FLORIDA PLANNING A Publication of the Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association
Summer 2017
www.floridaplanning.org
T
he notion of sharing is being expanded beyond cars, bikes, vacation spots and workspaces to now include our neighborhoods. The movement, known as cohousing, began in the 1970s in Demark as a resident-driven housing model and has now made its way to Florida. These communities attract residents who want to interact with their neighbors and who want to reduce their impact on the land. The design of the community blends both the public and private realms by providing privately owned homes and centralized shared facilities, such as a common house with kitchen and dining facilities allowing for shared meals. Yet, common houses can also provide office space, guest lodging, childcare and a tool/lawn equipment shop if residents decide. Cohousing is attractive to a range of potential residents – from the elderly who wish to age in place as their mobility and needs change to young, busy families who enjoy added support and amenities – and offers a great opportunity to create an intergenerational neighborhood.
COHOUSING takes shape in Gainesville By Michelle Heinrich, AICP
continued on page 4
OTHER FEATURES
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
6
Growing Together
8
Short-Term Vacation Rentals Regulations
10
Florida’s Bikeshare Network
14
Ridesharing as a Solution to Public Transit Woes
15
Millennials: Sharing Economies and its Implications on Long-Term Planning
18
Proposed APA Florida ByLaw Changes
19
2017 Great Places in Florida Nominations Now Open
President’s Message - p. 3 2017 Conference Update - p. 16 Call for Volunteers - p. 17 Planner Q&A - p. 20 Planners on the Move - p. 22 Law Case Update - p. 24 Consultants Directory - p. 26 Events - back page
The Florida Chapter of APA 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.
[APA FLORIDA] KEY CONTACTS - EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Name
Phone E-mail
APA Florida Executive Committee President Andre Anderson, AICP
407-957-8428
president@floridaplanning.org
President-Elect
Laura Everitt, AICP, Esq., LEED GA
813-224-8862
presidentelect@floridaplanning.org
Heart of Florida Section
Marissa Barmby
863-534-7130
heartoffl@floridaplanning.org
VP-Professional Development
Henry Bittaker, AICP
561-523-0678
profdevelopment@floridaplanning.org
VP Conference Services
Wiatt Bowers, AICP
904-363-8488
conferencesvcs@floridaplanning.org
University Liaison
Jeff Brown
850-644-8519
university@floridaplanning.org
Student Representative
Les Brown
students@floridaplanning.org
Orlando Metro Section
Jason Burton, AICP
407-246-3389
orlandometro@floridaplanning.org
First Coast Section
Ennis Davis, AICP
904-396-5727
firstcoast@floridaplanning.org
Sun Coast Section
Melissa Dickens, AICP
suncoast@floridaplanning.org
Atlantic Coast Section
Lisa Frazier, AICP
321-750-7060
atlanticcoast@floridaplanning.org
Secretary
Kim Glas-Castro, AICP, LEED AP
561-434-5086
secretary@floridaplanning.org
VP Member Services
Jason Green, AICP
941-505-1700
membership@floridaplanning.org
VP Certification Maintenance
Allara Mills Gutcher, AICP
850-319-9180
certmaintenance@floridaplanning.org
San Felasco Section
Adam Hall, AICP
386-418-6125
sanfelasco@floridaplanning.org
VP Communications
Michelle Heinrich, AICP
813-276-2167
communications@floridaplanning.org
YPG Representative
Brandon Henry
813-272-5940
ypg@floridaplanning.org
VP Section Affairs
Doug Kelly, AICP
321-329-3213
sectionaffairs@floridaplanning.org
Treasurer
Tony LaColla, AICP
813-273-3774
treasurer@floridaplanning.org
Emerald Coast Section
Catherine McCloy, AICP
850-236-6771
emeraldcoast@floridaplanning.org
Treasure Coast Section
Alessandria Palmer, AICP
561-317-0008
treasurecoast@floridaplanning.org
Promised Lands Section
Tony Palermo, AICP
239-533-8325
promisedlands@floridaplanning.org
Broward Section
Thuy Turner, AICP
954-357-6633
broward@floridaplanning.org
Gold Coast Section
Lynda Westin, AICP
954-788-7923
goldcoast@floridaplanning.orgta
Capital Area Section
Barry Wilcox, AICP
850-891-6400
capitalarea@floridaplanning.org f
Immediate Past President
Melissa Zornitta, AICP
813-272-5940
pastpresident@floridaplanning.org ff
Executive Director
Julia “Alex“ Magee
850-201-3272
fapa@floridaplanning.org
Ad. Assistant/Bookkeeper
Amanda Pickles
850-201-3272
adminbk@floridaplanning.org
Communications Coordinator Patti Shea
850-201-3272
staff@floridaplanning.org
Legislative Representative
Lester Abberger
850-524-2779
lesterabberger@nettally.com
Webmaster (Consultant)
Summer Taylor
888-949-5487 x706 summer@exaktmarketing.com
All Other Inquiries, contact APA Florida at 1-850-201-3272 or e-mail fapa@floridaplanning.org.
2 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE APA Florida President-Elect Laura Everitt is filling in for President Andre Anderson this Florida Planning issue.
