2004 growth management revisited implementation report

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CCIitizens building .;> a bette r community B e n W a rnA ssoc ia te D i re c tben@jcci .orGROWTH MANAGEMENT REVISITED

Final Implementation ReportFebruary 20, 2004

Growth Management Revisited study was released to the community on June 19, 2001. Allan Geiger, whred the study, agreed to lead the Implementation Task Force as well.een 2000 and 2003, Duval County continued to grow: population grew at a rate of approximately 15,000 people per year; new office and industrial projects grew by $6.6 billion; and new housing starts increased by 6,767 in 2001 and 8,261 in 2002 before setting new records in 2003.le much of this growth continued southeast of the St. Johns River, an increasing percentage of residential anmercial growth occurred downtown and north and west of the river.030, Duval County is projected to be home to well over one million people. Managing that growth continuesne of the most significant challenges facing Jacksonville.n the Growth Management Revisited study was released, Florida appeared poised to significantly restructure ith management processes. However, while the need for reform has (if anything) increased, significant action bFlorida Legislature to strengthen growth management has not occurred. Locally, however, Jacksonville'sementation of the Better Jacksonville Plan, increased residential development downtown, revitalization of oldehborhoods, and encouragement of infill development have been positive steps in managing Jacksonville's

1: The Florida growth-management process needs to be revised, restructured, and streamlinedFlorida Legislature should redistribute growth-management responsibilities and authority to appropriate levelsrnment. This restructuring should not create additional regulatory burdens or redundant levels of review anld ensure continuation of natural-environment protections.Florida Legislature took up growth management restructuring in 2001, but failed to reach agreement oificant reform, ultimately not passing any of the major recommendations of the state's Growth Managemeny Commission. The Department of Community Affairs, independent of legislative action, responded to thth Management Study Commission by streamlining internal processes and reducing duplication in growtagement programs. The 2002 legislative session did not substantially revise or restructure growth managemenes, although the legislature did require that schools and water supplies be considered as part of the planniness (see recommendations #4 and #8.) In addition, the legislature changed definitions of legal standing tenge development decisions, reducing access for some citizens and non-profit organizations. In 2003, th
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ernor proposed merging the Department of Community Affairs with the Department of State. This did not pas003, but is expected to be introduced in the 2004 Session.uS: Not implemented

2: Aspects of growth management that have statewide impacts should continue to be conductee state level. The Florida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) should retain regulatory oversight of: comprehensive-planning elements that directly impact natural resources of statewide significance; transportation facilities and infrastructure of statewide significance; natural-disaster responses and emergency-preparation issues of statewide significance; and other specific items of statewide significance, as determined by the Florida Legislature.State budget should provide sufficient funding for DCA to perform these functions adequately.continues to maintain oversight responsibility for all of the items identified in this recommendation.s: Implemented

3: The Florida Legislature should delegate all remaining state regulatory oversight of locprehensive planning to Regional Planning Councils, because growth management has regional impacts beyonscope of local-government authority. The Legislature should authorize Regional Planning Councils to obtacient broad-based resources, including funding and staffing, to perform these additional functions effectively.ddition, the Florida Legislature should expand the authority of each Regional Planning Council to: take the lead in coordinating growth management among local, regional, and state interests; coordinate the development of a regional growth-management vision;) implement its Strategic Regional Policy Plan; and ensure the integration of locallregional transportation and land-use planning.Northeast Florida Regional Council (NEFRC) has expressed willingness to accept delegated authority. ThRC has informally taken the lead in coordinating regional growth management efforts, and has the form

onsibility of coordinating growth management efforts in the Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) procesNEFRC is implementing the Strategic Regional Policy Plan to the extent provided in statute and within avai lablurces, and is working within existing limitations to integrate regional transportation and land-use planning (semmendation #7). However, the Florida Legislature has not delegated regulatory oversight to Regional Plannin

s: Pariially implemented4: The Florida Legislature should add public safety and public schools as mandatory elements

-government comprehensive plans. The Legislature should authorize appropriate broad-based fundinhanisms for local governments to implement these public safety and public school elements.Florida Legislature added public schools as mandatory elements in 2002. In addition, section3177(6)(h)6., 7,. and 8. F.S., also passed in 2002, require documentation and coordination of interlocal servicery agreements in the areas of public safety, education, solid waste, and water and sewer services. The repordue January 1, 2004, and the Regional Planning Councils (along with DCA) have the responsibility to revieeports. Local governments must amend their Intergovernmental Coordination Elements of their Comprehensives to include these items within six months. Upon completion, public safety coordination will becomeatory comprehensive plan element.

us: Implemented

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5: The Florida Legislature should maintain the Development of Regional Impact (DRI) processsome modifications. Modifications should include:

streamlining and simplifying the process, while maintaining its comprehensive nature; anddelegating review authority to the Regional Planning Councils with appeal of their decisions to the Courts.

