Florida Conservation Coalition

04/28/2021

"The NAACP and Sierra Club Florida are speaking against the development of the proposed Sand Bluff Solar array on the outskirts of Archer, while the Alachua County Planning Commission is encouraging county commissioners to move forward. The solar array project is a step away from approval after the planning commission voted 4-3, to recommend county commissioners to approve the development. The Alachua County NAACP President, Evelyn Foxx, said the facility will negatively impact the African-American community.

“The NAACP is asking our commissioners to please listen to the citizens of Archer.” Foxx said. TV20 has spoken to residents who live on county road 346 where the facility is planned, and they said it’s a historically black neighborhood and they don’t want this in their backyard. Foxx agrees the development is not fair to neighbors, as the land has history. “Sharecroppers and slaves bought this property and it’s been in their families for over 100 years,” Foxx said. In March, the Archer City Commission also voted to write a letter to county commissioners opposing the 600 acre facility, that would be built by Origis Energy through a partnership with GRU. “GRU is committed to bringing renewable energy to its customers and to making this a successful project for all parties, including Gainesville and its surrounding communities. We look forward to continued progress,” GRU representative David Warm said.

The Florida chapter of Sierra Club also wrote to the county commission saying, “We ask that you further postpone any zoning changes in southwest alachua county, and any proposed solar developments, until a transparent, inclusive, community-driven planning process is completed. Such a planning process is the only way to create a just and sustainable alachua county clean and renewable energy plan…”

The Sand Bluff solar array project is a step away from approval after the planning commission voted 4-3.

04/28/2021

“Legislation was headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk Monday that will limit the ability of local governments to raise fees on developers to pay for new schools and other infrastructure. It was one of a suite of bills advancing in the Legislature that critics say will weaken local control over development. The Senate approved the bill that will limit the impact fees developers pay to help local governments shoulder the cost of roads and other infrastructure associated with new growth.

Jane West of 1000 Friends of Florida says other bills advancing in the Legislature would affect local governments’ land use planning and rules aimed at protecting local character. “It’s special interest-driven, and it really does take away the voice of your average citizen because they no longer have that direct access. Very few citizens have the ability, the interest, the time, the resources to go all the way to Tallahassee to voice their concerns.”

Lawmakers also were considering a bill that would roll back a controversial plan for new toll roads that many feared would trigger growth in rural areas. The session ends this week.”

Legislation was headed to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk Monday that will limit the ability of local governments to raise fees on developers to pay for new schools and other infrastructure.

04/28/2021

"In the last days of the 2019 Legislative Session, our elected leaders mandated that three enormously costly and environmentally damaging toll roads be built in the last remaining rural areas of the peninsula (the roads were known as MCORES). Florida Wildlife Federation (FWF) and other groups immediately started a campaign to stop this effort, which was beneficial only to potential developers along the routes and the road builders themselves. Moreover, we presently have billions of dollars in road maintenance and improvements, especially in South Florida, that need to be attended to. Three task forces were formed to examine the toll roads, and all three concluded that there was no necessity for the roads and the expense.

Additionally, non-partisan Florida Tax Watch declared the toll roads a financial disaster. Thankfully, the 2021 Legislative Session, after two years of public opposition, has now repealed most of the MCORES toll roads mandate through Senate Bill 100 (SB 100). This bill provides for a much less expensive and onerous plan that puts the process under the Department of Transportation and greatly limits road expansion. For that we are grateful, as the MCORES toll roads would have caused the end of rural lifestyles, severely degraded our environment and water resources, and possibly spelled the end for the Florida panther. FWF played its part by proposing amendments to the sponsor of SB 100 and thereby many environmental protection provisions made their way into the bill. As SB 100 has now overwhelmingly passed both chambers of the Florida Legislature with veto-proof majorities, we await action by the Governor. Many thanks to all who took part in our democracy and voiced your concerns over the toll roads!”

FWF and You Helped kill MCORES fiasco! Many thanks to all who took part in our democracy and voiced your concerns over the toll roads!