In this issue of Florida Planning magazine,
we delve into the intersection of the sharing economy and urban planning. We tackle questions like how are Transportation Networking Companies (TNC) like Uber and Lyft affecting how we provide transit services? We look at how communities are managing short-term rentals through sites like Airbnb. We are highlighting these issues because of you, our members, who have expressed interest in learning more about what other communities are doing to manage these new services. A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center in November 2015 found that 15 percent of US adults had tried a TNC and 11 percent had tried a home-sharing service. Not surprisingly, the pervasiveness of the use of these technologies is greater in the younger generations. A different study by the same organization found that in July 2016, 8 percent of Americans reported earning income through a “gig” platform in the prior 12 months. So what lies beyond sharing rides and short-term housing that have already become prevalent in Florida? Short-term office rentals have now entered the market in the UK and Europe. These services connect people who have unused spaces with workers who need a short-term place to work. The spaces can include a seat at a table in someone’s dining rooms or tables in a pub that is not open until later in the day. These spaces attract entrepreneurs, workers who are traveling, and small groups of co-workers who need a convenient space to work away from the office. There are also services to connect commuters with parking spots and driveways that go unused during the day. Even the unused storage space in your attic can be rented out. I am sure we will continue to see new and creative ways people can earn money through collaborative consumption and I’m sure our members will continue to grapple with the consequences of these evolving markets. I invite you to continue the conversation by registering for our annual conference Sept. 5-8 in Daytona Beach (registration is open through Aug. 18), joining our Emerging Topics Committee (contact our Executive Director Alex Magee), or by posting a thread on our LinkedIn Page. See you in Daytona Beach!
Laura Everitt, Esq., AICP, LEED GA APA Florida President-Elect
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 3
[GAINESVILLE] COHOUSING
continued from cover page
Unlike typical large auto-oriented WHAT IS THE GAINESVILLE CO-HOUSsuburban neighborhoods, this concept faING PROJECT ABOUT? cilitates socialization for neighbors when We are building a 24-home community they share an evening meal together, chat with a large club house, we call common with neighbors when walking to their house, with a large kitchen and dining hall home from the parking area, and work where we rotate sharing meals twice a side by side in the community garden in week. Along with other amenities like a a smaller setting. In addition to the social family room, guest room, pool, gardens, benefits, residents strongly believe in the etc. the community is run by the members. environmental benefits of a cohousing Though an HOA every member is a member Architect Andy Kaplan’s rendering of Gainesville Cohousing’s development too. The clustered lot pattern of the HOA board and we decide and run future common house including covered walkway, pool, guest allows for the preservation of land and homes, gardens and green space. The common house includes a the community together. kitchen, dining area, kids’ play room, laundry, and other amenities. shared space for the neighborhood ameniHAVE YOU FACED ANY OBSTACLES ties. Sharing resources – the hallmark of IN THIS PROJECT? cohousing – helps residents save money Our city loved our project, but the city and downsize their possessions when they rules were quite outdated and difficult to can share everyday items such as washing navigate in dealing with our project. This machines, lawn mowers and tools. lead to unfortunate delays. Also work A new intergenerational cohousing in a group can be challenging but we ing community has broken ground in have developed many techniques to make Gainesville and is being developed things run more smoothly. Our biggest obby Gainesville Cohousing – a group stacle is the difficulty in attracting young of future residents and neighborhood families, we have a few but are very founders. The 4.25-acre site is being much looking for more to have a balanced developed with 24 individually-owned intergenerational community. lots and a pool, garden and common house for all neighborhood residents to HOW DO YOU SEE CO-HOUSING use. Homes, which vary in size from 700 IN THE FUTURE? to 2,300 square feet, will have fully I see co-housing nationally and in Florida equipped kitchens and private backyard growing more and more as people, city space. If possible, homes will feature Groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 3, 2017. planners and banks become more familiar Images courtesy of Gainesville Cohousing energy efficient appliances, solar panwith them and their advantages. There are els, rain collection cisterns, composting 165 established communities in the US toilets, gray water reuse, geothermal and 140 others forming with many already owning their land. heat pumps and native landscaping and xeriscaping. Car parking is restricted to certain areas of the neighborhood, encouraging WHAT ARE YOUR BUYERS/RESIDENTS SAYING ABOUT IT, the use of planned footpaths throughout the development. AND WHAT ARE THE MAJOR ADVANTAGES TO THIS? As of July 2017, only two lots are left for sale and infra Everyone is very excited about living in their new green structure construction has begun. Completion of the project is homes, with neighbors that work together for common goals, expected to wrap up within in a year. and with families and friends to share their lives with. Brooks Nelson, founding member of spokesperson for HOW CAN GOVERNMENT JURISDICTIONS HELP PROJECTS Gainesville Cohousing told APA Florida more about this excitSUCH AS YOURS? ing project. Our city is pretty established and so hadn’t had a subdivision WHAT IS CO-HOUSING? built within city limits in decades, leaving their codes inadequate Cohousing takes the best of owning your own home and the to dealing with our project. Updating codes for the flexibility to privacy it affords with living in an interconnected community where have a walkable community that isn’t. you share and cooperatively work together with your neighbors. Michelle Heinrich is the principal planner for development services at Hillsborough County. She can be reached at heinrichm@hillsboroughcounty.org.
4 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
WHAT ELSE IS BEING SHARED? OFFICE SPACE
Out: Cubicles, florescent lights, dead plants in the corner. In: Hip décor, open spaces and Keurigs on the counter. Coshare office space is definitely in.
DOGS
SHARING ECONOMY VOCAB
Yes, you can Rent-a-Pup
RV RENTALS
You’ve seen ‘em on the road. Can’t afford a motorhome on your own but want to tour America? Share it!
DESIGNER PURSES
Your Fake Spade not going to weather it through an important conference? Rent a real Kate Spade!
COMMUNICATIVE (OR COLLABORATIVE) KITCHENS Industrial spaces where you can gather and cook, prep or just freeload a recipe or two.
HANDYMAN
Need a second pair of hands? Share the labor.
RIDESOURCING
The outsourcing of rides where the driver’s motivation is fare income and does not share a destination with passengers
RIDESHARING
The grouping of travelers in a private vehicle, each heading to a similar destination, with the goal of reducing congestion, travel costs, and vehicle emissions. Examples include carpools and vanpools.
