficiency."

The bill would eliminate state review of local comprehensive plan amendments for counties with populations exceeding 1 million or cities with more than 100,000 people. That means no state review in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Orange, Broward or Miami-Dade counties.

Pelham pointed out that his agency stopped Miami-Dade County from expanding its urban service boundary into the Everglades, a move that would have opened a door to development in the environmentally sensitive marshes.

St. Petersburg environmental activist Lorraine Margeson said she is trying to rally hundreds of subscribers to her e-mail list to oppose the bill.

"It's critical that the state has oversight on these issues," Margeson said. "We have too many county commissions that will light up at the thought of development money without thinking through what effect these projects will have on the environment."

Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303.

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