Florida Makes it Easier for Developers to Keep Developing

Staff Writer, May 14, 2009

Many Florida residents are concerned about legislation, which will make it easier for developers in the state to build new properties. With more than 300,000 residential units sitting empty across the state, and nearly 65,000 in foreclosure, hundreds of Floridians are asking why. Some have said that the state’s concern needs to be filling the empty houses, before new ones are built.

The new set of laws will cut down on the number of restrictions that are placed on developers. For instance, they will no longer be required to pay for road improvements if the traffic generated by their building projects will exceed the local traffic capacity. This means another expense that will have to be footed by the Florida state government. Many have said that this is counterproductive, because instead of filling up old spaces, Florida is creating thousands of new spaces and thousands of extra dollars in required government revenue.

Some government officials have said that the new plan will help to protect the state’s more pastoral areas. However, the new law will define an urban area as 1,000 people to a square mile. The concern over this definition is that it will contribute to the urban sprawl in Florida and begin to deplete the natural resources.