TRANSPORTATION Connects paying passengers with drivers who provide the transportation on their own non-commercial NETWORKING COMPANIES vehicles. All parties connect to the service via website and mobile apps. GEOFENCING SHARING ECONOMY COLLABORATIVE CONSUMPTION GIG ECONOMY HOPPERS
A feature in a software program that uses GPS or radio frequency identification to define geographical boundaries; a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic area. An economic system in which assets or services are shared between private individuals, either free or for a fee, typically by means of the Internet. Often used interchangeably with collaborative consumption. An economic model based on sharing, swapping, trading, or renting products and services, enabling access over ownership. Often used interchangeably with sharing economy. A labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs. The workers who rent short-term office space.
FRICTIONLESS COMMERCE
Frictionless commerce is a method of using data from devices, apps and websites to integrate buying opportunities as simply and seamlessly as possible into consumers’ everyday activities and natural environments. The goal of frictionless commerce, also known as contextual commerce, is for any customer to buy a product or service when and where they wish with as few clicks or other steps as possible.
CO-HOUSING
Private households who choose to form a community that shares a home with common facilities to facilitate social interaction and share household responsibilities.
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 5
GROWING TOGETHER By Tessa Schreiner, LEED GA
Leon County created its community garden On any given Saturday morning, you can find program to further its support of sustainable a group of neighbors harvesting vegetables at agriculture and local food systems in the area. the Lafayette Oaks Community Garden. Community gardens make important contribu “All 16 plots are taken, and there are two tions to all facets of sustainability. By providing people on the waiting list,” said Marcia Taliaaccess to free produce, gardens save particiferro, the garden organizer for the Lafayette pants money, increase access to healthy food, Oaks Community Garden. “During planting and cut down the amount of fossil fuel used season, neighbors are sharing vegetables, to get food to the dinner table. Community seeds, and plants and having a really good gardens also provide multiple opportunities for time.” education, and serve as a space for neighbors, Thirty community gardens have been esfamilies, and friends to come together. Some tablished throughout Leon County at schools, gardens even donate their excess produce to neighborhoods, community centers, and faithnon-profit organizations. based organizations. The program, established In addition to community gardens, Leon County by Leon County Government in June 2012, launched the Seed Library program in 2015, which allows for gardens on designated County land provides vegetable seed packets for library patrons as well as stakeholder land. Applicants are to “check out” twice a year. Offered once in the invited to apply for grants through the county spring and once in the fall, experts choose the that provide up to $1,000 in funding, as well as seeds based on popularity, growing season, and material support and technical advising. The what grows best in this region. Lafayette Oaks Community Garden was estab The Community Garden and Seed Library lished and awarded the grant in 2014, and has Programs are just two of the many initiatives that been flourishing ever since. reinforce Leon County’s pursuit of a healthy, vibrant “Leon County’s Community Garden Program community that citizens are proud to call home. demonstrates our commitment to engaging For more information about Leon County’s citizens and resource stewardship,” said Leon Images courtesy of Leon County. Community Garden Program, visit County Administrator, Vincent S. Long. “Comwww.GrowingGreen.org/CommunityGardens. munity gardens are a catalyst for neighborhood and community Tessa Schreiner is the recycling and sustainability manager for Leon development, stimulating social interaction, conserving resources County. She can be reached at SchreinerT@leoncountyfl.gov. and creating opportunities for recreation and education.”
6 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 7
SHORT-TERM VACATION RENTALS REGULATIONS CAUGHT IN HOME RULE BATTLES By: Lester Abberger
The issue of short-term vacation rentals is but one element of a growing and pervasive pattern of preemption – as state government seeks to usurp the constitutionally guaranteed “home rule” powers of local governments.
The explosion of the shared economy as well as a plethora of local regulatory initiatives pose pressing and perplexing challenges as state and local governments struggle to sort out the appropriate scope, focus and locus of oversight of such services and businesses. Ride sharing, the regulation of medical marijuana, the terms and conditions for the use of public right of way for wireless communications infrastructure, Community Redevelopment Agencies, fracking, local bans of styrofoam containers and plastic bags, local business and professional regulation, and others were all issues resulting in preemption legislation during the 2017 Legislative Session. Preemption erupted as a broader issue when legislators placed on the 2018 general election ballot a proposed increase in the homeowners property tax exemption, which will arguably cripple local government funding across the state. This resulted in an acrimonious exchange between the Speaker of the House and the chairman of the National Association of Counties and a subsequent editorial in the Tallahassee Democrat (2 July 2017) entitled “The Preemption Binge Needs To End Now.” The editorial was direct: “The Legislature has been on a preemption binge in the last several years, claiming that economic development and individual freedom are enhanced by preventing cities and counties from enacting regulation in several important areas…” The context extends far beyond our state. The Wall Street Journal reported recently that “states are stepping up a push to rein in the power of local governance.” The piece cited preemption pushes in Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and New York, as well as those here in Florida. The tension is political in part the Journal article asserted: Republicans, as in Florida, control both branches of the legislature and the governor’s office in many states, but Democrats, as also in Florida, remain dominant in larger cities. Supporters of statelevel preemption measures assert that they are needed to
8 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
prevent local governments from enacting uneven regulations which are burdensome and the compliance costs of which must be passed along to consumers. As the shared economy continues to expand, so too will the tension between state and local governments as to how and where such services should be regulated. Short-term vacation rentals are a case in point, as they become a greater part of the tourism industry that drives Florida’s economy. In 2011, the legislature enacted a preemption of local regulatory authority over such rentals, but grandfathered local governments that had already enacted such controls as of 1 June 2011. Then, in 2014 the legislature reinstated home rule to regulate vacation rentals except for any regulation that strictly prohibited vacation rentals or that attempted to limit their frequency or duration. In 2017, the issue arose again with a vengeance, as there was a flurry of bills filed, most of which attempted to again preempt local vacation rental ordinances. There were several approaches. The first of which was a straight repeal of the 2014 law. The second approach required local governments to treat all residential properties uniformly, which would have in essence gutted any ordinances specific to vacation rentals. The third approach essentially left the 2014 law intact but continued on page 23
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Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 9
Florida’s Bikeshare Network
BIKE SHARING IS A NEW WAY OF GETTING AROUND YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, CITY AND COUNTY. IT’S AFFORDABLE, CLEAN, AND SIMPLE. IT’S GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH, YOUR POCKET, AND THE ENVIRONMENT. A QUICK RUN DOWN OF FLORIDA’S EXISTING BIKE SHARE PROGRAMS. By Ennis Davis, AICP
AvMed Rides B-cyle
Broward County (Dania Beach, Fort
Lauderdale, Hallandale Beach, Hollywood, Lauderdale by the Sea and Pompano Beach)
Number of Stations: 22 Number of Bicycles: 275 Year Established: December 2011 AvMed Rides is just one part of AvMed’s new WELLfluent movement, which encourages Floridians to embrace the riches that truly matter—
Editor’s note: This article originally appeared on moderncities.com.
