2024 APA Florida Legislative One-Pager

AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION FLORIDA CHAPTER WHO WE ARE OUR MISSION

The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Florida) is the statelevel resource for networking and professional development. With more than 3,200 professional planners, we are one of the largest chapters in the nation.

APA Florida provides statewide leadership in the development of sustainable communities by advocating excellence in planning, providing professional development for its members, and working to protect and enhance the natural and built environments.

MEMBERSHIP BREAKDOWN 97

60

200

203

APA Florida enjoys a strong mix of planning professionals from all levels of the public and private sectors, including:

170

206

489 713 357

85 162

272 211

Regional Planning Councils/BOCCs/MPOs Main Street programs State agencies Historic preservation agencies Water management districts County/city planning/transportation departments Federal and military agencies Consulting firms working for local governments and developers

Member areas of expertise: Appointed/elected county/city planning commissioners, managers | Military, spaceport, airport facilities | Ports and coastal waterways | Trail, greenways, parks and recreation | Transportation, multimodal, traffic engineering | Redevelopment, industrial, land use | Historic preservation and reuse | Stormwater, wastewater management | SmartCities, AV, innovation entrepreneurs | Aging in place, older populations | Students

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Sustainable & Equitable

Access to Safe &

AmericanPlanning Planning Association Florida HealthyChapter Infrastructure Systems

Integrated, Balanced & Respectful Public and Private Cooperation

Plan Resilient

florida.planning.org Communities

2024 Legislative Priorities Meet the needs for housing

Florida is experiencing an affordable housing crisis due to rapid growth, rising insurance costs, and insufficient housing supply. Removing regulatory constraints and providing density bonuses may help, but public investment is necessary to produce affordable housing for the state's diverse communities and workforce. APA Florida supports fully funding the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and allowing local communities to use tools like zoning reform and inclusionary policies to create diverse housing options.

Invest in the infrastructure necessary to support our economy and a productive workforce Investing in critical infrastructure, including efficient transportation, is essential for Florida's growth and economic success. APA Florida supports the development of passenger rail, including private operators like Brightline, and statesponsored expansion of Amtrak service. Well-informed local land use decisions and complementary capital investments can also strengthen supply chain systems that speed goods, materials, and produce to market.

Manage the risk of repetitive loss in vulnerable areas Hurricanes Ian and Nicole reminded Floridians of the devastating effects natural hazards can cause to vulnerable coastal and flood-prone lands. APA Florida supports an integrated planning and emergency management system that increases resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and purchase of lands that restore natural features to lower the risk of repetitive loss in our communities. Such an approach will not only help communities adapt but enable them to preserve and expand natural habitat and increase access to open space and recreation opportunities.

Use technology to expand public participation in meetings

The pandemic has led to the embrace of remote work and virtual communications in accommodating a remote workforce. However, government advisory boards face challenges in achieving a quorum for public meetings due to physical inperson requirements. This limits participation and results in a less diverse public participation process. APA Florida supports the modification of state law to allow advisory boards to achieve a quorum through virtual communications to expand citizen participation in decision-making processes.

Value local initiatives Retain communities’ ability to govern their growth and development policies with local directives and conditions. APA Florida supports local and regional knowledge and circumstances when it comes to the management of growth and protection or creation of planning systems, and believe that preemptive law should only be established for matters of statewide significance. We believe that a statewide uniform policy is generally ineffective within our diverse state, as issues that Northwest Florida faces can be very different from those in South Florida.

Contact APA Florida: APA President: Whit Blanton, FAICP president@floridaplanning.org 407-620-5984

APA President-Elect: Allara Mills Gutcher, AICP presidentelect@floridaplanning.org 850-319-9180

Executive Director: Stefanie Svisco ssvisco@floridaplanning.org

Lobbyist: Lester Abberger lesterabberger@gmail.com

APA Florida 2017 Delta Blvd.

Suite 101 Tallahassee, FL 32303 o: 850-201-3272 e: connect@floridaplanning.org w: florida.planning.org