NEFRC has expressed willingness to accept delegated authority, but the Florida Legislature has not as yon this recommendation. The NEFRC has review authority only for what DCA terms "non-substantiages." The DRI process, however, has been maintained to date, with two optional alternative processes in placda Quality Developments program (FQD), which certifies specific developments (20 to date) as meeting FQards and therefore receive expedited review, and Optional Sector Plans, currently being implemented in fo

us: Partially implemented6: The Florida Legislature should ensure that enforcement of aI/ natural-environmentactions under the current system are retained and appropriately assigned. The Legislature should furthe

e protection of the natural environment in Florida by:ensuring that Regional Planning Councils identify and map natural resources of regional significanceensure their accurate identification and protection;including assessment of the impacts of development on the natural environment in the regional developmenreview process;encouraging the use of incentives to developers for protection of the natural environment;creating a system to transfer development rights for protection of environmentally sensitive areas; andlimiting the use of exceptions in the growth-management process that negatively impact natural resources.

NEFRC has identified and mapped natural resources of regional significance. In 2002, the state began a piless in the Wekiva River Basin to develop a model for managing growth in an environmentally sensitive areever, the Florida Legislature failed to implement the recommendations of the Wekiva River Basin Task Force, although new attempts to address the issues are expected to be part of the 2004 Session.us: Partially implemented

7: Because transportation in northeast Florida has become a regional and not solely a locr, the Florida Legislature should amend the charter of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, expanding iiction to regional as well as local transportation concerns, renaming it accordingly, and authorizing appropriated-based regional funding mechanisms. In addition to coordinating transportation planning and implementationegion, the First Coast Transportation Authority should:

improve the process used to secure land for future right-of-way needs by aI/owing land owners to retareasonable and appropriate access and use rights until construction begins; andidentify transportation corridors within the region in which land-use densities may be increased to suppoeffective public transportation.

003, the First Coast Metropolitan Planning Organization expanded its boundaries to include st. Augustineng it more of a regional transportation planning organization. The Jacksonville Transportation Authority haified two transportation corridors, one extending from Mayport to northern Clay County and the other from thrt to Mandarin, as its priority areas for developing rapid transit systems. The Better Jacksonville Plan allocatemillion to purchase right-of-ways for rapid transit.ral activities in 2003 appeared to open the way to accomplishing this recommendation.

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The Florida Legislature, in the 2003 Session, charged the Florida Transportation Commission (FTC) t"conduct an assessment of the need for an improved approach to regional and intermodal input in thplanning for and governing of the Strategic Intermodal Systems and other transportations systems". Themet with transportation planning organizations across the state, including the JTA and First Coast MPOJacksonville in October 2003. Their report concludes that revision to state laws are necessary to improvregional transportation functions, including expanding MPO boundaries to allow for better regiontransportation planning. The Florida Legislature in 2003 approved the creation of a South Florida Regional Transportation Authorit

including the Broward, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade MPOs. The Florida Metropolitan Advisory Council is advocating that MPOs be given further leeway to create regiontransportation authorities. The FTC further encouraged the First Coast MPO to further modify its structureeither becoming an independent organization or moving its staffing to the Northeast Florida Regional Councor the JTA. The JTA adopted a new strategic plan in 2003 that "promotes regionalization of transportation solutions."n together, these steps suggest greater opportunities for full implementation of this recommendation in th

us: Partially implementedmmendation B: To provide needed information for local growth-management decision-making, the Sf. Johnr Water Management District should determine the total population that could be supported in northeast Floridcurrently used water resources and using water-supply processes and technologies currently available. Thict also should examine technically and financially realistic new potable water processes and technologiesrmine their potential effect on capacity and their fiscal impacts.1)02, the Florida Legislature added water supply as a mandatory element in the comprehensive planning procesthe st. Johns River Water Management District assessed the water supply in northeast Florida, identifier resource constraints, and projected whether water supplies would be sufficient to meet anticipated growthidentified several Priority Water Resource Caution Areas, and began developing alternative water suppologies. These include retrofitting existing wells, developing and treating brackish water from the Floridaer system, and identifying previously unidentified water sources. In addition, the District has begun investigatint. Johns River as a possible source of potable water.us: Implemented

