by Mitch Maley
Every year, our representatives go up to Tallahassee, where they are supposed to pass a budget and solve problems. Every year, they instead spend the 60-day annual session working on behalf of developers by waging war against home rule. This year, despite a clear mandate from their communities, the legislature passed the worst piece of such legislation yet, and every member of our delegation voted in favor of it.
On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 399 into law, effectively stripping local governments of all authority to manage urban sprawl. Whereas a county’s comprehensive land use plan used to be the primary means through which land use was governed, our lawmakers in Tallahassee have decided they (or rather their developer overlords) know best. And whatever is best for their bottom line, simply must be best for the communities they pillage.
The statute targets what it refers to as “agricultural enclaves.” If a parcel of farmland is 50% surrounded by existing development, it is no longer considered agricultural and no longer requires a comp plan amendment to modify its zoning. Instead, there will be a streamlined certification process in which development is presumed compatible with the surrounding community and is automatically entitled to the same density as neighboring properties. So, if it’s currently zoned Ag-5 (one unit per five acres) and the surrounding developments are Res-3 (three units per acre), then Res-3 it is.
The law essentially outlaws the concept of compatibility and even bans certain compatibility-related terms from being used in such decisions. It also puts counties (and their taxpayers) on the hook for providing expensive infrastructure. If an agricultural enclave is adjacent to the Urban Service Boundary where county water and sewer lines end, it must instead be treated as if it resides inside of that boundary. This forces the county to prioritize extending multi-million-dollar utility lines to these private tracts of land, and, remember, DeSantis and some lawmakers still want to use the upcoming special sessions to consider eliminating non-school property taxes altogether.
The law also restricts development application fees to the “actual administrative cost” of the review. Whereas large, complex projects once were assessed significant fees to offset the cost of planning staff, those costs will now also fall on the taxpayer. Yes, those are just two more ways current residents will be forced to subsidize the profits of billionaire developers, while their own needs and priorities continue to go unmet.
Senator Jim Boyd and representatives Will Robinson, Bill Conerly, and Michael Owen all voted in favor of this disastrous legislation because they fear billionaire developers like Carlos Beruff and Pat Neal more than they fear the votes of their constituents. Until that changes, Florida will continue to be chopped up and sold off for parts, until there’s not another drop of juice left to squeeze from the proverbial orange. Paradise lost to the greed and avarice of old men with more money than they could ever spend.
Dennis “Mitch” Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch’s next novel, Fish Kill, is scheduled for release on April 20. His other books can be found here. He can be reached at editor@thebradentontimes.com.Â