those based on a balanced lifestyle of health and happiness. AvMed also offers Member-exclusive incentives, programs, clubs, and rewards that put health first. With headquarters in Miami and offices in every major metropolitan area of Florida, AvMed transforms lives to create a WELLfluent world. By uniting around this sole purpose, AvMed aims to inspire its 350,000 Floridian health plan Members to focus on health and happiness of the mind, body, and soul.
For more information:
https://broward.bcycle.com/ Photo courtesy of MyFortLauderdaleBeach.com
Aventura B-cycle Number of Stations: 5 Number of Bicycles: 35 Year Established: September 2016 For more information: https://aventura.bcycle.com/
Photo courtesy of Aventura Park Square continued on page 11
10 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
[FLORIDA] BIKESHARE
continued from page 10
Citi Bike Miami
Miami/Miami Beach Number of Stations: 170 Number of Bicycles: 1,750 Year Established: 2011 Citi Bank’s 2014 sponsorship of the initial Miami Beach bike share program enabled an expansion program bringing an additional 750 bicycles and 70 stations to the Miami area.
Coast Bike Share – St. Pete St. Petersburg Number of Hubs: 30 Number of Bicycles: 300 Year Established: November 2016
St. Petersburg aims to increase urban connectivity within the City by making bicycles readily available for trips that are too long for walking and too short for driving – or to just speed up a trip that would have been by walking. The program will build on the CityTrails Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that has added more than 110 miles of bicycle facilities Citywide, and precedes the forthcoming City’s Complete Streets Plan that will continue the development of infrastructure. Bike share will improve the quality of life for downtown and surrounding neighborhoods by stimulating economic development, improving residents health and providing a form of active transportation – building on the City’s Healthy St. Pete Initiative.
For more information:
http://citibikemiami.com/ Photo courtesy of WTD in South Beach
Coast Bike Share - Tampa Tampa Number of Stations: 32 Number of Bicycles: 300 Year Established: December 2015
Coast, a partnership between New York-based Social Bicycles and CycleHop of Miami Beach, has 300 bikes at 30 hubs in or near downtown, Ybor City, Hyde Park, Davis Islands and along Bayshore Boulevard.
For more information:
http://coastbikeshare.com/stpete/map/
Go Gainesville
Number of Hubs: 4 Number of Bicycles: 22 Year Established: May 2016 The City of Gainesville partnered with Zagster, a bike share company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to provide the bikes and stations. For the program’s launch, the City allocated $34,000 for four locations equipped with eight beach cruiser bicycles.
For more information:
http://coastbikeshare.com/tampa/map/ For more information:
http://zagster.com/gainesville/ Photo courtesy of 89.1 WUFT-FM continued on page 12
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 11
[FLORIDA] BIKESHARE
continued from page 11
InstaBike Key West
Number of Hubs: 1 (5 proposed) Number of Bicycles: 8 Year Established: December 2015
Share-A-Bull
University of South Florida - Tampa Number of Hubs: 4 Number of Bicycles: 100 Year Established: September 2015 Of the 37 Social Bicycle systems in the world, Share-A-Bull bikes is the most popular. Data from Campus Recreation shows that USF’s bikes are used for an average of 12 rides per day.
For more information:
https://instabikekeywest.com/ Photo courtesy of InstaBike Key West
Juice Bike Share
Orlando Number of Hubs: 24 Number of Bicycles: 200 Year Established: Winter 2015 Juice Bike Share sponsors include Florida Hospital, Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), Valencia College and VHB, a local engineering and planning firm.
For more information:
https://usf.socialbicycles.com/ Photo courtesy of Mark Schreiner
SkyBike WPB
West Palm Beach Number of Hubs: 14 Number of Bicycles: 150 Year Established: June 2015 SkyBike is made possible thanks to the sponsorship provided by SkyBridge Capital in partnership with P3 Global Management Inc. and the West Palm Beach Downtown Development Authority. In addition Visit Palm Beach (VPB) offers guided bicycle tours of downtown West Palm Beach and the Island of Palm Beach under a partnership with Skybike.