9: Independent of state and regional action, the Mayor of Jacksonville should take the leadinue to improve the City of Jacksonville's growth-management processes on matters of local impact by:

encouraging roadway patterns in new developments that include connections to adjacent developments anland uses;retrofitting existing developments to include more roadway connections to adjacent developments and lanuses;encouraging City departments and independent authorities to coordinate their efforts for growth-managementpurposes;providing funding, through various entities and sources, for the Downtown Master Plan to restore anrevitalize Jacksonville's downtown area;improving and enforcing City codes regarding neighborhood appearance and upkeep;encouraging and funding efforts to revitalize older neighborhoods, including those designated Historic, busing the following kinds of tools, as needed: revisions to the zoning code, targeted economic incentivescoordinated condemnation and code enforcement efforts, affordable housing assistance, infrastructure repaand replacement, and development and implementation of a brownfields cleanup and redevelopmenprogram;

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encouraging and funding infill development by using similar tools; and developing end using a comprehensive methodology to determine the full costs and benefits of ea

proposed development, including its impacts on taxpayers (schools, roads, utilities, public safety, and othinfrastructure, as well as tax revenues) and the natural environment. This analysis also should includconsideration and support for targeted community goals, such as affordable housing, for which pubincentives are important.

City of Jacksonvllle has significantly increased efforts to revitalize the downtown area and encourage residentimixed-use development downtown. In addition, neighborhood revitalization efforts and infill development aasing, and the City participated with JCCI in a study of Neighborhoods at the Tipping Point to improve effortstain existing neighborhoods. While growth in Jacksonville has continued, more of the economic developmenoccurred north and west of the st. Johns River, with significant public and private investment downtown ($822n in office and industrial projects in 2003.)ever, as yet the City has not adopted the kind of comprehensive methodology for cost-benefit analysisosed development envisioned in the recommendation, nor has it actively sought to retrofit existinhborhoods to increase connections to other land uses.us: Partially implementedommendation 10: The City of Jacksonville should improve its public-involvement process related to growagement by providing citizens with information and assistance to participate fully and effectively in its growthgement processes, including land-use and zoning regulation.Planning and Development Department continues to provide affected citizens (and registered neighborhoonizations) with a packet of information about proposed zoning or land-use changes. While the Planning anelopment Department has, uses, and distributes on demand a Citizen's Guide to Zoning, the current zoning codite has delayed the formal printing of the document. Upon completion of the code rewrite, public hearings, anementation (expected to occur in 2005), the Citizen's Guide (revised to reflect any changes in the law)ipated to be printed and distributed to the community.us: Partially implemented

ommendations to the JCCI BoardImplementation Task Force recommends to the JCCI Board of Directors that the formal JCCI implementatioess for this study be concluded. While some recommendations remain unimplemented or only partialmented, the debate over growth management reform has shifted direction in the Florida Legislature and futuructuring will depend on the outcome of the effort to merge the Departments of Community Affairs and Statframework of a restructured growth management process envisioned by the committee, where regulatorsight was delegated to the Regional Planning Councils and a stronger, regionally-integrated and regionallyonsive system established, did not occur. Instead, minor modifications occurred, which the committee haed, and some beneficial aspects of the growth management process were not dismantled, which the committefeared might happen.e ten recommendations in this study, three were implemented, six were partially implemented, and one was nmented. In all, 90 percent of the recommendations were fully or partially implemented.

JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY COUNCIL INC2 43 4 A tla ntic B ou le vard ~ Jacksonville, F lorid a 3 22 07 I ! S l 904-396-3052 I ! S l Fa x : 904 -3 98-14 69 I ! S l

2004 growth management revisited implementation report

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