01 Growth Management

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STUDY

Jacksonville

CommunityCouncil, Inc.

GROWTHMANAGEMENT

REVISITEDA Report to the Citizens of Northeast Florida Summer 2001


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Growth Management Revisited 20012

Summary

Highlights

Duval County is growing. Residents have children, and people and businesses arrive daily. Growth management is the ef

of the local and regional community to preserve the quality of life while accommodating population and economic grow

JCCI released its first Growth Management Studyin 1984. That study looked at the mechanisms necessary to maint

and enhance the quality of life in Jacksonville in the face of predicted growth. Among other recommendations, it cal

for the adoption and enforcement of a Comprehensive Plan, increased media coverage of growth management, aincreased citizen awareness and involvement in the growth-management process.

In 1985, Florida passed a Growth Management Act, creating a statewide system for enforcing growth management.

1990, Jacksonville adopted its own Comprehensive Plan. In 2000, the State of Florida began review of its growth-m

agement regulations, and the 2001 Growth Management Study Commission report called for increasing local respon

bility for growth management.

In this study, JCCI examines the outcomes of Duval Countys growth-management efforts over the last fifteen years a

identifies steps to improve implementation of growth management in Duval County.

The study committee explored how legislative mandates, community goals, and other factors have influenced grow

management; examined the effectiveness of past and current strategies; reviewed the regional implications of growmanagement efforts; and discussed how growth-management approaches from across the country might be adapted

local efforts.

This study accepts current projections that growth wi ll continue in Duval County. For the purposes of this study, grow

management refers to programs and policies intended to improve or maintain the quality of life by influencing the ra

location, design, and quality of development, including new development and reuse of current assets. It is not synonym

with stopping growth.

Major Concerns

State growth-management efforts have increased the costof development while creating unintended negativeconsequences for local communities.

The natural environment tradit ionally has been giveninsufficient consideration in growth-management decisions.

The complexity, cost, and time-consuming nature of the

Developments of Regional Impact (DRI) process dis-couraged its use.

Historically, growth-management efforts in Duval Countyhave focused more on new growth than on redevelopmentof existing neighborhoods.

Duval County lacks a comprehensive methodology fordetermining the full costs and benefits to the community ofproposed development.

Recommended Solutions

Restructure the Florida growth-management processdelegating responsibilities and authority to appropriate leof government.

Protect the natural environment by including assessmendevelopment impacts on the natural environmendecision making.

Streamline and simplify the DRI process, transferring rev

authority to the Regional Planning Councils.

Encourage and fund coordinated efforts to revitalize oneighborhoods.

Develop and use a process to determine the full costs abenefits of proposed developments, including tax-paimpacts and impacts on the natural environment.


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Table Of Conte

Mission StatemeJacksonville Community Council Inc. is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, broad-based civic organiwhich seeks to improve the quality of life in Northeast Florida by positive change resulting

informed participation of citizens in community life, through open dialogue, impartial reseand consensus building.

FINDINGS 4

Introduction 4

Communi ty goals 4

Impacts of growth on Duval County 5Population and economic growth 5Factors affecting development patterns 6

Resulting development patterns 7Resulting community impacts 8

Transportation 8Environmental impacts 8Growth distribution 9

Growth management tools and their

effectiveness 9State regulation 9

Areas of Critical State Concern 9

Developments of Regional Impact 10Comprehensive Planning 10Concurrency 10Growth Management Study Commission 11

Local efforts 11

Comprehensive Planning 11Zoning 12Land acquisition 13

Cover design and layout by Angela Edwards

On the cover: Map of Duval County, Florida. See page 7 for legend.

Infrastructure

Targeted economic incentives

Fair-share agreements

Downtown redevelopment

Neighborhood and sector plans

Brownfields

Visual environment

Historic preservation

Affordable housing

Regional coordination

Approaches from other communities

Indianapolis, Indiana

Portland, Oregon

Charlotte, North Carolina

Rhode IslandMaryland

CONCLUSIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS

RESOURCE PEOPLE

REFERENCES

COMMITTEE MEMBERS


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Findings

INTRODUCTIONThe goal of growth management is to accommodate populationand economic growth while also maintaining or enhancing thecommunitys quality of life, all without jeopardizing individualrights. Successful growth-management efforts result in a vibrantcommunity with a healthy environment, viable transportationchoices, and shared economic prosperity, without undue stresson taxpayers. Accomplishing these goals was already difficultbefore the release of JCCIs 1984 Growth Management Study,and it will continue to be complex and difficult in the future.

Growth management is a balancing actbalancing the right of

property owners to develop their properties as they wish withthe right of the community to influence the consequences ofdevelopment for overall community benefit. Growth manage-ment is often debated in terms of what others should doridethe bus, live in downtown apartments, or leave the land in itspristine natural conditionso that I can continue to enjoy useof my personal car and my house in the suburbs. Growthmanagement also concerns the rights of those who already livein a community to enjoy its quality of life, versus the rights ofothers to move in and join them.

Balancing competing needs is an active process involvingtradeoffs, as this description demonstrates:

Growth management is active and dynamic ; it seeks tomaintain an ongoing equilibrium between developmentand conservation, between various forms of developmentand concurrent provisions for infrastructure, between thedemands for public services generated by growth and thesupply of revenues to finance those demands, andbetween progress and equity.

Douglas R. Porter, Managing Growth in Americas Communities, 1997

Finding the right balance and maintaining the quality of life,under the pressures of population and economic growthcurrently being experienced in Duval County and Northeast

Florida, requires revisiting JCCIs 1984 study and efforts sincethen to discover solutions for tomorrows growth based on 17years of experience. The Florida legislative debate in 2000-2001 about the proper roles of state and local governments ingrowth management provided an even more urgent context fordetermining how Duval County can best improve implementationof its own growth-management effor ts. Whi le thi s studyconcentrates on Duval County and the c o n s o l i d a t e dJacksonvil le-Duval County government, growth and its impacts

are occurring throughout the metropolitan region. Therethis study examines Duval Countys growth-management efin a regional context.

This study defines growth management as programs and polintended to improve or maintain the quality of life by influenthe rate, location, design, and quality of development, inclunew development and reuse of current assets. It i s synonymous with stopping growth.

COMMUNITY GOALS

Concerns about the impacts of growth have spurred efforts othe years to articulate community goals for growth managemin Duval County and Northeast Florida. These goals are remably consistent in their visions of desired growth-managemoutcomes.

Over the past quarter-century, a number of gatherings of citiunder public and private auspices have articulated goals expectations about the quality of life in Duval County Northeast Florida. These statements have served as gui

principles to define desired outcomes of growth-managemefforts.

The Amelia Island Conference of business and civic leain 1974 listed as a priority the adoption of a comprehensland-use plan with emphasis on recreation areas, conservaand preservation, and establishment of standards for watfront development to ensure public access to the river ocean.

JCCIsGrowth Management Study (1984) outlined commugoals for growth management, including natural-resouprotection and citizen involvement.

T h e First Coast Planning Conference convened by

Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce (1987) created a regivision for 2005, calling for development approaches that wpreserve the environment and enhance the quality of life

The City of Jacksonville 2010 Comprehensive Plan (develoin 1990) included over 1,200 goals, policies, and objectivemanage growth. Its 1997 Evaluation and Appraisal Reconfirmed the same goals, policies, and objectives, noted the Citys progress in accomplishing them.

JCCIs Qualit y of Life Indi cators Targets for 2000 (se

Findings represent the information received by the committee. They are derived from publismaterials, from facts reported by resource people, and from a consensus of the committunderstanding of the opinions of resource people.


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1991) established community goals for indicators of wellbeingin relation to the economy, natural environment, mobility,and other aspects of the communitys quality of life.

TheJacksonville Insight visioning process (in 1992) developedcit izen-based goals for effective transportation, a healthyenvironment, planned economic development, and thrivingneighborhoods and downtown.

The Northeast Flor ida Strategic Regional Policy Plan of theNortheast Florida Regional Planning Council (1997) focusedon five strategic subject areas: affordable housing, economic

development, emergency preparedness, natural resources ofregional significance, and regional transportation.

The River Agenda Summit convened by the Mayor ofJacksonvil le in 1997 outlined environmental strategies forprotection of the St. Johns River.

The Vision for Downtown Jacksonville (1997) articulatedcommunity goals for downtown revitalization.