For more information:
https://juicebikeshare.com/
For more information:
https://skybikewpb.com/ Photo courtesy of VisitWPB continued on page 22
12 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
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Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 13
Ridesharing By Laura Everitt, Esq., AICP, LEED GA
as a Solution to Public Transit Woes
A number of transit agencies are experimenting with transportation networking companies (TNCs) such as Uber and Lyft to improve service. In recent months, the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) has launched two new services and reworked a third service to include TNCs: Direct Connect, the TD Late Shift, and paratransit services. In February 2016, PSTA kicked off a new partnership called Direct Connect with the ridesourcing company, Uber. The pilot project also included United Taxi for patrons who needed a cash option and Wheelchair Transport for patrons who needed non-ambulatory transport. Direct Connect started in the Pinellas Park area to solve the first mile/last mile problem. The purpose of the Direct Connect program, as originally conceived, was to connect passengers in the Pinellas Park area with a bus route. For patrons using the service, PSTA paid half of the Uber fare up to a maximum subsidy of $3. The Direct Connect service area was designed so that the maximum trip cost would be $6 so that patrons would only incur a $3 fee for the service. Patrons access the service by using their smart phones to hail a ride using the PSTA button within the Uber app. Using Uber’s geofencing (a virtually fenced area) technology, the PSTA option only appears within the Uber app if someone is in the Pinellas Park area. During the first 11 months of the service, PSTA provided 570 rides. Deeming this a success, PSTA expanded the Direct Connect program to 20 bus stops in July 2016. By January 2017, the program was expanded countywide. With the countywide launch of the program, PSTA changed the subsidy formula from splitting the cost with the patron with a maximum subsidy of $3 to frontloading the subsidy and covering the first $5 of the ride in order to make it more affordable to the customer. The county is divided into eight zones such that patrons traveling from home to a bus stop in those areas should not have to pay more than $1 for the service. Since January 2017, more than 2,000 rides have been taken on the Direct Connect service. PSTA launched its second TNC-based service, TD Late Shift, in July 2016. The service provides free commute trips using Uber or taxi services for individuals working second and third shifts. The TD Late Shift is meant to provide bookend service for those commuters who use regular PSTA fixed-route service one direction but cannot use it both directions because their trip is outside of fixed-route service hours (between 10 pm and 6 am.) Program participants must be registered with PSTA and have access to a smart phone and email address. No credit card is required as partners include a taxi company. After approximately a year of service, 20,000 trips have been logged by 600 registrants. Data shows that 70 percent of the trips are one-way. Using a federally-funded Mobility on Demand Sandbox grant, PSTA is improving paratransit service for its 12,000 registered users. Currently, paratransit patrons have to make a reservation 24 hours in advance. With the grant funding, patrons will be able to 14 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
make same-day reservations. Partners include Lyft (for ambulatory and wheelchair trips using credit cards), United Taxi (for cash-based ambulatory trips), and CareRide (for cash-based wheelchair trips). Transloc will be providing the reservation technology while the University of South Florida Center for Urban Transportation Research will develop performance measures for the new program. Laura is the associate director of transit solutions at Tindale Oliver in Tampa. She is also APA Florida’s president-elect. Laura can be reached at leveritt@tindaleoliver.com.
Millennials: SHARING ECONOMIES AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON LONG-TERM PLANNING By: Jacob Cummings
Sharing economies can be dated from antiquity to present day in which wars are fought over resources including land, labor, and capital, but most importantly water. Like all wars, diplomacy must be met by compromise and sharing is the common thread which makes economies develop and flourish. Since millennials have grown up in the age of emerging technologies, sharing has become more common through the relevance of its existence. It starts from the inception of our lives and pushes our perception of giving far beyond our adolescence by using it in daily task and within our job sectors. When we think of an economy sharing in present day, we think technology (security and financial payments), assets (renting and insurance), and the accommodation (price and customer satisfaction) to serve consumers who want affordable goods and services provided via the internet. These opportunities allow users of the goods and services to enhance their experience by spending more time with family, friends, and the exploration for leisure activity. Quite often we do not think of regulatory control when purchasing a service such as Lyft or Uber (peer-rental service for cars) or Airbnb (peer-rental for lodging), but the first factor we assume is how we can save money and time. According to the Brookings Institute (2016) a sharing economy is “the peer-to-peer based activity of obtaining, giving, or shar-
ing access to goods and services (Yaraghi, N. and Ravi, S.).” Collaborative consumption is the most widely used alternative name to describe this anomaly. This transformation includes the concept of “crowd-based capitalism – a new way of organizing economic activity that may supplant the traditional corporate-centered model (overview, The Sharing Economy by Arun Sundararajan, 2016).” What does this mean to the generation of millennials and how it is being used in terms of long-term planning? As millennials make up over 83.1 million of our nation’s population (U.S. Census Bureau), the largest generation yet, millennials understand the intuitive design and interface of sharing data files, pictures, movies, music and many other broad services through cloud based options to be quick, easy, and accessible at their fingertips through web-based platforms and social-media outlets. So, if we cannot always experience the moment in real-time with loved ones we can still be a part of the experience through multi-modal platforms which compile images, sound, and videos for new experiences for generations to come. Intrinsically we want to participate in the emotions which others felt and share them. Subsequently millennials always ponder the thought of ‘what’s continued on page 22
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 15
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2017 APA FLORIDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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If you’re coming to the conference, be sure to bring your sneakers or bike as Daytona Beach is located in the heart of the Atlantic Coast’s regional trail network.
As you know, the 2017 APA Florida Annual Conference in Daytona Beach will be hosted by the Atlantic Coast Section, which includes Volusia, Brevard, and Indian River counties and stretches nearly 150 miles along the east central Florida coast, from Ormond Beach to Vero Beach. What you may not know is that an extensive regional trail network connects the section and encourages local economic development, recreational opportunities and healthier lifestyles. The trails are designed to meet the recreational needs of all people, regardless of age, economic status or physical ability. Volusia County has completed construction of two pedestrian bridges and three segments of the East Central Regional Rail Trail (ECRRT), which one day will stretch 52 miles from Deltona to Edgewater, along with a connection to Titusville in Brevard County. The showcase trail is 12 feet wide and paved, making it accessible to walkers, joggers, in-line skaters, bicyclists, and persons with disabilities. This trail links with the Spring-to-Spring Trail, connecting the county’s westside springs such as Gemini Springs, Blue Springs, and DeLeon Springs. To date, nearly 15 miles have been completed and opened to the public. Volusia County has created a mobile app to guide visitors through all of the county’s recreation opportunities.
