By Angie Francalancia
Leaders in the coastal communities were rejoicing over the recent news that controversial Senate Bill 360 had been declared unconstitutional — a bill they believed would have opened the door to rampant coastal development and thousands of additional drivers on A1A.
“We were very glad. In fact, we feel rather vindicated,” said Bob Ganger, president of the Florida Coalition for Preservation, a group focused on preserving the low-density lifestyle on the barrier islands. The group formed in 2007 to fight the proposed development of Briny Breezes from a trailer park into a dense resort with a hotel and condominiums.
On Aug. 26, Chief Judge Charles Francis of the Second Circuit declared SB 360 unconstitutional. The 2009 law, which loosened state planning requirements and controls on urban sprawl, had been challenged by four counties and 16 cities, but none from Palm Beach County.
The grounds for the decision was Francis’ view that the law resulted in an “unfunded mandate,” unfairly burdening local governments with state requirements, and violated a 1991 statute.
It would have required every government in the big counties to pay for rewriting their comprehensive plans, an estimated cost high enough to declare the bill a violation of state law, the ruling said.
Sen. Mike Bennett, the bill’s chief sponsor, told the News Service of Florida that state lawmakers — in the session beginning next March — would address the flaws and pass similar legislation.
For now, though, coastal watchdogs and city leaders were breathing easier. The barrier islands — and all of Palm Beach County — won’t be declared a “dense urban land area” as the bill had indicated.
Earlier versions of the bill had made an exception for the so-called high-hazard coastal areas, Ganger said. But when the final bill was finished, the exception had been removed.
“The final package read the same as if the Mona Lisa had been painted by committee,” Ganger said. “We don’t know if that was just sloppiness, but to declare the whole county a dense urban land area, it’s a classic case of some bureaucrat deciding the fate of literally millions of people.”
Any county with a population greater than 1 million would have been declared a dense urban land area under the 18-month-old law, and all governments within such areas would have had to change their comprehensive plans. Supporters pushed for the law to encourage urban development by removing what they considered excessive regulation, making development less expensive for the developers. Critics, including the plaintiffs, said it placed more burden on local governments and taxpayers to cover the costs incurred by growth.
“I was a strong supporter of the lawsuit, but I couldn’t get any of the other commissioners to go along,” said Ocean Ridge Commissioner Terry Brown. “I’m completely excited and elated that it was ruled unconstitutional.”
Even though the proposed sale of 43-acre Briny Breezes had fizzled long before the 2009 legislative session in which the bill was passed, locals feared a resurrection of a proposal that would similarly increase density tenfold, as the earlier concept would have done.
Briny Breezes Mayor Roger Bennett said he hadn’t paid attention to the bill. “Since our deal fell through, we didn’t think it would have much of an affect on us,” he said.
Brown said he and others would be paying attention when the state Legislature reconvenes next year. “I’m not so sure in the long run that Briny was going to get too far, but it woke up a lot of people along the coast,” he said. “I just don’t think the battle is over.”
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