New DCA chief, Billy Buzzett, calls for refocus on growth management

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The new chief of Florida’s growth management agency on Tuesday made some suggestions that sound like what some statewide environmental groups have been advocating — an increased focus on long-range planning and less oversight of growth in urban areas.

Gov. Rick Scott has repeatedly called the Department of Community Affairs a job-killer and on Monday his budget recommendations included moving DCA’s planners to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and substantially reducing their numbers.

DCA Secretary Billy Buzzett told a Senate committee on Tuesday that the state should “take the training wheels off” a pair of growth management pilot programs to help the state refocus on its planning priorities. Continue reading Bruce Ritchie’s article here.

Peter Schorsch is the President of Extensive Enterprises and is the publisher of some of Florida’s most influential new media websites, including SaintPetersBlog.com, FloridaPolitics.com, ContextFlorida.com, and Sunburn, the morning read of what’s hot in Florida politics. SaintPetersBlog has for three years running been ranked by the Washington Post as the best state-based blog in Florida. In addition to his publishing efforts, Peter is a political consultant to several of the state’s largest governmental affairs and public relations firms. Peter lives in St. Petersburg with his wife, Michelle, and their daughter, Ella.