TheJacksonville Growth Management Task Force convenedby the Mayor (1997) identified community issues andrecommended specific steps Jacksonvi lle could take toimprove the type of growth and effectiveness of its growth-management efforts.

Economic Summits convened by the Mayor of Jacksonvillein 1995 and 1998 focused on neighborhood and regionaleconomic development, tourism, and the t ransportationelement of growth management in Jacksonville.

JCCI F o rw a r d sForum for the Fu t u r e (1999) called forimproved protection of natural resources, enhanced designquality of the built environment, and regional integration ofgrowth-management efforts.

Growth management meeti ngs wit h Nor theast Flor idas t a k e h o l d e r s conducted in 1999 by the Northeast FloridaRegional Planning Council outl ined areas of communityconsensus on goals for growth management, includingenvironmental-protection initiatives.

The Better Jacksonvi lle Plan (2000) laid out a communitygrowth-management vision that included environmentalpreservation, downtown revitalization, and infrastructureimprovements (see page 13).

The 2001 Mayor and City Council pri orit ies for the fiscal

year beginning October 1, 2001 highlight growth-manage-

ment goals including improving the citys transportation system,

encouraging downtown housing, redeveloping older neigh-

borhoods, and encouraging mixed-use development intargeted areas of the county.

These public and private statements combined speak of desiresfor a vibrant community with a healthy environment, viabletransportation choices, and shared economic prosperity. Thesedesires are not unique to Northeast Florida. They have also pro-vided the political impetus for extensive efforts by the State ofFlorida, especially since 1985, to regulate development through-out the state.

H o w e v e r, pri vate behavior does not always match publi cconsensus. While the community may agree that a viable mass-transit system would provide some traffic relief, individual citizensstill choose to drive a personal automobile rather than ride the

bus. Average weekday bus ridership as a percentagpopulation has declined by 35 percent between 191999. Similarly, growth-management efforts to promotdensity and multi-use development often run into opfrom citi zens who may agree that such efforts bencommunity but do not want such development located nown homes.

IMPACTS OF GROWTH ONDUVAL COUNTY

Over the last two decades, Duval County has expe

substantial population and economic growth. State re

city programs and policies, and other factors have inf

the kinds and locations of development. The result iuse patterns have had a significant impact on the q

li fe in Duval County and have prompted renewed con

managing future growth.

Population and economic growth

The population of Duval County and Northeast Floincreased steadily in the last few decades and will conincrease in the foreseeable future. The region experienced substantial economic growth.

In 1940, the total population of Florida was less than 2by 2000, it had grown to nearly 16 million, with furtheto 23 million expected by 2030. As the State of Floridaaccommodate its population growth, the density of devein South Florida is encouraging growth to move northward

In 1940, Duval County was home to just over 200,000

in 2000, the population was nearly four times that. 1980 and 2000, Duval County grew by 36 percent, add200,000 people in 20 years. By 2030, Duval County is eto have a population of over one million, with 1.6 millithroughout the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistic(MSA)Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns Coun

Population growth in the Jacksonvil le

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

County 1990 2000 2010 2020 20

Baker

Clay

Duval

Nassau

St. Johns

Total

Source: U.S. Census, University of Florida Bureau of Economand Business Research. Data for 2010-2030 are projecte

32,2

241,0

1,064,9

98,1

239,0

1,675,2

29,000

208,200

972,700

84,900

200,600

1,495,400

18,486

105,986

672,971

43,941

83,829

925,213

25,600

173,700

874,200

70,900

160,800

1,305,200

22,259

140,814

778,879

57,663

123,135

1,122,750


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The rate of growth in Duval County is expected to continue toslow, as growth spreads into other counties in the region.

Although the rate of growth is slowing, the numbers of peoplebeing added to the existing population base continue to behigh, and the land area and natural resources to accommodatethe growth remain finite. Duval County contains 840 square

miles, of which 774 square miles are land; wetlands comprise25 percent of the total land area in Duval County.

Population growth in Duval County comes from a combinationof net immigration and natural population increase. Naturalincrease occurs when the number of births in a year exceedsthe number of deaths; of the population growth between 1999and 2000, 55 percent was due to natural increase. Net immi-gration occurs when more people move into a community thanmove out; net immigration accounted for 45 percent of the pop-ulation increase from 1999 to 2000.

The age composition of the population is also changing, as the

current population ages and increased numbers of retireesmove to the Jacksonville MSA. Throughout Florida, retireestypically live one county away from large cities, close to theservices they require but away from the urban center. The samepattern is developing throughout Northeast Florida. In 2000,only seven percent of Duval Countys population were over 65,while 28 percent in St. Johns County were 65 or older. By2015, Duval Countys retirement-age population is expected togrow to 13 percent of the total, with St. Johns County reaching36 percent age 65 or older.

The region has experienced substantial economic growth aswell. Between 1984 and 1999, Duval County added 137,000

new jobs and 94,000 housing units. By 2010, Duval County isexpecting a net gain of 104,000 jobs and 57,000 housing units,while the other counties in the region add 30,000 more jobsand 40,000 housing units.

Factors affecting development patterns

State regulation has created increasingly detailed requirements

to manage growth that have been implemented through

local-government policy. Development patterns have been

affected by a combination of state regulation, city progr

and policies, and other factors such as the availability of

expensive land, geographic considerations, infrastructure a

ability, active recruitment efforts, and housing demand.

State legislative mandates, especially the Growth ManagemAct of 1985, have established certain growth-managemrequirements for Floridas counties, including comprehenplanning, requiring that infrastructure is available upon compleof development, and review of large developments that hav

regional impact. While many of the effects of these stregulations have been positive, they have not always achietheir desired outcomes, and in some cases have had unintennegative results; many consider state regulation to be prima burdensome regulatory checklist that adds to the costdevelopment.

State mandates have structured Duval Countys growmanagement processes and strengthened local efforts to mangrowth. These efforts include local comprehensive planand zoning, as well as other policies and programs not mandby the State.

Other factors that have influenced development in DCounty have been:

Geography: The locations of rivers, marshes, and other features have been an important determinant of developmWetlands, for example, have shaped patterns of developmand prevented contiguous development. The locationlocally-unwanted land uses and industry, from landfillpaper mil ls, has inf luenced the development patternneighboring areas.

Availabil ity and cost of land: The availability of less expenland has encouraged growth into previously undevelo

areas. Environmentally contaminated, abandoned lahave discouraged reuse or urban infill in some areas becaof the liability and cost of cleaning up the property. Howemore expensive land in southeastern Duval and northernJohns County has continued to be a focus for developmeven as the price of land has increased.

Infrastructure: Infrastructure refers to the physical facineeded to serve a community, including roads, schools,stations, solid-waste management, drainage, parks, and was e w e r, and electric u ti li ti es. The availabili ty of exisinfrastructure, including util iti es and roadways, has dragrowth toward certain areas; for example, extension of elec

s e w e r, and water infrastructure into certain geographic ahas effectively subsidized the cost of development encouraged development of property accessible to the utilPerceptions of the quality of public facilities, such as schoalso have affected development patterns.

Because the St. Johns River divides Duval County, l o c ations and addit ion of bridges have influenced patterngrowth. Construction of J. Turner Butler Boulevard andthe Buckman Bridge inf luenced development i nto ar

Population growth rates in the Jacksonville

Metropoli tan Statistical Area (MSA)

County

Baker

Clay

Duval

Nassau

St. Johns

Total

Source: U.S. Census, University of Florida Bureau of Economicand Business Research. Data for 2010-2030 are projected.

1980-1990

20.9%

58.1%

17.9%

33.6%

63.4%

25.4%

1990-2000

20.4%

32.9%

15.7%

31.2%

46.9%

21.4%

2000-2010

15.0%

23.4%

12.2%

23.0%

30.6%

16.3%

2020-2030

11.0%

15.8%

9.5%

15.5%

19.1%

12.0%

2010-2020

13.3%

19.9%

11.3%

19.7%

24.8%

14.6%



served by these roadways, as did the Acosta and MatthewsBridges in earlier times; as of the time of this study, theDames Point Bridge is attracting the same strong growth.Highway construction has made commuting feasible betweendowntown and the suburbs.

Recruitment: The pattern of development has also respondedto the efforts of private developers and the City to recruitbusinesses to certain areas, such as the office parks in south-eastern Duval County. Residential development has followed

commercial development into these areas. The City ofJacksonvil le i n 1997 began targeting its use of economicincentives to recruit business to downtown and north andwest of the St. Johns River (see p. 13).