16 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
Brevard County will soon be celebrating the opening of its newest segment of the ECRRT. The multi-use trail, approximately 13 miles in length, is also part of the Coast to Coast Connector, a statewide network of more than 260 miles of paved trails connecting St. Petersburg to Titusville. Construction began on this particular segment in January 2016, running between Titusville to the Volusia County line. Work continues as well on the Space Coast Trail, which includes segments of regional and statewide trails such as the ECRRT, the East Coast Greenway, and the St. John’s River to Sea Loop. Click here for more information. In Indian River County, construction began in April on the Trans-Florida Railroad Trail (TFRT) pedestrian overpass of I-95. When complete in early 2018, the overpass will connect sections of improved trail (north of CR 512) between the cities of Sebastian and Fellsmere. Since the TFRT is built on the bed of the abandoned rail corridor, the pedestrian overpass is designed to honor the railroad’s history with style attributes reminiscent of historic rail bridges. Opportunities are being explored to further connect the TFRT with trails in Brevard and Volusia counties. More information about Indian River County trails may be found at www.comediscovernature.com.
CALLING FOR VOLUNTEERS Volunteer to be an APA Congressional District Captain member benefit: the Planners APA has recently launched a new free ted in response to members’ Advocacy Network. The network was crea on a national level. APA offers interest in getting more involved in politics crafting a message and delivering a host of materials to assist members in what APA’s legislative policies your story, writing effective emails, and explore all of the available entail. Members can join the network and y. resources by going to planning.org/advocac bers have already joined the To date, more than 130 APA Florida mem this new APA initiative, we are Planners Advocacy Network. As part of Captains (CDC) to assist us with recruiting inaugural Congressional District 27 Congressional Districts. While APA’s advocacy work in each of Florida’s ce, the role as it is currently the role may evolve with time and experien Action Alerts by contacting conceived will focus on responding to APA advocating on behalf of APA. your congressional representatives and rmation to other District APA The role may also include distributing info in your Congressional District. members or recruiting network members be If you are interested in volunteering to a Congressional District Captain, please contact your State Chair Laura Everitt at leveritt@tindaleoliver.com.
PROVIDING TOOLS TO TEACH PLANNING: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
g short lesson plans APA Florida is beginning work on developin or the Great members can use at local schools for career day designed to be brief American Teach-In. These short lessons will be and regional planning interactive and informative intros about urban es in educational and what planners do. To provide for differenc d on grade bands, levels, lesson plans and activities will be base third grade through including kindergarten through second grade, fifth grade, middle school, and high school. t planning and If you have an interest in educating youth abou on our committee assisting on this project we would love your help time commitas we go through the development process. Your individual review and ment, between conference call meetings and over the next three feedback, will be about 10-12 hours spread out would like more months. If you are interested in volunteering or r Tony LaColla, AICP information, please e-mail APA Florida Treasure ext. 350. at lacollaa@plancom.org or call 813-273-3774
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 17
ANNOUNCING PROPOSED APA FLORIDA BYLAW CHANGES By Kim Glas-Castro, AICP, LEED AP Every two years, the Chapter President appoints a Bylaws Committee, chaired by the Chapter Secretary, to review the Bylaws and identify any changes needed for consistency with national APA bylaws or Chapter practices and policies. The current Bylaws Committee members are Lorraine Duffy-Suarez, AICP; Rochelle Lawandales, AICP, Melissa Zornitta, AICP, Brad Cornelius, AICP, Alissa Barber Torres, AICP and Kim Glas-Castro, AICP (Chair and APA Florida Secretary). Based on the work of the Bylaws Committee, the APA Florida Executive Committee proposes the changes listed below to the APA Florida Bylaws. (To view the actual proposed language, click here. (Will open or download as a Word document.)
Article IV. Chapter Section
Article VII. Duties of Executive Committee Members 6. Require attendance of elected Chapter officers at all Executive Committee meetings. 7. Clarify the duties of the Young Planners Group Representative. 8. Clarify the duties of the Student Representative and Faculty Liaison.
Article IX Committees 9. Clarify that the Chapter President appoints all standing committee members.
1. Specify that Section Bylaws should be reviewed for consistency within 90 days of adoption of Chapter Bylaws.
10. Task the Chapter Bylaws Committee with courtesy review of Section Bylaws before adoption of bylaws amendments.
2. Task the Chapter Bylaws Committee with courtesy review of Section Bylaws before adoption of bylaws amendments.
11. Reduce the members of the Conference Committee.
3. Require Section Bylaws to be posted on Section webpages for convenient access to members.
Article VI. Chapter Offices and Terms of Service 4. Due to the timing of the election process hosted by national APA, specify that the term of the newly elected officers commences no later than 14 days after receipt of the election results. 5. In the event of vacancy of the President position, clarify the term of office of the President-Elect advancing (pre-term) to the President position.
18 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
12. Refine the timing of Biennial Leadership Retreat (within 6 months of the installation of the new Chapter officers). 13. Amend the Young Planners Group to better align the purpose, organizational structure and membership criteria with national APA YPG guidelines. 14. Clarify that ad-hoc committees may include non-APA members with a technical expertise desired for the objective or task of the committee. Voting on these proposed Bylaws revisions will be done electronically and ballots will be sent out in September. The proposed Bylaws amendments require approval by a majority of those Chapter members voting. Please contact Kim Glas-Castro at kglas-castro@vpsfl.org or 561-434-5086. if you have any comments or questions about the proposed changes.
