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.