Housing demand: The market demand for housing hasfocused on a typical house with a yard on a cul-d e-sac, in aneighborhood wi th simi lar homes. This type of residentialdevelopment is termed low-density, single-family development,disconnected from the larger traffic network. Residents havebeen willing to commute longer distances to work in orderto have the type of housing they want, even if the house is

located in another county from their employment. Buildershave responded to this demand in their choices of what kindsof residential developments to construct.

Result ing development patterns

Duval Countys rapid population growth over the past two

decades has occurred primarily in the southeastern quadrant.

Development has spread southward beyond Duval into St.

Johns and Clay Counties. The pattern of development hasbeen characterized by low-density, single-family residential

development, served by strip commercial development, with

commercial/residential development clusters around officeparks and shopping malls. At the time of this study, devel-

opment patterns were beginning to change in response toCity pol icies and programs.

Duval County covers 480,043 acres, excluding Baldwin and theBeaches municipalities. By 2000, 214,987 acres, or 45 percentof the total land area, had been developed. Of the remainingland area, 21,338 acres were federal or state parks or otherwisedesignated conservation land.

Between 1985 and 2000, the majority of resident

commercial development in Duval County occurred in iteast quadrant. The population south and east of the River (Arlington and Southeast Planning Districts asAtlantic Beach, Jacksonville Beach, and Neptune Beach)approximately 150,000 during this time period, which afor nearly all of the population growth of the county. Olying areas, especially in northern and western Duval have not been as intensively developed; population dro11.5 and 22.7 percent in the Northwest and Urbaplanning districts, respectively. The clustering of officesoutheastern Duval County has contributed to the differdevelopment patterns.

Definiti ons of Density

Rural Residential 0-2 dwelling units per acreLow Density Residential 3-7 dwelling units per acre

Medium Density Residential 8-20 dwelling units per acreHigh Density Residential 21-60 dwelling units per acre

Source: City of Jacksonville 2010 Comprehensive Plan

Population change per planning district

Planning District 1985 Population 2000 Population Percent

Urban CoreArlington

Southeast

Southwest

Northwest

North

Atlantic,Jacksonville,andNeptune Beach

Baldwin

Total

Source: City of Jacksonville Planning and Development Departmen

Agricultural, parkland, or undeveloped land

Residential development

Industrial, commercial, or military developmen

-

+

+

-

+

+

++

55,125123,214

118,177

115,323

145,586

37,660

32,268

1,528628,881

42,635

186,072

195,721

133,867

128,848

48,474

41,628

1,634778,879

Development Patterns in Duval County, 2000


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Development has spread southward into Clay and St. JohnsCounties as well. Building permits for single-family homes inDuval County have remained relatively constant from 1998 to2000; during the same three years, building permits in St. Johnsand Clay Counties have grown by 17.6 and 13.8 percent,respectively.

Development patterns have favored low-density, single-familyresidential development. The Jacksonville Planning andDevelopment Department projects that, between 1990 and

2010, more than 88 percent of the Citys new housing will bedeveloped at an average density of less than four units per acre.As development has increased, infrastructure requirements forroads, schools, and parks have increased as well. Building infra-structure to meet development needs spurs additional develop-ment, which quickly exceeds the capacity of available infra-structure.

Resulting community impacts

Increased population and economic growth and the corre-sponding development to accommodate that growth have

impacted the quality of life in Northeast Florida in several

ways. Growth has increased pressures on transportation

systems, the environment, and the financial resources of

local government. The locations and kinds of developmenthave impacted some older urban neighborhoods and have

spread across county lines to create interjur isdictional issues.

As Northeast Florida has grown, the impact to the residentsquality of life has correspondingly increased. Growth affectsthe community, particularly its transportation system, naturalenvironment, and social environment. Growth also creates pressureson Duval Countys financial resources and requires improvedintergovernmental coordination with the surrounding counties.

Transportation

Traffic on Duval County roadways has increased. Existingcommercial and residential development patterns rely on a fewcollector roads and major arterial roads. Many residential andcommercial developments have only limited direct access toanother development, in part because previous regulationsdiscouraged connector roads. This funnels traffic onto a fewmajor roads and increases trip lengths and trip times, leading totraffic delay and increased maintenance needs of existing r o a d-ways. Subsequent road-wi dening projects on major thor-oughfares have provided some relief, but growth continues to

expand.

The spread of bedroom communities in Clay and St. JohnsCounties has created cross-county commuting backups, as U.S.17 and Blanding Boulevard in Clay County and State Road 13,A1A, Philips Highway, and Interstate 95 in St. Johns Countycarry increasing numbers of cars. Duval Countys mass-transitsystem has not attracted sufficient ridership to effectively relievetraffic congestion.

Increasing population is only part of the traffic issue, as the exispopulation continues to take more trips and longer trips, anddecreased its use of mass transit, carpooling, or biking/walkincommuting methods. Past development patterns have always been pedestrian friendly, either by providing sidewalkby locating residential development within walking distancretail or employment. These patterns also discourage the usbicycles and mass transit . The Cit y of Jacksonvi lle in 1significantly strengthened its policy for provision of sidewalkaddress this issue.

Environmental impacts

A growing population has placed greater pressure on potwater resources. From 1980 to 1999, demand for water suppby public sources in Duval County increased from 73.25112.47 mil lion gallons per day. Of the nearly 40 million gaincrease, approximately 10 million gallons a day resulted fpeople shifting from personal wells to public water supCommercial and industrial withdrawal of groundwdecreased by 20 million gallons per day during the same perSome of that decrease came from shifting water use to the puwater supply, and some came from actual decreases in wusage due to conservation efforts. In all, net water use in DCounty increased between 1980 to 1999 by 10 million gaper day.

Stormwater runoff, which carries fertilizer and pesticides intoSt. Johns River, threatens the health of the river by increaalgae and bacteria growth, which can lead to fish kills, contanated shellfish, and habitat degradation. Leakage from faseptic tanks can also pollute the river. Although residedevelopment has increased, the number of new septic-tank mits issued annually by the City of Jacksonville decreased bypercent between 1987 and 1999. The Better Jacksonvil le

also set aside $75 million for septic-tank remediation.

The loss of trees to development can increase stormwater ruas a moderate-sized tree can absorb up to 400 gallonstormwater per day. The St. Johns River Water ManagemDistrict (WMD) regulates new development to require thatfirst inch of stormwater is retained on site. Watering restions, limiting the time of day that Duval County residents w a te r their lawn, w ere adopted by t he WMD in 1and are currently enforced. In addition, the Wissued water shortage warnings in 1999 and 2000.

Increased development, more vehicles, and increased tr

congestion contribute to air pollution. The EnvironmeProtection Agency estimates that the pollution from increadriving wil l offset all of its air pollution-reduction effort20 1 0 .

Loss of land to development decreases natural resources wildlife habitats available and pressures the natural environmto maintain sustainable ecosystems.



Growth distribution

The locations and kinds of development have created disparateimpacts within Duval County and in adjoining counties. Theextensive development of office-park and commercial develop-ment in southeastern Duval County, especially aroundSouthpoint and Baymeadows, has also attracted widespread res-idential development to this area. The rest of Duval County haslagged behind, particularly the urban core and some neighbor-hoods north and west of the St. Johns River.

Between 1989 and 1999, over half of all commercial developmentand three-fourths of all residential development in Duval Countyoccurred south and east of the St. Johns River. In the North andNorthwest Planning Districts, however, development is increasing;commercial development in 1999 exceeded the average annualadjusted value of new building permits from the previous tenyears by 89 percent, and residential development similarly grew by114 percent.

Development in Duval County has impacted other areas inNortheast Florida. St. Johns and Clay Counties have become

bedroom communities for Jacksonville workers. While thosetwo counties are exporting employees, they lack adequatetransportation infrastructure for their own commuters andthe commercial tax base needed to provide adequate servicesto their residents. At the same time, Duval County is requiredto provide roads and public services to commuters from othercounties. Current efforts to attract growth to northern DuvalCounty have the potential to create growth pressures in NassauCounty as well.

As development has spread across county lines, local governmentshave responded within their jurisdictions to manage growth.However, Northeast Florida lacks a formal political structure to

integrate growth-management efforts across county lines. TheNortheast Florida Regional Planning Council works on an informalbasis to encourage local governments to coordinate growth-management efforts.

