By Joan Altman, Sierra club.

“In 1985, Governor Graham’s administration placed an important legal framework in place in Florida to control rampant, undisciplined growth that threatened wetlands, induced traffic congestion, and promoted random sprawl. Until that landmark legislation, developers virtually built where they pleased and the taxpayer had to follow with schools, roads, sewers, and the rest of the infrastructure that necessarily followed development

The 1985 act created the Department of Community Affairs, strengthened the state’s Department of Transportation, and set in place the concept of concurrency law where the developer was obliged to take on much of the road, school, sewer, parks and other infrastructure that was made necessary by the development. And since population growth was assumed to be a historical constant in the state, the legislation was seen as modern while relieving the tax burden on citizens.

Fast forward to 2009 and the latest legislation on this subject to come out of Tallahassee. Senate Bill 360.

Faced with a declining state population for the first time in memory, our political leaders sought to preserve the large building industry by providing a variety of incentives which would increase residential and commercial construction. While organizations like the Florida League of Counties and 1000 Friends of Florida objected vigorously, Governor Crist signed the bill in June, 2009. So what’s the problem specifically?”