Palm Beach Post Editorial
June 01,
2009
The governor can't hide
Palm Beach Post Editorial
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Gov. Crist has built a solid environmental
record for his Senate run. He
championed the U.S. Sugar buyout to help restore the Everglades, and he
proposed Florida's first renewable energy standards. He tarnished that
record Monday by signing what the Legislature named the "Community Renewal
Act" but what more accurately should be called the "No Growth
Management
Act."
Supporters say that Senate Bill 360 will
improve the state's growth
management efforts by removing unnecessary restrictions in urban areas. But
the bill creates a ridiculous definition of "urban area." Tiny towns,
such
as 400-person Briny Breezes, qualify. So would rural areas along State Road
7. In all, eight counties and 245 cities qualify, including all cities in
Palm Beach County along with Stuart, Fort Pierce and Port St. Lucie on the
Treasure Coast.
In urban areas, developers no longer will have
to show that adequate roads
exist to serve their projects. Large proposals no longer will have to meet
rigorous Development of Regional Impact standards.
The idea is to make it easier to build when
the recession ends. That might
help large developers who are likely to donate to Gov. Crist's campaign. But
for the rest of the state, the loss of control over development will make it
much harder to protect paradise. And does anyone blame Florida's economic
woes on building too little? Since the Growth Management Act passed in 1985,
Florida has added 7 million people.
The governor could be calculating that
Floridians won't feel the damage from
SB 360 until long after next year's election. But the governor who favors
Everglades restoration and green energy ought to be the governor who also
doesn't want a traffic jam at every intersection.