NIMBY mindset can hinder neighborhood growth
The Not-In-My-Backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon is nothing new to Florida. For decades, neighborhoods have been on the front lines battling to protect the character of their communities from new real-estate development. However, these NIMBY battles have intensified since the COVID-19 exodus from states such as New York, New Jersey, and California to “the Free State of Florida.”
In 2021, Florida saw over 547,000 people exchanging their out-of-state drivers licenses for Florida drivers licenses. That’s a 40% jump from the previous year and nearly a 20% jump from the five-year average between 2017 and 2021.
Orange County was one of the top counties experiencing this influx with 35,582 license swaps last year: Only Miami-Dade and Hillsborough counties saw more, but not by much. This migration has created incredible pressures on housing prices and inventory. When this occurs, the market demands new residential and commercial development.
One doesn’t have to look far to witness Florida’s NIMBY tempest gaining unprecedented strength. Unfortunately, public officials have fallen behind this alarming trend, finding themselves and their communities spiraling down a rabbit hole of reactionary political chaos.
This has created a perfect storm blowing up local municipalities across the state. Central Florida is certainly one of the hot beds for NIMBYism. Almost daily, there’s news reports on the latest NIMBY battle between homeowners and corporate developers.
Ben Franklin coined the term “the only absolutes in life are death and taxes.” I would add a third absolute, and that’s change. Change is a constant force in life. Without change, we suffer atrophy and expedited death. Our human condition is instinctively fearful to changing the “devil we know,” setting the state for conflict over proposed development. Our fear of change fuels status quo attitudes that manifest into neighbors mobilizing to stop new development under the banner of NIMBY.
Therefore, it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see neighbors mobilizing, many affluent and many who have lived in their communities for 5 years or less, protecting their communities to prevent them from transforming from suburban to urban, or from rural to suburban. Their arguments against new development have become universal, if not predictable: new development decreases property values, increases traffic, increases the crime rate, destroys the character of the community, pollutes the environment, overcrowds schools, poisons our drinking water or infringes on habitats.
Florida’s local officials find themselves in the crosshairs of this progress versus change construct. It’s not uncommon to see city halls filled with over 100 angry neighbors shouting NIMBY, and elected officials, especially those running for reelection, caving to the political pressures to stop development.
This conflict-filled narrative is a broken record, and it’s not sustainable for Florida. Businesses are relocating to Florida, bringing needed commercial property taxes and quality jobs. However, if communities continue to default into opposing development, it’ll undermine opportunities for positive growth across our state.
There’s no silver-bullet solution, but solving the problem begins with community and business leaders working with local officials to get ahead of this trend. Rather than react to NIMBY crises, our leaders need to get ahead by balancing growth and the quality of life residents want to protect. I recommend local leaders blow off the dust of their comprehensive plans and channel community fears into a constructive pathway that swims with the tide of change versus against it.
Florida is a great place to raise a family, pursue a career, and finish out our retirement. Those of us who call Florida home should keep in mind that before we moved here, there were neighbors screaming NIMBY against our migration. Thankfully, there were enough brave public officials who had the vision to overcome status-quo mindsets.
Local leaders need to exhibit the courage and vision to counter the fears of change. Otherwise, communities across Florida will suffer atrophy, and our quality of life will be swallowed up by never-ending controversies over new development.