The 2000 JCCI study on Improving Regional Cooperation inNortheast Floridaconcluded that growth-management efforts inNortheast Florida "cannot succeed unless they are coordinatedat the regional level."

GROWTH MANAGEMENT TOOLS

AND THEIR EFFECTIVENESS

Duval Countys efforts to manage growth have been both

strengthened and l imited by the states growth-management

process, which was under statewide debate at the time of this

study. Local efforts to manage growth have intensified in

recent years, with a variety of programs beginning to demon-strate their effectiveness. Growth-management effor ts in cer-

tain other communities may reveal approaches to improve

local efforts.

State regulation

The State of Florida began regulating developm

growth-management purposes in the 1970s and signstrengthened its role through the 1985 Growth Mana

Act. The growth-management process identi fies

roles for the state, regional organizations, and local gove

This process was under intensive review during thi

and Floridas growth-management system is likely tosignificantly over the next several years.

After actively encouraging growth for many years, the Florida began responding in the 1970s to the increasingly impacts of unregulated growth through a process of togrowth management. The Legislature strengthened thesin the 1985 Growth Management Act, including a requthat local governments not issue building permits uninfrastructure necessary to support the developmentplace concurrently with the development. In 2000, aislative debate on significant amendments to the growagement process, the Governor established a Management Study Commission to review growth-mana

regulation and recommend improvements. TheCommission reported to the Governor and LegislaFebruary 15, 2001 and recommended that the Legislatusignificant changes to the process. The current proceslished in 1985, has relied on four major regulatory tooof Critical State Concern, Developments of Regional Comprehensive Planning, and Concurrency.

One strength of this process has been its relative stabilittime, local governments, developers, and citizens have relatively comfortable with the process, and "grandfprojects (those not subject to the regulation because tbegun prior to 1985) have largely been either developed

Areas of Critical State Concern

The State limits development in certain large geographicthat are of major, unique environmental value through thof Critical State Concern (ACSC) program. To date, the Sidentified only four such areasApalachicola BaySwamp, Big Cypress Swamp, and the Keysnone of wNortheast Florida. Despite initial local litigation and conprogram has been effective in managing growth and prthese areas. Because no proposal has been made to dan Area of Critical State Concern in Northeast Flor

program has had no effect in Duval County.

In 1993, the State required Regional Planning Councils tonatural resources of regional significance in a Strategic RPolicy Plan. This has been used in Northeast Florida to copreservation of environmental areas on a regional basis

A recommendation by the Growth ManagemenCommission to create a new regulatory category of resources of statewide significance" has the potential Duval County in one of two ways:


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by enhancing local preservation efforts if local naturalresources are classified as having statewide significance; or

by diminishing local efforts if the designation "naturalresources of regional significance" is eliminated.

Developments of Regional Impact

The State regulates large regional developments with substantialoff-site impacts through a Developments of Regional Impact(DRI) review and approval process. Proposed developments

that meet certain threshold levels must go through DRI reviewbefore seeking building permits. The Northeast Florida RegionalPlanning Council (RPC) coordinates the DRI process in this partof the state, determines the extent of regional impact ofproposed developments, and recommends how developers canmitigate negative offsite impacts. Local governments with juris-diction over DRIs review the RPC recommendations andinclude in their final development orders the steps the devel-oper must take to receive building permits. After local govern-ments issue development orders, the RPC reviews the DRIagain and recommends to the Florida Department ofCommunity Affairs (DCA) whether to approve or appeal thedevelopment orders.

The DRI process manages growth in several ways, by:

ensuring that development is responsive to community standards; resolving disputes among different jurisdictions; and reducing or resolving the impacts of large-scale development.

However, because the DRI process adds significant upfronttime and costs to the development process (resource peopleestimated as long as two years and a minimum of $1 million inconsulting and legal fees), it has had unintended negativeeffects on growth management. The number of developments

just under DRI size thresholds, some of them adjacent to oneanother, has increased, thus avoiding DRI review but increasingoffsite impacts and encouraging piecemeal development.

Comprehensive planning

In 1985, the State refined its top-down comprehensive land-useplanning process. The State Comprehensive Plan is intended toguide regional plans that in turn provide a framework for localcomprehensive plans consistent with each other, the regionalplans, and the state plan. Jacksonvil le adopted its comprehen-sive plan for 2010 in 1990. It has been in force since then andis amended periodically, in accordance with the state process.

DCA reviews and approves local comprehensive plans and planamendments for consistency and compliance with state lawand administrative rules. Amending the comprehensive planhas intentionally been made time consuming and complicated,involving reviews, hearings, and comments from the RegionalPlanning Council, Water Management District, Department ofTransportation, and Department of Environmental Protection,before DCA review. Every seven years, each local governmentmust do an Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) of it s

comprehensive plan to assess actual development against objectives. Jacksonvil le completed its most recent EAR in 1and is scheduled for another in 2004.

The comprehensive planning process had some immediate benAcross the state, local communities placed a higher emphasisgrowth management. Creating comprehensive plans requassessing development patterns and establishing community pties, as well as creating ordinances and revising zoning to fitlocal Comprehensive Plan. However, by 2000, most obser

agreed that the States intent to provide guidance and oversfor land-use regulation and growth management througcomprehensive planning process had several shortcomings:

Success of the process at the local level requires guidafrom a strong, clear State Comprehensive Plan. Two attemby the state to create this plan have failed to provide a cguiding document for regional and local planning efforts.

The process mandates DCA review of every plan, plan updand sizable plan amendment throughout the state467 coty and municipal plans through the late 1980s to 1990 over 30,000 plan amendments through the 1990s. In respoto this volume, the process evolved into assuring complia

with a state checklist instead of coordinating growth-manament efforts.

Funding for local governments to complete the mandacomprehensive-planning process was not provided.

Implementation requires local political will to deny exceptionthe comprehensive plan that are detrimental to growth manment. This has proven problematic in many areas in the sta

Concurrency

The provisions in comprehensive plans gained additiostrength when the State began to requ ire t hat suffi c

infrastructure be in place concurrently with the new developmRequired infrastructure includes water, sewer, roads and mtransit, solid waste, parks and recreation, and drainage. Becaschool districts are autonomous in Florida, schools are included in concurrency requirements. If the necessary instructure will not be in place in time to accommodate a ndevelopment when it is completed, local government is allowed to issue build ing permits. New developments traditionally incorporated most of these infrastructure demanhowever, until 1985 no one had been measuring the traportation demands of new development, including how mtrips the development would generate and the capacity ofroads to handle the traffic.

In practice, Concurrency created significant problems for lgrowth-management efforts. Concurrency regulations wintended to be supported with additional state funding for instructure improvements, so that existing development wmeet the new concurrency standards. However, the fundwas not provided. This severely constrained efforts by logovernments to guide the siting of new developments for growmanagement purposes.



As a result, concurrency has been a major factor in pushingdevelopment away from established cities into suburbs and hin-terlands where excess road capacity exists, exactly the oppositeof what was intended.

Growth Management Study Commission

In 2000, the Governor created a Growth Management StudyCommi ssion t o assess the effect iveness of the growth-

management system and to recommend changes to theLegislature. The Study Commission was specifically charged toconsider the proper roles of the State, regional organizations,and local governments in growth management, as well as therole and responsibilities of citizens in developing and enforcingcomprehensive plans.

In February 2001, the Study Commission presented its report to theGovernor and the Legislature. Among its recommendations werethe following: Replace the State Comprehensive Plan wi th a vision state-

ment placing a healthy, vibrant, and sustainable economy asFloridas priority.

Develop a uniform method to review the costs and benefitsof local land-use decisions.

Empower citizens to understand and participate in the growth-management process.

Restrict state review of local comprehensive-plan amendmentsto those affecting compelling state interests.

Replace the DRI process with regional cooperation agreements. Include public-school facilit ies in local comprehensive plans. Authorize incentives for urban revitalization and infill devel-

opment, including infrastructure needs. Develop an incentive-based rural policy that includes public

purchase of conservation and agricultural easements and trans-fer of density allocations.

In the 2001 regular session, the Legislature debated growth man-agement but, outside of passing a farmland protection bi ll, di dnot make any major changes to the state growth-manage-ment system.

Local efforts

Since the 1980s, local growth-management efforts primarily

responded to state regulatory requirements. Beginning inthe mid-1990s, the City of Jacksonville initiated several

efforts, that go beyond state requirements, to manage growthwithin Duval County. These efforts show promise for man-

aging growth.