04/21/2021

"Local governments wouldn't be able to ban or restrict the types of fuels utilities use to power customer's homes and businesses under a bill that has cleared its last House committee stop. Those powers would be preempted to the state. Rep. Josie Tomkow (R-Auburndale) is sponsoring the House bill. She wants to prevent local governments from banning natural gas as a fuel utilized to power buildings. Tomkow points to Pinellas, Miami, and Tampa as areas that attempted to ban natural gas...

David Cullen with Sierra Club Florida says local governments that want to eventually get to 100% renewable energy won't be able to if Tomkow's bill is signed into law.

"We can't get to 100% renewable without cutting back and eventually stopping the use of fossil fuels including natural gas, propane, butane, and the like," Cullen says.

Dunedin Mayor Julie Ward Bujalski is one of 27 elected officials from across Florida who signed a letter calling on Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson and House Speaker Chris Sprowls to oppose Tomkow's bill. She says while the bill doesn't specifically target local government's clean energy plans, it's the first step..."

Local governments wouldn't be able to ban or restrict the types of fuels utilities use to power customer's homes and businesses under a bill that has cleared its last House committee stop. Those powers would be preempted to the state. Now, elected officials are joining environmentalists in opposing....

04/14/2021

"State officials announced plans Tuesday to fund the permanent closure of the former Piney Point fertilizer processing plant property, a project that could cost upwards of $200 million.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis visited the Piney Point facility Tuesday morning to announce he has directed the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to develop the closure plan.

“We want this to be the last chapter of the Piney Point story,” DeSantis said. “This will ensure the state is moving forward with a thoughtful, scientific plan toward closure to avoid another chapter in this long history.”

To fund those efforts, DeSantis announced that $15.4 million of existing DEP appropriations will be used in the short-term to pay for “innovative technologies” to pretreat wastewater at the site for nutrients to minimize any adverse environmental impacts of any future discharges, if they are necessary. Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson said that the Legislature also is pushing forward plans to appropriate $100 million this year for DEP’s effort..."

The project could cost upwards of $200 million.

04/14/2021

"Few places on the planet are more at risk from the climate crisis than south Florida, where more than 8 million residents are affected by the convergence of almost every modern environmental challenge – from rising seas to contaminated drinking water, more frequent and powerful hurricanes, coastal erosion, flooding and vanishing wildlife and habitat. If scientists are right, the lower third of the state will be underwater by the end of the century. Yet despite this grim outlook, scientists, politicians, environment groups and others are tackling the challenges head on.

Below are some of the biggest threats posed by the climate crisis to south Florida today, along with solutions under consideration. Some of these solutions will have a lasting impact on the fight.

Sea level rise

The threat: By any estimation, Florida is drowning. In some scenarios, sea levels will rise up to 31in by 2060, a devastating prediction for a region that already deals regularly with tidal flooding and where an estimated 120,000 properties on or near the water are at risk. The pace of the rise is also hastening, scientists say – it took 31 years for the waters around Miami to rise by six inches, while the next six inches will take only 15 more. At such a rate, many of Miami Beach’s landmarks, the world famous South Beach, and the picturesque art deco hotels of Ocean Drive, will be lost within three decades, according to some studies.

Possible solutions: Dozens of municipalities, the four counties of south-east Florida, and partner groups such as the Nature Conservancy have combined their efforts through the south-east regional action climate plan to tackle the crisis. In Miami Beach, dubbed the “ground zero” of sea rise, a multifaceted and costly Rising Above program is already under way. It includes elevating roads, building new sea walls and installing new and higher capacity pumps and drainage systems to alleviate flooding...

The cost: The participating counties and municipalities are contributing to a $4bn statewide spend, including Miami Beach’s $400m Forever Bond, a $1bn stormwater plan and $250m of improvements to Broward county’s sewage systems to protect against flooding and seawater seepage. In the Keys, many consider the estimated $60m a mile cost of raising roads too expensive..."

