The Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill Thursday creating a sea level rise office and task force. That measure (SB 7016), written by the Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee and spearheaded by Chair Tom Lee, creates the Statewide Office of Resiliency and the Statewide Sea-Level Rise Task Force. The state’s Chief Resilience Officer (CRO),…
Florida’s Bert Harris Act, passed in 1995, allows property owners to seek compensation if a municipality changes its zoning or land use regulations and the land loses resale value. A bill that would tweak that law, improving the process for property owners, is now making its way through the state legislature. Critics say it could…
In a regional effort, Seminole County, Orange County, Osceola County and the city of Orlando have all implemented a 10-year plan to combat the affordable housing crisis. “We as a regional entity have to attack this together,” said Lee Constantine, Seminole County Commissioner. “We aren’t going to solve Osceola County, without solving Orange County, without…
In the fall of 2019, the National League of Cities and the National Association of Counties (NACo) collaborated with PACENation to produce a three-part webinar series aimed at outlining the benefits of PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) to local governments, educating local officials about PACE financing and explaining how the program can be used for…
The mission of the Washington, D.C.-based National Civic Art Society is to promote “public art and architecture worthy of our great republic.” To that end, they have drafted a proposed executive order entitled “Making Federal Buildings Beautiful Again.” Citing the perceived failures of modern civic architecture, the group espouses a return to the tradition of…
Right now in our Legislature, it’s full speed ahead for them to tell local governments they will decide if the house next door to you will become a short-term vacation rental (CS/SB 1128). Think about that. A group of 160 people in Tallahassee will decide if the homes on your block will rent every week…
A bill preempting short-term zoning for rentals was not heard in the final Rules Committee meeting, after consistent objections from local leaders and a lack of support from the Governor. SB 1128, sponsored by Republican Sen. Manny Diaz Jr., was not heard Monday and likely won’t receive another opportunity to be heard this year. Senate…
TAMPA, Fla. – People driving within the city of Tampa may notice a rather odd-looking van. A 360-degree camera, laser beams hanging off the side — it’s an expensive truck the city hopes will help them cut down on pot holes. Kimberly Morose hit one just last week. “I got a flat tire driving out of the…
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Plans are in the works to bring more connectivity to a Fort Pierce community. A nearly $1.2 million project will bring free broadband internet access to a low-income area with hopes of improving thousands of people’s lives. The City of Fort Pierce, Fort Pierce Utility Authority, St. Lucie County, and Allegany…
The Mayor’s Diversity Advisory Committee is distancing itself from the man who created it: Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson. Committee chair Peter Ndiang’ui said in a letter obtained by The News-Press that it wanted to maintain its non-partisan focus. But with Henderson now running for Congress, that complicates it. Henderson is one of eight Republican…
What it takes to make at least $100,000 as a government employee. Hint: Consider being a first responder. The local government workers in Florida with the highest average wages are the employees of the 77 governments within Miami-Dade, whose average weekly earnings are $1,180 — about $61,000 a year. Average weekly wages of local government employees…
A dispute over late-night noise in Wynwood has snowballed into a fight over the future of the red-hot district: Can the funky, art-splashed neighborhood, with its buzzy nightclubs and open-air events, retain its character if people start living there? Billionaire developer Moishe Mana, who owns 45 contiguous acres of land in Wynwood, has declared war…