Growth has generally been encouraged in Jacksonville. Formany years the prevailing sentiment among local politicalleaders was that plenty of room for development existed inDuval Countys 840 square miles. As the county and regionexperienced rapid population growth and the State began pass-ing legislation to regulate growth, the City began placing greater

emphasis on growth-management efforts. In 1980, lished a Department of Planning and Developmeapproved by resolution a 2005 Comprehensive Plan. HJCCIs Growth Management Study in 1984 fouJacksonvilles growth-management system at that time"policy direction, commitment, and coordination." A1985 Growth Management Act was passed, Jacksonville by ordinance the 2010 Comprehensive Plan in 19901991 revised its Zoning Code to align with the plan.

In 1996, the Mayor and City Council President estabGrowth Management Task Force to examine the Citys policies, the implementation of those policies, and thstructure needs that must accompany them in order to and improve the quality of life for all Jacksonvilles citizetask forces report, released in 1997, has provided botguidance and the basis for several new growth-manainitiatives, including the Downtown Master Plan, BroProgram, Transportation Master Plan, NeighbDepartment, and the Better Jacksonville Plan. In 1997,also completed its first Evaluation and Appraisal Report the 2010 Comprehensive Plan, concluding that a great

been accomplished and that efforts were ongoing addit ional community needs. By 2001, this increasemphasis on growth management was beginning to ygible results. However, because these initiatives wereatively new, their long-term effectiveness could notde t e r mi n ed .

Comprehensive planning

The 2010 Comprehensive Plan provides the framewgrowth-management activities by identifying 17 categallowable uses for all land parcels in Duval County. Tcontains over 1,200 goals, policies, and objectives to

policy guidance for land-use decisions.

If a property owner proposes development that is incowi th the designated l and-use category for the proc o m p r e h e n s i v e-plan amendment is required. Ameninvolving property of less than ten acres can be filed attimes during the year and then undergo three public hAmendments involving ten or more acres require aprocess, that usually takes about nine months. These tions can be filed at only two times during a year, andpublic hearings are required, as they are reviewedRegional Planning Council, Water Management

Department of Transportation, Department of EnviroProtection, and Department of Community Affairs.

In May 2000, to increase effectiveness of its compreplanning, the City of Jacksonville:

created a new land-use category to allow multi-use dment places where people can live, work, and/in one locati ont o encourage higher density dment and decrease trip lengths; and


12/24


added an emphasis on more roadway connections betweendevelopments and between residential and commercial devel-opments to decrease reliance on major arterial roads.

The effectiveness of comprehensive planning to significantlyalter development patterns or manage growth has been limitedbecause:

implementation of land-use planning has not always beencoordinated with school siting, placement of water and sewer

infrastructure, transportation, and economic-d e v e l o p m e n tplanning;

the Comprehensive Plan does not address planning for publicsafety; and

while the City Council generally has followed the recommendationsof the Department of Planning and Development, some devel-opments have been approved that are inconsistent with theC o mprehensive Plan.

To improve effectiveness of growth-management efforts, the Cityof Jacksonville began in the mid-1990s to increase reliance onother growth-management tools.

Zoning

The Zoning Code provides another tool for managing land use.Thirty-five zoning classifications, arrayed among the 17 generalland-use categories, provide more specific provisions for allowableland uses.

Changing a propertys zoning is very different from amendingthe Comprehensive Plan. Rezoning is "quasi-judicial" ratherthan legislative. Decisions are designed to be made based onfacts and evidence, not political judgment. City Council members,when deciding on rezoning requests, are expected to act as

impartial judges of the evidence presented to determine if theproposed land-use change is consistent with the ComprehensivePlan and meets all other criteria outlined in the Zoning Code.

The zoning process was changed in several ways during the 1990s:

Increased cit izen involvement: A dramatic increase in citizeninvolvement has occurred, especially on the part of citizenorganizations. Some increased involvement has resulted frommore effective use of written notices to affected individuals

and organizations. The City sends a notice to property owwithin 350 feet of a proposed zoning change, as well aall Citizen Planning Advisory Committeescitizen organizaworking with the Neighborhoods Department in each plandistrictand to any other organization that registers to recthem. Citizen involvement in some cases has supported deopment that fosters growth management; in other cascitizen involvement has discouraged efforts to build higdensity development or site locally unwanted land uses.

Planning Commission: The Planning Commission is a nmember body, appointed by the Mayor, that reviews proposite plans and reviews and decides whether to approve zovariances and except ions. Their decisions can nowappealed to the City Counci l. The Planning Commissionbe authorized to act as a coordinating agency for programsactivities of executive agencies and independent ageninvolved in land-use planning.

Planned Unit Developments (PUDs): Under a PUD zoclassifi cation, appli cants create their own unique zoncategory for a particular development. They provide a detawritten description of the development planned for a partic

land parcel. The use of PUDs is increasing as developers citizen groups work to identify mutually acceptable luses; from 1997 to 2000, the City approved 166 new PUAdministration and interpretation of a PUD is a complex sometimes problematic task, and changes to a PUD candifficult to track.

Revisions to the Zoning Code: In 1995, the City createdTraditional Neighborhood Design (TND) classification to ahigher density, multi-use, traditional neighborhoods. The TND project was approved in 2001. The City also createHistoric Overlay for Springfield, an older neighborhood whistoric homes, to encourage renewal and preservation of th

homes; another Historic Overlay was being developedthe Riverside/Avondale area at the time of this study. In 20the Department of Planning and Development was preparevisions to the Zoning Code designed to increase flexiband to respond to changing land-use patterns and new tyof development not covered by the existing code (such abusinesses.) By providing greater specificity in zoning clascations, the planned changes are intended to decret h e need for PUDs.

Rezoning

ordinances:

Introduced

Passed

Still pending

Withdrawn

Denied

Source: Jacksonville City Council

1997 1998 1999 200

187156

122

8

154129

1168

184150

5227

17132

ComprehensivePlan amendments:

Introduced

Passed

Still pending

Withdrawn

Denied

Source: Jacksonville City Council

1997 1998 1999 2000

80

64

11

5

0

72

63

1

6

2

51

44

0

4

3

56

46

1

9

0



Land acquisition

Another growth-management strategy is for government topurchase undeveloped land to remove it from future development.Environmentally sensitive land can be protected through landacquisition, and targeted land acquisition can direct growthaccording to community priori ties. Purchase or transfer ofdevelopment rights and conservation easements are similarstrategies that do not require the government to purchase land

but which preserve lands from development.

In 1999, the City expanded its land-acquisition efforts with thePreservation Project, designed to remove land from developmentand to improve air and water quality. Funding for the effortcomes from federal, state, and local sources, private founda-tions, and mitigation agreements. The initial goal of purchasing20 square miles of land was met in 2000; by 2001, the City hadacquired 19,360 acres, or over 30 square miles of land, for con-servation. The Project continues to acquire land, as the Mayor sstated goal for Jacksonville is to have the largest urban parksystem in the country.

Land acquisition can have economic benefi ts as well. The CedarSwamp Report, issued in February 2000, estimated that devel-opment of the Cedar Swamp area would have cost the government$2.45 to provide services for every $1.00 of new tax revenuesgenerated by the development. According to this estimate, theCity saved over $200 million by purchasing the property andtaking it out of development.

Infrastructure

The location, capacity, and condition of existing infrastructureare key components in decision making for new development.

Local government guides the location and kinds of growth byproviding necessary infrastructure in certain areas and not inothers. The addition of concurrency requirements has madeinfrastructure availability even more important to developmentdecisions.

The City of Jacksonville has taken the following steps to make itslocation of new infrastructure more effective in managinggrowth:

In September 2000, Duval County voters approved the BetterJacksonville Plan, a half-cent, local-option sales tax increase tofund capital improvements and transportation infrastructure in

the county. The City promoted the measure as a growth-man-agement initiative because it seeks to accommodate the infra-structure requirements of existing growth and to makei nfr as t r u c t u r e improvements in areas targeted as desirable forfuture growth.

A new working relationship between the City and JEA hasbeen formalized in the comprehensive plan to coordinateplacement of water/sewer lines with land-use planning.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has begun rdevelopment plans to ensure that they can accomfuture mass-transit needs.

Increased coordination between the Department of and Development and the Duval County Public Scseeking to better coordinate the siting of schools, re c rfacilities, and residential development.

