TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A Florida lawmaker has promised to re-work his proposal after it was criticized for removing local control over big housing projects.
In a hearing Tuesday, Sen. Stan McClain (R-Ocala) described SB 354 as a test or starting point and said he would’ve already brought changes to the table if he thought lawmakers would’ve had time to review them.
McClain is the primary backer of the “Blue Ribbon Projects” proposal, which would create a set of standards for developments 10,000 acres or more. If the projects met those standards, the local government would have to approve them, regardless of how much they differed from the community’s desired growth plan.
Some of the conditions included setting aside 60% of the land for conservation, parks and utilities, creating walkable neighborhoods and mandating that 20% of the housing must be affordable to people making less than the area median income.
McClain and other supporters said the intent was to work around governments ruled by a “not in my backyard” mentality they blamed for driving up the cost of housing.
“Is it possible that some local governments stymie -- hold up -- and prevent housing from being built that’s much needed in the state of Florida?” Sen. Jason Pizzo (I) asked.
However, Pizzo was the only person beside McClain to throw his support behind the measure. Republicans and Democrats on the committee both expressed reservations, though all but one voted to allow the bill to advance.
“You’re basically building a whole new city and then 50 to 75 years later, the mess that’s created with this, nobody in the room’s going to be cleaning that up,” Bradley Hardee, a member of the public who came to the Capitol to comment on his opposition to the proposal, told the committee.
McClain, who spent his career in the building industry and formerly served as a Marion County commissioner, said he came before the committee with good intentions and said he looked forward to taking all the feedback into consideration.
The bill will make several more stops before it’s considered by the full legislature, if it makes it that far.
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