PROPOSED
American Planning Association Florida Chapter Legislative Program and Initiatives
Approved by EC on July 25, 2025
The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Florida) is the state-level resource for Urban and Community Planning. Through our Mission as the leading voice in planning for Florida’s future, our organization values advocacy and leadership through planning expertise in collaborative processes that will benefit all Floridians.
We envision a future where our communities, economies, and environments all thrive. APA Florida’s Legislative Program and Initiatives represent our focus in promoting planning approaches to advance this vision, focusing on five key areas:
• Coordinated and Cooperative Planning
• Economically Sustainable Growth
• Resilience and Vulnerability Mitigation
Coordinated and Cooperative Planning:
• Access to Safe and Healthy Communities
• Protect Florida’s Environmental Resources
APA Florida believes planning is best achieved through coordinated and cooperative efforts that respect the capabilities of local and regional entities and meaningful citizen participation.
Right-Size Approach: Each level of government is vital to growth management. We support local planning and zoning and a balance between state and local regulation.
Cross Jurisdictional Coordination: Coordination among Florida’s local and regional entities is vital to planning for economic development, energy and water infrastructure, integrated and efficient transportation systems, and environmental resource management.
Economically Sustainable Growth:
APA Florida supports land use and infrastructure planning that fosters economically sustainable and resilient growth
Housing Affordability: Removal of barriers to access and supply and the continuation of Florida’s housing trust funds and support economic sustainability.
Transportation: Implementation of statewide multimodal and intermodal freight networks should align to create safe, economically and technologically competitive transportation options.
Community Redevelopment Agencies: CRAs should be preserved as vital local planning tools which complement land use, design, and infrastructure planning.
Tourism, Arts, and Culture: Support the inclusion of tourism, arts, and cultural planning to leverage Florida’s strengths in attracting business investment and job growth.
Resilience and Vulnerability Mitigation:
APA Florida supports resilient and sustainable communities through focuses on sustainable resource and emergency management practices, risk reduction, and impacts of weather-related effects.
Pre-Disaster Preparation: Communities should utilize proactive approaches to understand evolving capacity, hazards, and vulnerabilities in pre-disaster planning that integrates facilities planning, adaptation action areas, and restores natural features.
Hazards and Vulnerability: Community plans should protect environmental systems, implement infrastructure that mitigates risk, and guide development away from high-hazard areas.
Disaster Recovery: Reduce future risks through improvements to processes, infrastructure, and community design.
Access to Safe and Healthy Communities
APA Florida supports the creation of healthy communities through investment in people, infrastructure, and health-supportive policies.
Utilities and Infrastructure: Planning should ensure future populations have access to clean drinking water and can rely on a resilient, statewide energy grid that meets the needs of people and industry.
Food Security: Local and regional food systems planning should be prioritized to improve food accessibility, eliminate food deserts, and create opportunities for urban agriculture and healthy communities.
Schools Planning: School planning policies should be collaborative, flexible, forward-thinking, and free from regulatory burdens that can hamper effective growth management strategies.
Healthy Environment for People: Community planning approaches should preserve or integrate green spaces to reduce risks of heat-related illnesses and promote community health.
Protect Florida’s Environmental Resources:
APA Florida supports a long-range approach to land, water, and resource management which conserves and enhances the state’s natural resources.
Statewide Recreational Lands and Waterways: Historic and natural resources should be conserved and protected through carefully planned and managed parks, waterways, and open spaces.
Coastal and Watershed Management: Regulations and policies should improve the quality of our watersheds, support natural approaches to address pollution, and enhance coastal resource management.
Rural and Conservation Lands: Sustainable policies should protect environmentally significant areas and enhance economic viability of agricultural and rural land use.