The effectiveness of these approaches can be evaluated othe policies have had a chance to influence several yea

ing and development decisions.

Targeted economic incentives

Local governments offer financial incentives to certain busiencourage economic development. In 1997, the MJacksonville set a goal to use incentives to attract butoward the area north and west of the St. Johns River antown, away from the crowded southeastern quadrant. this goal became City policy, as the Jacksonville EDevelopment Commission discontinued approving infor developments in the southeastern area of the coun

policy was designed to encourage development in where development supports growth-management goal

Between 1997 and 2000, 45 new economic-developmenpromising 3,740 jobs and approximately $550 million iinvestment were approved for the targeted areas north aof the St. Johns River. The total value of City incentives for these projects was $58.6 million.

Fair-share agreements

Since its implementation in 1991, the concurrency requirelimited local governments ability to determine where dment should occur. In response, Jacksonville has deve"fair-share agreement" process, through which developobtain permission to build if they pay for infrasimprovements in proportion to the additional impacts thopment will generate.

Fa i r-share agreements are simi lar to another gmanagement strategy other Florida counties use calledfees." Impact fees are typically imposed on all new dments, based on their size alone, to pay for infrastructure ments. Fair-share agreements, in contrast, are assessed ba calculation of the specific impacts of the development

exceed available road capacity within a two mile radf ai r-share payments are now spent on roadway improin the same sector from which are collected.

Through December 2000, 63 fair-share agreements tota$13 million had been approved in Duval County. Severed projects had been funded with "fair-share" funds, widening of Kernan Boulevard and intersection improalong Old St. Augustine Road and Hodges Boulevard.


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Downtown redevelopment

A vibrant downtown is a strong growth-management toolbecause it encourages centralized, higher density developmentand provides alternatives to spread out development into thesuburbs. The City of Jacksonville has invested heavily in down-town-redevelopment efforts. For example, its 1993 River CityRenaissance program spent $230 million, including a newperforming arts center, city hall, and football stadiumdowntown. In 2000, the Better Jacksonvil le Plan provides

$435 million for a new coliseum, childrens park, county court-house, baseball stadium, and library, all located downtown.

Additional City efforts to revitalize downtown use a range ofapproaches:

The Downtown Master Plan, approved in 2000, is designedto coordinate urban design, transportation, commercial, andresidential-development efforts.

The Zoning Code was amended in 1997 to allow housingdowntown.

Residential development has been encouraged througheconomic incentives. At the time of this study, approximately500 downtown housing units, ranging from riverfront condo-miniums to loft apartments, were proposed, approved, orunder construction.

Additional commercial development has been encouragedthrough economic incentives, such as a new hotel.

Synergistic efforts with the School Board created a newLaVilla performing-arts middle school and a renovated RitzTheatre downtown to encourage and showcase the arts.

Transportation improvements, including completion of theAutomated Skyway Express and introduction of a trolleyservice, are designed to encourage mobility within thedowntown area.

Completed and planned improvements to aesthetics,streetscaping, greenspaces, and parks are intended to makethe downtown experience more appealing.

The effectiveness of these efforts to revitalize downtown forgrowth-management purposes depends in part on the influx ofprivate investment to sustain a vibrant downtown.

Neighborhood and sector plans

A sector plan creates a detailed design for future land use withina specific area. A neighborhood plan does the same thing in astill smaller area. Such plans, which usually have benefited

from direct community input and buy-in, can provide strongguidance for growth management. They can also address issuesof historic preservation and maintaining the "sense of place"in a neighborhood.

The City has begun developing neighborhood and sector plansin areas targeted for redevelopment efforts. The Cecil Fieldredevelopment plan, for example, was designed to anticipateand coordinate growth with the transition of Cecil Field from amil itary base to a commercial/residential development. On a

smaller scale, the Kings Road/Beaver Street NeighborhAction Plan discusses redevelopment in a context of creduction, infrastructure improvements, and neighborhbeautification efforts. Two larger plans addressing developmon the Northside and the Westside are expected to be deoped in 2001.

Brownfields

Growth-management efforts can more effectively discourspreading development patterns if they successfully encouinfill and reuse of urban properties. Some urban propercalled "brownfields," are expensive to redevelop because prevland uses have contaminated the property, creating cleanand potential liability costs. In 1998, the City began a Brownfields Redevelopment Program, in partnership withState of Florida and the U. S. Environmental Protection Ageto develop a process to identify and determine the extenthe pollution problems, clean them up, and redevebrownfield properties.

The effectiveness of this program in redirecting developmen

infill sites cannot yet be determined, since no brownfield siteyet been redeveloped in Duval County.

Visual environment

A key community goal in managing growth involves aestheor protection of the visual environment. The City of Jacksonuses several tools to manage the visual environment, includ

a sign ordinance to regulate the appearance and size of oncommercial signs and the number of off-site signs;

a tree ordinance to preserve or replace trees of a certain and size from development;

a Landscape Commission to encourage aesthetic standfor public areas;

landscaping site-development requirements in the Zoning C a downtown architectural review process; strengthen cell-tower ordinances; a tree-planting init iative, which distributed one mill ion t

through 2001; and an aggressive anti-li tter campaign.

Many of these efforts had not been effective through 1 9 9 0 s , according to resource people, due in part to lack of enfoment stemming from insufficient funding and staffFrustration with the lack of enforcement led to a citizen

charter amendment in 2000 to preserve trees, when manythat the City Council had insufficiently addressed the issue.

Historic preservation

Growth-management efforts often have as their objectivesencouragement of higher density, multi-use, pedestrian frieland uses with a distinctive sense of place. Historic-preservaefforts can accomplish these objectives.



Historic-preservation and urban-revitalization efforts have severaladvantages, including:

enhancing property values in the community; increasing employment opportunities; increasing community visibility; and improving community pride.

The City of Jacksonvilles Comprehensive Plan has a HistoricPreservation Element. The seven-member Historic Preservation

Commission, appointed by the Mayor and staffed by theDepartment of Planning and Development, administers historic-preservation efforts. Rehabilitation and reuse of historic propertiesare encouraged by federal tax credits, local property-taxabatements, and state preservation grants. In variouscombinations, these incentives are available to private,commercial, and government property owners.

Riverside Avondale is one successful example of histori cpreservation in Jacksonvi lle. Effor ts to preserve the historiccharacter and nature of the neighborhood began in 1974 whena group of citizens founded Riverside Avondale Preservation

(RAP). The residents voted to designate the neighborhood anhistoric district and in February 1998, city ordinance createdthe Riverside Avondale Historic District.

Springfield is another example of Jacksonvil les histori c-preservation efforts. Its revitalization efforts have included publicand private investment, a zoning overlay, a neighborhood plan,and participation in the States Mainstreet program to improvedesign, promote the area, build public-private partnerships, andrecruit economic development. From 1998 to 2001, theappraised value of property in Springfield has increased from$30 per square foot to $70.

Affordable housing

Neighborhood revitalization, urban renewal, and historic-preservation efforts risk increasing the cost of housing or dis-placing current residents. JCCIs 2000 study on AffordableHousingfound that 71,000 households in Duval County neededaffordable housing or housing assistance programs, of which19,000 were receiving some form of federal, state, or localhousing assistance.

The City of Jacksonville has addressed displacement andh o u s i n g affordability in its revitalization programs. For example,

in Springfield, both a program to encourage infill constructionand a repair and rehabilitation program for existing propertiesare available for both new and existing owners, encouraging ren-ovation while keeping costs down.

Regional coordination

As development occurs within Northeast Florida, it not onlycreates interjurisdictional impacts, it also necessitates coopera-tive efforts among involved counties and municipalities to plan

for and implement complementary growth-managemengies and infrastructure development.

As of early 2001, formal regional growth-managemenwere effective, but limited.

The Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council hreviewing comprehensive plans for consistency regional growth-management plan and is seeking todisputes between local governments, primarily thro

DRI process but also by serving as a neutral co The St. Johns River Water Management District

comprehensive-plan amendments and regulates wateon a regional basis.

The First Coast Metropolitan Planning Organizatiotransportation improvements in Duval and parts of CSt. Johns Counties.

Informal cooperative effort s were just beginning, coordinating land-acquisition programs in adjoining with the Jacksonville Preservation Project or joint between Clay and Duval Counties for the Cecil Co

Center redevelopment effort.

