by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
More than 30 years after helping write a landmark law governing Florida land use, Bob Rhodes isn’t surprised that his work is still a page-turner.
Author’s pride aside, Rhodes concedes it’s substance rather than style that still makes Chapter 380 of Florida’s Land and Water Management statutes relevant.
Rhodes helped write the law in 1972 as counsel to then speaker of Florida’s House of Representatives Dick Pettigrew. More than three decades later the law is still shaping development throughout Florida.
Legislative language doesn’t permit literary flourishes, but the opening phrase, which defines Developments of Regional Impact, resonates with developers like “Call Me Ishmael” registers with English teachers.
The DRI legislation made Florida a trendsetter. It changed the way the state handled large-scale development. Essentially, chapter 380 recognized that the impact from large projects is felt across county lines and, in some cases, across the state. It forces state, local and regional planners to account for that impact before approving those projects.
Today the law is business as usual in Florida, but the idea was a ground breaker in 1972. Previously, planning had been a local prerogative.
“At the time, the legislation was almost revolutionary for a state to engage in local land use decisions,” said Rhodes, now of counsel with Foley & Lardner as well as a commissioner for the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. “Typically the state deferred to local municipalities and it was a strong deference.”
But state planners were wary of the masses moving to the Sunshine State. Florida’s population had exploded to more than 6 million in the years following World War II and concern was growing in Tallahassee that the state wasn’t ready for the influx.
Local planning was a patchwork. Some counties had well-thought-out comprehensive plans, some didn’t. Given the masses moving to Florida and the developments built to greet them, the idea for state and regional overview started to gain momentum.
The initiative brought together some historic figures in Florida politics. Pettigrew’s work in the House was complimented by a push from then-Gov. Ruben Askew. The bill’s sponsor in the state senate was then-Sen. Bob Graham.
That triumvirate saw a Florida landscape ripe for abuse, said Rhodes. Developments comprising thousands of units and hundreds of thousands of square feet were sprouting from ground that was unregulated in many cases.
“We looked at the state and saw that 60 percent of the land area wasn’t subject to any type of land use regulation at all,” said Rhodes, repeating the figure for emphasis. “That really provided the context.”
The legislation gained momentum when state hydrologists concluded that the runaway development was siphoning away water from the Everglades. Rhodes said the report “raised the profile of environmental protection in development law.”
Even with the weighty political support, opinion on the need for the law was by no means unanimous. There are still plenty of developers and local planners who think the additional review is a needless level of bureaucracy.
Rhodes credits the legislation with creating a more holistic approach to development review but said the law hasn’t reached its potential.
The DRI review process was designed to be driven by a comprehensive policy at the state level. That never emerged. Rhodes thinks the process will begin to lean more heavily on regional planning and would like to see the law adjusted to ease that transition.
Rhodes would allow counties or regional planning partners to opt out of DRI review if those bodies prove themselves competent planners. The realities of limited resources will continue to force regional cooperation, he said.
“We’ve been collaborative by necessity, but I see that sparking a new model (for development review) that’s probably going to be regionally-based,” he said. “I think you see that model emerging already.”