2017
GREAT PLACES IN FLORIDA By Brandon Henry, Young Planners Group Chair
S
ince 2014, APA Florida’s Young Planners Group has hosted the Great Places in Florida Award Program, which highlights the state’s innovative and unique planning projects and the communities that sustain them. This year’s program will be the fourth, following a record breaking year in 2016 – with 37 nominations submitted and extensive media coverage. Last year’s winner, Cascades Park in Tallahassee, joins other outstanding Great Places in Florida winners including Downtown Fernandina Beach and Downtown Mount Dora. The award program focuses on unique, memorable places that work for the good of their community and attract people to visit them. As such, it is an annual selection of places that represent the gold standard of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement and a vision for tomorrow. Great Places nominees should contribute to the greater community’s social, economic, and environmental well-being for the long term. Any Neighborhoods, Downtowns, Streets, or Public Places in your community with these attributes are eligible for submission. Finalists will be chosen by a panel of multidisciplinary experts, and the Great Places in Florida winner will be chosen by the public in the People’s Choice voting round.
Cascades Park, Tallahassee
Summertime in Florida can only mean one thing: Time to celebrate the Great Places in Florida!
Downtown Fernandina Beach
IMPORTANT DATES ARE AS FOLLOWS:
• Official kickoff on Aug. 1. • Nomination period opens on Monday, Aug. 14. • Nominations due by 5 pm ET on Friday, Sept. 22. • People’s Choice voting runs from Monday, Oct. 9 through Friday, Oct. 20. Note the deadlines above, and stay tuned with www.floridaplanning.org for the official kickoff of the 2017 Great Places in Florida program! Help us get the word out! If you would like to get involved with the 2017 Great Places in Florida program and the Young Planners Group, contact YPG Chair Brandon Henry at floridaypg@floridaplanning.org.
Downtown Mount Dora
YOU COULD BE NEXT!
at The 2017 Gre rida Places in Flo be winner will on Friday, d e c n u o n n a e capstone Oct. 27 as th Planning to National ities month activ
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 19
Planner Q&A: Fred Jones, AICP This spring Fred Jones, AICP, was elected to the Neptune Beach City Council. Fred is also a senior project manager of community and mobility planning for Michael Baker International in Jacksonville. We caught up with Fred to ask him about his new role and how his experience as a planner will help the First Coast beach community. What made you run for Neptune Beach City Council? I have always had an interest in public service and my experience as a planner led me to the realization that the most effective way to ensure that the great ideas and policy frameworks from our profession get implemented is to have a “seat at the table” so to speak. Do you have any plans for higher office? At this time, no. But you never know. Even though you’ve been on the council for a short time, what have you learned about being an elected official where your planning background has helped? As a small, coastal community that is largely built-out, much of our current focus has been on parking management, redevelopment initiatives, and retrofitting our infrastructure to support active transportation and complete streets. Having a transportation planning background has been valuable in this respect. There isn’t much room for a learning curve when you are having to step right in and make informed decisions in the public interest. My previous experience as a planning commissioner in Jacksonville Beach as well as sitting on the Downtown Development Review Board for the City of Jacksonville provides good training when it comes to tradeoffs and balancing the interests of development rights versus long-term community needs. We are currently developing a master plan for our major community park that functions as a primary gateway to the beach. Everything from visioning skills to understanding drainage comes in handy here! Now that you’re on the other side of the dais, do you try to educate other council members on planning approaches, procedures? Most definitely. I would really like to see our community adopt a Complete Streets policy and utilize newer roadway and cycling design standards such as those proposed by NACTO or the Dutch CROW manual. 20 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
Neptune Beach was hit hard by Hurricane Matthew. What challenges do you see, if any, for rebuilding and improving infrastructure, preparation for the next storm? How does your planning savvy help lead this effort? Resiliency will remain more than a passing trend for our urban, coastal communities. We will need to continue to review our building design standards and local planning and regulatory mechanisms to ensure that our housing and infrastructure will be sustainable in the wake of such incidents. Florida is still a very attractive place to live and Jacksonville was recently ranked the second most popular for relocation. Ensuring high quality growth and redevelopment in a way that more sustainably addresses mitigation and recovery is something that our city is constantly evaluating. Anything else you’d like to add? We need more planners in these types of roles!
APA FLORIDA WORKING FOR YOU METROPOLE WEBINAR ON AUG. 17
MEMBERS TAKE PART IN FREE ETHICS WEBINAR More than 200 APA Florida members participated in a free webinar - “When Ethics Collide” - on June 29. This chaptersponsored webinar provided members with an opportunity to obtain mandatory ethics certification maintenance (CM) hours conveniently at their homes or offices. Presenters Mary Kay Peck, FAICP, and Lorraine Duffy-Suarez, AICP, provided an overview of both the AICP and ICMA (International City Management Association) codes of ethics while discussing possible scenarios and approaches to various ethical dilemmas. Moderator Melissa Zornitta, AICP, conducted a Q & A session at the end with questions emailed in by participants during the webinar. Thanks to our presenters, moderator and all members who joined in. Keep on the lookout for more webinars by visiting floridaplanning.org, reading your monthly E-News, or by following us on Facebook at facebook.com/APAFlorida.
AICP EXAM SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE
APA Florida is offering two scholarships for the November 2017 AICP Exam. First time AICP applicants will be provided with a reduced rate of $145 ($70 for the application fee and $70 for the exam fee). Previously approved applicants are provided with a reduced rate of $75 (exam fee only). This provides a significant reduction from the current fee of $425. The deadline is Friday, Aug.25. (Click here for more information.) This continues APA Florida’s program to assist individuals who may defer taking or are unable to take the AICP exam due to cost by offering four scholarships each year. Two were previously awarded for the Spring 2017 exam.
SECTION GRANTS AWARDED The 2017 Non-Competitive Section Grant program has recently awarded nine of the 12 APA Florida Sections with a total of $11,305. These funds are used by each section to carry out section related activities for members. Also, the 2017 Competitive Section Grant Program has awarded $6,695 to seven of the 12 Florida chapter sections based upon their proposals. Funds will be used to implement programs such as the First Coast Section’s Safe Street Summit, the Treasure Coast Section’s Public Officials Workshop and the San Felasco Section’s purchase of an APA webinar series and speaker event with the University of Florida Planning Department.