Approaches from other communities

Across the country, state and local governme

implementing policies to manage growth. While

these efforts originate at the state level, some cit

counties have taken the lead to manage Indianapolis, Indiana; Portland, Oregon; and C

North Carolina are examples of concerted local e

manage growth. Rhode Island and Maryland are tw

with recent growth-management initiatives.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Indianapolis/Marion County, like Jacksonville/Duval Coconsolidated city-county government. In 1999, the Citya Marion County Growth Advisory Committee to recoimprovements to its growth-management system. Thereleased in February 2000, examined the impacts of sregional growth, which had resulted in "leapfrogged" redevelopment patterns that passed over undevelopedMarion County to formerly agricultural land in the surrcounties.

Indianapolis relies on comprehensive planning and zonprimary growth-management tools. It has introduced finto the zoning ordinances to better manage growth, zero-lot-line options, cluster subdivisions, and planndevelopments. Its most effective zoning tool is a requireadequate sewer and water facilities, which inhibits redevelopment outside of designated areas.

Indianapolis has also begun to encourage downtown redeve


16/24


and envisions that successful downtown revitalization would bean effective growth-management tool. The report recommend-ed that Indianapolis use infrastructure placement as its poten-tially most effective growth-management strategy to influencethe rate, location, and density of development.

The report concluded that successful growth-managementefforts would require regional cooperation. Land acquisitionand transfers of development rights were recommended as waysto preserve open space; impact fees, unless assessed regionally,

were not recommended, as they would only encouragedevelopment to continue to spread outside of the county.

Portland, Oregon

Portlands primary growth-management tool is a strong urbangrowth boundary. In Oregon, local governments must designatean urban growth boundary according to state criteria and canamend the boundary only if the proposed amendment complieswith state regulations for an exception.

The urban growth boundary has been successful in controllingdevelopment patterns within Portlands jurisdictional limits andin increasing urban density. The goal for Portland is a minimumdensity of 10 housing units per net acre; the maximum lot sizeis 3,850 square feet. Mass transit, including light rail, has beenone success stemming from increased density and concentrationof housing and retail near bus and light-rail stations.

However, these growth-management efforts have increased thecost of housing significantly within the urban growth boundaries.They also have not stopped spreading development patterns, aslow-density, single-family residential development has jumpedrural areas and gone outside of Portlands jurisdiction and acrossthe state line. Vancouver, Washington, for example, now sends

50,000 commuters daily to Portland.

Charlotte, North Carolina

North Carolina lacks strong growth-management regulation atthe state level, though it does have some specific programs, suchas its Coastal Area Management Act, which have had successes.Instead, local governments are given authority to implement arange of growth-management policies. By the late 1990s,observed development patterns and environmental impactssuggested that the current growth-management system wasineffective.

In 1999, the State Legislature established a North Carolina SmartGrowth Commission to recommend improvements in the statesystem; the same year, Charlotte/Mecklenburg Countycommissioned a Smart Growth Audit to examine its growth-management programs in the light of nationally recognizedgrowth-management principles.

In 2001, the Smart Growth Commission recommended the

following:

increasing the authority of local governments to manage grow providing state funds for land-acquisition programs; using state transportation funding allocations to encourage

communities to manage growth.

Charlotte/Mecklenburg County has been most successful iresidential downtown development initiatives: in 20approximately 7,000 people were living downtown. The Bof America, headquartered in Charlotte, has led the wayfinancing downtown residential development; in addition, m

of the banks executives, including its CEO, live downtown.

Rhode Island

Grow Smart Rhode Island is a community-interest groupplanners, environmentalists, government agencies and officdevelopers, and others concerned about development in RhIsland. Their mission is to bring together diverse interestpreserve the quality of life in Rhode Island. To do so, theypromoting business and residential growth in town centers preserving agricultural land and open spaces in order to mainthe character of the state. The coalition is chaired bleading corporate figure in Rhode Island.

As a result of Grow Smarts efforts, Rhode Island:

passed a $34 million bond issue for open space land acquisitio created a new building code for rehabilitation projects bec

existing codes prevented rehabilitation of older buildings; began work on brownfields programs to encourage infi ll

redevelopment; and strengthened staff support for the statewide planning syste

The Sierra Club recognized Rhode Island in 1999 as one onations leaders in managing growth. Particularly noted were

efforts to build new train stations, ferry lines and a 50-network of bike paths.

Maryland

In 1997, the State of Maryland created a Priority Funding A(PFA) designation for specific areas targeted for growth. Lgovernments identify these areas, which must meet certain scriteria. State funds for infrastructure assistance and econodevelopment assistance can be spent only within the certPFA. This has resulted in elimination of $360 million in highfunds for projects outside the PFAs. It has also led to a shincrease in school-construction funds allocated to rehabilita

of schools in older communities rather than for new construcin the suburbs84 percent of these funds in 2000 compato 43 percent in 1995.

Maryland also has an aggressive rural-lands protection progwith the goal of preserving 200,000 acres by 2011. Its RLegacy Program is purchasing development rights on this laBy 2000, it had already acquired 47,000 acres.


17/24

1. Growth-management efforts of the Florida Department ofCommunity Affairs (DCA) have not kept pace with localinitiatives. The DCA has focused on "checklist" bureaucracyinstead of taking a visionary or leadership role. As a result,

cumbersome growth-management regulations haveincreased the cost of development while creating unintendednegative consequences for local communities.

2. Natural-resource regulatory efforts of the State, along withfederal regulations, have influenced growth-managementefforts by providing tools to protect the natural-environment

in Duval County, especially water resources, wetlands, andair quality. The results of these natural resources protectionefforts have been mixed, as the natural environmenttrad itionally has been given insufficient consideration inpermitting and development decisions.

3. The Development of Regional Impact (DRI) review processis an important tool for growth management. The DRIprocess in Northeast Florida is most effective in:

fostering interagency and intergovernmental coordination; and providing a comprehensive review of proposed development

impacts, including economic, transportation, public-school,and public-safety impacts.

However, the complexity, cost, and time-consuming natureof the process encourage developers to modify the size ofdevelopments to avoid it.

4. The State of Florida has historically regulated growth throughAreas of Critical State Concern, Developments of RegionalImpact, Comprehensive Planning, and Concurrency. The2000 Growth Management Study Commission recommendedsubstantial revisions to state growth-management policy,transferring much of current state oversight of growthmanagement to local governments. Such recommendations, ifenacted by the Florida Legislature, will require localgovernment responses that encourage a balanced and effectiveapproach to growth management.

5. The City of Jacksonville recently has taken positive steps in

its growth-management efforts, becoming one of the moresuccessful communities in Florida in managing its growth.

These steps include:

the Mayor taking a strong community-leadership role ingrowth management;

the City of Jacksonville preserving natural resources andguiding development patterns through land acquisition;

the Jacksonvil le Economic Development Commencouraging the location of development in specthrough targeted economic incentives;

the City Council and the Department of Planni

Development implementing policies to encourage altdevelopment patterns such as multi-use develotraditional neighborhood design, and allowi ng hdowntown;

ConclusionsConclusions express the value judgements of the committee based on the findings.

Jacksonville Community Council In

the Department of Planning and Development usprocesses for managing growth and encouraginginvolvement;

publ ic authori ties (such as the JEA) and the City sonville improving coordination of growth-manaefforts; and

citizens increasing their involvement in growth-mment, including self-imposing a half-cent sales taxto support the Better Jacksonville Plan.

6. Although Jacksonville has made considerable progrowth management processes, elements of remain.

These include:

Older neighborhoods: H i sto r ic a l ly, growth-manaefforts in Duval County have focused more on newthan on redevelopment of existing neighborhoodssome public and private interests have promoted reuse of historical neighborhoods through use of

tools (including overlay zoning), other tools forpreservation, such as interagency coordination aand federal tax incentives, are underutilized iC o u n t y. In addit ion, Duval County lacks sincentives to encourage infill development in cneighborhoods and redevelopment of environcontaminated brownfields. Building infrastructure development when vacant homes, underutilized comproperties, and under-capacity schools exist neighborhoods creates natural and social costscommunity and to the neighborhoods passed over by

Transportation: The City of Jacksonville has fostepermitted disconnected subdivisions, residentcommercial developments, and communities. Discodevelopments create a negative impact on the roadby increasing the number of auto trips and the lauto trips citizens have to take to meet their dailyLack of coordination between land-use planntransportation planning in Northeast Florida has exactraffic congestion by not accommodating higher redensities which promote and support alternativoptions such as mass transit, walking, or b


18/24

10. Traditionally, private property rights have been gragreat weight in the growth-management process. Gro

management requires balancing private property rights the public interest and goals established by the commu

The right to own property is not a right to taxpayer-finan

assistance in developing that property.

