“High on the next legislative agenda should be state encouragement for regional cooperation. We need to start taking the big view now.”
Robert M. Rhodes, Of Counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP
Regional cooperation on a statewide level is critical to the future economic competitiveness and livability of Florida and our communities. myregion.org has been cited in the latest findings by the Urban Land Institute Florida Initiative’s final report as a best practice in Central Florida for bringing together a diverse group of citizens and leaders to build and implement a regional agenda in priority areas such as economic leadership, environment, education, smart growth, fragmentation of the region and quality of life.
One of the state of Florida’s leading legal authorities on Florida growth management law, Bob Rhodes, presented the 2005 legislative changes and how they will affect our communities and the private sector in Orlando last month to an audience of development related business leaders. Following his presentation, a response panel discussed growth management implications particular to them and their unique business perspective. The response panel was moderated by Randy Lyon, President, Xentury City Development Company, LC, and Chair of myregion.org. Panel members included Kirby Green, Executive Director, St. John’s River Water Management District; Ted Edwards, Former Orange County Commissioner and now Of Counsel, Foley & Lardner LLP; Robert Romig, Director, Office of Policy Planning, Florida Department of Transportation; and Dennis Foltz, AICP, Senior Director, Planning and Government Relations for Orange County Public Schools.
Mr. Rhodes highlighted and recognized successful regional cooperative efforts which included the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP). “Regional cooperation is given a boost by the Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) which provides state matching dollars as an incentive for local governments and the Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) to combine their transportation planning efforts, organizations, and funding to produce more significant regional transportation plans linked with local land use and capital improvement plans. The State Transportation Commission and the Urban Land Institute (ULI), recently reported ways to improve regional cooperation and have promoted these concepts.”
The “bottom line” from Bob Rhodes included the following key points: the new legislation tightens administration of the present act by adding more state review of new, mandatory local action and strengthens state enforcement of concurrency; expands the reach of concurrency; recognizes past neglect in funding concurrency and provides a modest start in helping to fund an infrastructure backlog; and establishes a significant pot of state transportation dollars to encourage greater regional cooperative transportation planning and funding. “…The 2005 act is meaningful. What it actually and ultimately means will have to be sorted out in the coming months,” said Rhodes.
Following this presentation, Randy Lyon was asked to speak before the Florida House of Representatives Growth Management Committee on the topic of Building Florida’s Future: State Strategies for Regional Cooperation – the report from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Florida Committee for Regional Cooperation. In his role as a member of the ULI Florida Statewide Committee, Mr. Lyon was asked by Chairman Randy Johnson to present some specific ways that the ULI recommendations could be incorporated into legislation next year. Lyon focused on key areas that included incentives and integrated plans to support regional visions and action plans that address land use, transportation, economic development and natural resources; realignment of state agencies and boundaries that support regional visions and the review of these boundaries periodically based on economy and growth; and provision of incentives for development of regional concurrency standards. He noted that the reaction was very positive and there was broad endorsement to introduce legislation in support of regional incentives.
The message is clear … by working together and creating opportunities for regional cooperation, the entire state and the citizens of Florida will benefit and thrive as we face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.
