State legislation adopted in 2009 reduced the authority of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to review and object to comprehensive plan amendments in many major urban areas (those designated as “Dense Urban Land Areas” in the legislation).
As if in reaction to that legislation, the DCA is formulating a rule which would apply to its review of comprehensive plan amendments and would set criteria for the DCA’s determination of the “need” for any given amendment.
Under current law, comprehensive plans are required to consider projected growth and to coordinate permitted land uses with projected growth. In its most restrictive context, this requirement would limit permitted land uses (for example, residential densities and the non-residential uses needed to serve those densities) to those uses needed to accommodate population growth projections. In a broader context, a local government should permit land uses which can provide flexibly for changing circumstances–an unanticipated new employer, for example.
This issue was much discussed when the Growth Management Act was first adopted and implemented, but in subsequent years was a minefield which local governments and the DCA attempted to avoid.
Decisions by the Governor and Cabinet (at the urging of the DCA) in 2009 regarding proposed comprehensive plan amendments in Miami-Dade and Marion Counties placed this “need” issue back at the forefront. In this context, the DCA is formulating a rule to govern its review of comprehensive plan amendments for “need.”
At a February 22 workshop in Orlando, DCA officials asked for input on a series of questions such as: “How should land use need be determined for the plan as a whole and for [individual] amendments? What should be the structure and format of the land use needs analysis?” Those questions in turn led to questions such as: “What qualitative land use factors should be addressed [in assessing the] supply and demand for individual land use categories?”
Those in attendance, mostly local government planners, voiced serious concerns about a State-led review of local needs, particularly if it is driven by population projections which, of necessity, cannot predict all contingencies, such as the announcement of a new employer in a city or unanticipated economic trends.
The DCA did not announce a projected date for the drafting or publication of this rule. We will follow this rule development by the DCA and keep you informed.