1 1 . Successful growth management in Northeast Florequires regional cooperation. Northeast Florida

insufficiently integrated growth-management efforts ac

county lines. The 2000 JCCI study on Improving RegCooperation in Northeast Florida similarly found

growth-management efforts in the First Coast cannot succunless they are coordinated at the regional level.

12. Citizen involvement, while increasing since the late 19has been primarily reactive to unwanted land uses adja

to existing neighborhoods. Whi le individuals have leahow to participate in the difficult growth-managem

process, the general public has not been sufficie

involved proactively in the planning and permitting procesThe growth-management process would benefit f

increasing public awareness and eliminating impedimto citizen involvement.

13. Nationally, few communities have successfully manatheir growth. While many communities have impleme

innovative growth-management strategies, the resultthose efforts are mixed. The combined experiences f

these communities suggest that growth-managem

approaches are more effective when tailored to the neand goals of the community. Jacksonvil le can continu

learn from the mistakes and successesof other communit


Impact analysis: Duval County lacks a comprehensive

methodology for determining the full costs and benefits tothe community of proposed development, including its fis-

cal impact on taxpayers as well as its impact on the nat-ural environment.

7. Northeast Florida has had a number of gatherings ofcitizens under public and private auspices to articulate their

community goals for growth management. These ongoingactivities of reviewing progress and setting community goals

have benefited Duval County by increasing attention toissues related to growth management. However, implemen-tation of these community goals remains incomplete

because of private values and behaviors that vary fromcommunity goals, as well as insufficient commitment of

resources.

8. Anticipated population, housing, and employment growth in

Duval County will continue to pressure natural resourcesand public infrastructure. Duval County lacks sufficient

knowledge about the size of the population that its natural

resources and water supply can sustain. Managing continued

growth is a complex task that will require Duval County tomaintain all of these resources effectively.

9. The success of growth-management efforts is in the imple-

mentation, not just the planning. Growth-managementefforts require the following to be successful:

sufficient funding;

strong executive leadership;

involvement and commitment of private sector leaders; public awareness, participation, and support;

interagency coordinated use of multiple strategies andmultiple public objectives;

sufficient information and the tools to analyze that information; focused goals; and continuity of effort, plans, and implementation.



1. The Florida growth-management process needs to berevised, restructured, and streamlined. The FloridaLegislature should redistribute growth-management respon-sibilities and authority to appropriate levels of government.

This restructuring should not create additional regulatoryburdens or redundant levels of review and should ensurecontinuation of natural-environment protections.

2. Aspects of growth management that have statewide impactsshould continue to be conducted at the state level. TheFlorida Department of Community Affairs (DCA) shouldretain regulatory oversight of:

comprehensive-planning elements that directly impactnatural resources of statewide significance;

transportation facili ties and infrastructure of statewides i g n i f i c a n c e ;

natural-disaster responses and emergency-preparationissues of statewide significance; and

other specific items of statewide significance, as determinedby the Florida Legislature.

The State budget should provide sufficient funding for DCAto perform these functions adequately.

3. The Florida Legislature should delegate all remaining stateregulatory oversight of local comprehensive planning toRegional Planning Councils, because growth managementhas regional impacts beyond the scope of local-government

a u t h o r i t y. The Legislature should authorize RegionalPlanning Councils to obtain sufficient, broad-basedresources, including funding and staffing, to perform theseadditional functions effectively.

In addition, the Florida Legislature should expand theauthority of each Regional Planning Council to:

take the lead in coordinating growth management amonglocal, regional, and state interests;

coordinate the development of a regional growth-management vision;

implement its Strategic Regional Policy Plan; and

ensure the integration of local/regional transportation andland-use planning.

4. The Florida Legislature should add public safety and publicschools as mandatory elements in local-governmentcomprehensive plans. The Legislature should authorizeappropriate, broad-based funding mechanisms for localgovernments to implement these elements.

5. The Florida Legislature should maintain the DevelopRegional Impact (DRI) process, with some modiModifications should include:

streamlining and simplifying the process, while maintcomprehensive nature; and

delegating review authority to the Regional Councils, with appeal of their decisions to the

6. The Florida Legislature should ensure that enforcemnatural-environment protections under the currentare retained and appropriately assigned. The Leshould further improve protection of the natural enviin Florida by:

ensuring that Regional Planning Councils identify anatural resources of regional significance to ensaccurate identification and protection;

including assessment of the impacts of developthe natural environment in the regional-devereview process;

encouraging the use of incentives to developrotection of the natural environment;

creating a system to transfer development riprotection of environmentally sensitive areas; and

limiting the use of exceptions in the growth-manprocess that negatively impact natural resources.

7. Because transportation in Northeast Florida has be

regional and not solely a local matter, the Florida Leshould amend the charter of the Jacksonville TransAuthority, expanding its jurisdiction to regional aslocal transportation concerns, renaming it accordinauthorizing appropriate, broad-based regional mechanisms. In addition to coordinating transpplanning and implementation in the region, the FirTransportation Authority should:

improve the process used to secure land for futuof-way needs by allowing land owners to retain reaand appropriate access and use rights until conbegins; and

identify transportation corridors within the rewhich land-use densities may be increased to effective public transportation.

8. To provide needed information for local growth-mandecision making, the St. Johns River Water ManDistrict should determine the total population thasupported in Northeast Florida with currently use

RecommendationsRecommendations are the committees specific suggestions forbased on the findings and conclusions.


20/24

resources and current ly available water-s u p p l y processesand technologies. The District also should examinetechnically and financially realistic new potablewater processes and technologies to determine their potentialeffect on capacity and their fiscal impacts.

9. Independent of state and regional action, the Mayor ofJacksonville should take the lead to continue to improve theCity of Jacksonvilles growth-management processes on mattersof local impact by:

encouraging roadway patterns in new developments thatinclude connections to adjacent developments and land uses;

retrofitting existing developments to include more road-way connections to adjacent developments and land uses;

encouraging City departments and independent authoritiesto coordinate their efforts for growth-management purposes;

providing funding, through various entities and sources,for the Downtown Master Plan to restore and revitalizeJacksonvilles downtown area;

improving and enforcing City codes regarding neighbor-hood appearance and upkeep;

encouraging and funding efforts to revitalize older neigh-

borhoods, including those designated Historic, by using

the following kinds of tools, as needed: revisions Zoning Code, targeted economic incentives, coordicondemnation and code enforcement efforts, affordhousing assistance, infrastructure repair and replaceand development and implementation of a browncleanup and redevelopment program;

encouraging and fundi ng infil l development by similar tools; and

developing and using a comprehensive m e t h o dto determine the full costs and benefits of each p r o p

development, including its impacts on taxpayers (scroads, utilities, public safety, and other infrastructuwell as tax revenues) and the natural environment.analysis also should include consideration and supptargeted community goals, such as affordable housinwhich public incentives are important.

10. The City of Jacksonville should improve its public-involveprocess related to growth management by providing cwith information and assistance to participate fullyeffectively in its growth-management processes, incland-use and zoning regulation.




Resource PeopleThe JCCI study process relies on information supplied by knowleresource people, in addition to published reference materials. We wish the following for their contributions to this study.

Bill BrintonAllen, Brinton, & McCarthy

Joan CarverJacksonville University

Alex ColeyHallmark Partners

Joe DebsReynolds, Smith & Hills

John DeGroveemeritus professor, Florida Atlantic University

John DelaneyMayor, City of Jacksonville

Jeff ElledgeSt. Johns River Water Management District

Jeannie FewellJacksonville Department

of Planning and Development

Susan GrandinTrust for Public Lands

T.R. HainlineRogers Towers Bailey Jones & Gay

Lee Harris

Community Alliance

Alberta HippsPresident, Jacksonville City Council

Ed LehmanNortheast Florida Regional Planning Counc

Greg MatovinaMatovina & Company

Tim McLendonUniversity of Florida

Lynn PappasPappas, Metcalf, Jenks, & Miller

Shannon SchefferNortheast Florida Regional Planning Counc

Aage SchroderFlorida Department of Transportation

Darrell SmithJacksonville Transportation Authority

Lance DeHaven SmithFlorida State University

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01 Growth Management

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