Few places on the planet are more at risk from the climate crisis than south Florida , where more than 8 million residents are affected by the convergence

04/02/2021

"The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday sided with Georgia in a yearslong fight over water allocation between the Peach State and Florida. Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for a unanimous court in deciding that Florida did not prove its case that Georgia uses "more than its fair share of water from an interstate network of rivers," including the Apalachicola River. At issue was the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin, "an area spanning more than 20,000 square miles in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama." Among other claims was that shifting more water upstream, including to Atlanta's suburbs, was killing off the Apalachicola Bay's oyster industry.

A hearing officer known as a special master had recommended denying "Florida relief for several independent reasons, including that Florida proved no serious injury caused by Georgia’s alleged overconsumption." The court agreed, dismissing the case in a 10-page opinion.

"Florida has not met the exacting standard necessary to warrant the exercise of this Court’s extraordinary authority to control the conduct of a coequal sovereign," the opinion says, referring to Georgia...

In a statement, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried called the decision "disappointing for the thousands of families whose livelihoods depend on the waters of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin..."

Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote for a unanimous court in deciding that Florida did not prove its case.

04/02/2021

"Amid a booming real-estate market in many areas, state lawmakers are moving forward with proposals that would place additional restrictions on impact fees that cities, counties and school boards say are needed to help keep up with growth. House and Senate committees Wednesday approved bills that include putting limits on impact-fee increases and defining the types of infrastructure projects that can be funded with impact-fee money.

The bills (HB 337 and SB 750) came after the approval or consideration of large impact-fee increases in areas such as Hillsborough County, according to House sponsor Nick DiCeglie, R-Indian Rocks Beach. With impact fees collected on new construction, supporters of the bills say increases are baked into the prices of new homes.

“We always have to be cognizant that these costs are passed on to consumers,” Florida Home Builders Association lobbyist Dane Bennett told the House Ways & Means Committee, which approved DiCeglie’s bill in a 15-2 vote…The bills also include an exception to the limits if local governments can meet certain legal requirements, including what is known as a “rational nexus test.” That test effectively requires showing a connection between fee increases, the need for additional infrastructure and the impact of the new construction, according to House and Senate staff analyses.

Jane West, a lobbyist for the growth-management group 1000 Friends of Florida, criticized the proposed limits, saying an “impact fee is a user fee..."

Amid a booming real-estate market in many areas, state lawmakers are moving forward with proposals that would place additional restrictions on impact fees that cities, counties and school boards say are needed to help keep up with growth. House and Senate committees Wednesday approved bills that inc...

03/29/2021

Check out this Action Alert from the Florida Springs Council!

03/26/2021

"A slice of land on the Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail is one step closer to preservation after it was revealed Tuesday that an abandoned road built in the 1700s ran through the property. The Volusia County Historic Preservation Board voted unanimously Tuesday to send a letter in support of the project to the ECHO Advisory Committee, finding it met the standard for historical preservation. The 36 acres in the Plantation Oaks development comes with a price tag just shy of $1 million. The property is rich in history, according to Tim Baylie, Volusia County parks and recreation director. "We conducted some field reviews of the property and found some structural remains and scattered artifacts," Baylie told the Historic Preservation Board Tuesday. Most notably, it contains a segment of Old King’s Road, a road built in the 1760s and 1770s to connect St. Augustine with the New Smyrna settlement established by British colonizer Andrew Turnbull..."

The route is overgrown today, but once cut through property in the Plantation Oaks development. Volusia County is considering paying $1M for the land.

03/26/2021

"Florida is the third most populated state in America and residential development land is in high demand. With over 21 million people, Florida grows by almost 900 people per day and Central Florida grows by about 1,500 people per week. Orlando’s growth rate is the second fastest of the 30 largest U.S. cities, so housing growth continues to be extremely strong across the I-4 corridor.

Currently, demand exceeds supply, so residential development of houses, townhomes, and apartments continues to increase. Green Island Ranch is 25 minutes from Disney World and the Orlando International Airport in Florida’s I-4 corridor. Its desirable location is near a new expressway, which is part of a sizable regional connectivity project, and the Florida Turnpike also runs through the property with an exit just six miles away..."

5,977-Acre Property Near Disney World Is Unique, Entitled Mixed-Use Development Tract for Up to 17,000 Residential Units