Stop the sneak attack on Orange County growth proposal
Throughout the current legislative session, Florida’s House and Senate leaders have been brutally upfront about their intent to strip control of local government from local hands. Bills rushing toward the finish line would kneecap the ability of cities and counties to deal with problems such as homelessness, aggressive policing and the impact of deadly heat on local workers among myriad other issues. Some even want to limit the ability of voters to keep popular, trusted leaders on county commissions.
Lawmakers have stopped even trying to pretend: They’re going to grab every crumb of power they can snatch from local governments and lawmakers’ own constituents, tangling it up in Tallahassee bureaucracy and legislative horse-trading.
So when lawmakers start sneaking around to undercut their own constituents, they have to know they’re really crossing the line.
And that’s exactly what they are doing. This time, it’s a move intended to circumvent the right of voters — specifically, Orange County voters — to create rural boundaries that would discourage sprawl and promote redevelopment.
That would derail one of the most promising proposals moving forward in the Orange County Charter Review Commission, which would implement boundaries similar to those in Seminole County. Those growth guardrails have proven to be so wildly popular they are now considered to be near-sacred by Seminole leaders and residents. If the Orange board decides to put a similar measure on the ballot, it could come before voters this fall.
The proposal, approved by the charter board’s Sustainable Growth and Charter Cleanup Committee, is still a work in progress. Last week, the board sent the rural boundary language back to the committee for more study.
A sneaky attack
Somebody powerful wants to kill it before any further progress is made. Probably many somebodies: Rural boundary rules keep developers from snapping up cheap land in undeveloped areas, throwing hundreds of houses onto it and then leaving local communities to deal with the need for more roads, schools and other amenities the residents of those homes expect. It’s no wonder that deep-pocketed campaign contributors are pushing against tighter regulations.
But instead of standing up and making their argument, those forces opted to get an out-of-town lawmaker to slip an amendment into a much larger unrelated commerce bill. Nobody had seen the language before Tuesday, when Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, added it to SB 1420. Orange County is the obvious target: It’s the only place considering putting rural boundaries on the 2024 ballot.
Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, was the only lawmaker to vote against the larger bill. The other four of Orange County’s five senators — Victor Torres, Linda Stewart, Jason Brodeur and Dennis Baxley — voted for the bill with the amendment. They should explain why they thought it was a good idea to undercut their own constituents’ right to set sensible controls on growth.
That leaves it up to Orange County’s House delegation to fight with all their might to strip away this anti-voter language. We hope they do so, and fast: SB 1420 could be heard on the House floor today (Friday). If House members don’t make any amendments, the bill would go straight to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Orange County residents should take a minute to let them know their voices are needed. You’ll find legislators’ contact information on myfloridahouse.gov.
And all our local readers should also deliver this message: They’re tired of the Legislature’s brazen attacks, meant to weaken voters, cities and counties. Lawmakers have issues of statewide importance to consider. They need to respect their own boundaries.