On Aug. 17, APA Florida will host a free webinar: Perceptions, Priorities and Public Finance: How Values and Communications Shape Support for Adaptation and Funding. The METROPOLE research identified similar patterns in each of the three countries for preferences for certain adaptation options and finance tools over others. Additional analysis links these patterns to new social science research on values, behavior and cognitive factors for stakeholder leaders. Information and registration here. 1.25 CMs will be sought.
NEW PROGRAMS AND FEATURES AHEAD APA Florida has received funds from the BP Deepwater Horizon Settlement that will allow your chapter a one-time opportunity to expand our programs and serve our members. Using these funds, the Executive Committee and members are currently working on developing new items such as a circuit rider for a statewide speaker, a conference scholarship program, videos to communicate about our profession and organization and a school curriculum program for elementary, middle, and high, school students. Stay tuned!
LEGISLATIVE SESSION ENDS Our state’s legislative session ended in May in which APA Florida monitored a total of 3,052 bills which included: 13 concurrent resolutions, 89 single chamber resolutions, 1,606 general bills, 70 local bills, 43 joint resolutions, 21 memorials and 1,210 appropriation projects. To read or download a recap of this year’s session, visit floridaplanning.org.
DON’T MISS THE 2017 ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING The 2017 Annual Business Meeting will be held at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach on Sept. 5 from 5:30 – 6:30 pm. On the agenda, there are several items noticed for action at the annual membership business meeting, specifically they are: • the proposed 2018 APA Florida Budget • the proposed 2018 APA Florida Strategic Operational Plan • the proposed 2018 APA Florida Legislative Program and Position Statements. continued on page 23
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 21
[FLORIDA] BIKESHARE
APA Florida
continued from page 12
PLANNERS ON THE MOVE KATIE BERKEY MOVES TO KIMLEY-HORN Katie Berkey, AICP, JD, has joined Kimley-Horn’s land development team in Fort Myers. Katie has successfully provided planning services for a variety of commercial, residential and telecommunications projects throughout Florida. As a licensed attorney and certified planning, Katie’s planning experience include policy analysis and legislation tracking related to growth management and the environment, as well as permitting, applications and administrative matters before elected boards and commissions. Katie earned her Juris Doctor and Master of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Caroline Chapel Hill.
Swan City Cycles
Lakeland Number of Hubs: 7 Number of Bicycles: 35 Year Established: December 2015
[MILLENNIALS] SHARING ECONOMIES
continued from page 15
SWARM Bike Share
Jacksonville Beach/Beaches Town Center Number of Hubs: 2 Number of Bicycles: N/A Year Proposed: 201
For more information:
http://www.swarmbikes.com/#
SEE YOU IN DAYTONA!
APA Florida Annual Conference September 5-8, 2017 Ocean Center
next?’, the trend is not self-serving ownership but what assets are available with ease-of-access. Since the recession of 2007 has affected millennials so profoundly (high debt from college loans and well-paying job opportunities) sharing is implicit to making the modern economy and the mindset of new consumerism to be less ownership whereas care and maintenance is no longer an obstacle. Whether we are renting a bike, sharing food from a community garden, borrowing tools from a neighborhood toolshed, finding a baby or dog sitter, we are creating a membership where goods and services are built through shared connections and space for a cheaper rate than most traditional businesses offer. When we think of this new economy where sharing is accessible beyond the thought of co-housing/mingling, people want to save money where available and create alternate incomes. Regulation must be at the forefront of these changing markets. The decisions of whether to have contractors or employees for companies who make up these technology platforms is still widely debated. The price of conducting business in the traditional model (taxes, regulation, and insurance) is the future of planning for the sharing economy in terms of long-term growth for this industry which is estimated to be $335 billion globally by 2025 compared to $15 billion in 2014 in the areas of travel, car sharing, finance, staffing and streaming (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2016). Millennials embrace these commonalities between sustainability - the market of untapped resources sometimes going unused and how we can benefit from using what we have to contribute for others through sharing. Jacob Cummings is a master’s degree candidate at the University of Central Florida in the Urban and Regional Planning program. He can be reached at JakeRoyCummings@gmail.com.
22 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
[VACATION] RENTALS
continued from page 8
would have allowed grandfathered communities to amend their codes to adopt less restrictive ordinances. At the end of day, none of these measures were adopted by the legislature. It is reasonable to anticipate more preemption activity in the future. The shared economy is growing and thriving. State revenues are increasingly insufficient to meet needs for services, which will result in the devolution of the responsibility for providing and paying for such services to local governments. Local governments are pushing back against inflexible, one-size-fits-all state regulatory constructs. How this is all sorted out at the end of the day will be a function of the extent to which legislators are responsive to local needs and conditions and the extent to which local governments are cognizant of the costly, counterproductive consequences of heavy handed regulation. The appropriate balance is elusive. Planners have an important role to play in helping state and local policymakers find that “sweet spot.” Lester Abberger is APA Florida’s legislative representative. He can be reached at lesterabberger@nettally.com.
[APA] FLORIDA WORKING FOR YOU
continued from page 21
For those members who are unable to attend the annual meeting but who wish to vote on these items, a proxy system has been created. This proxy system form allows you to decide whether you want to register your vote in advance and submit it to the Chapter Office for use at the annual meeting OR delegate your vote to another member who will be attending the annual meeting if you are unable to participate. A proxy voting form, which may be reproduced, can be downloaded here. There are two important requirements when using the proxy voting form: 1) Mailed proxies must be received at the Chapter Office by 5 pm on Aug 31 to ensure timely receipt and transfer to Daytona Beach. 2) All proxies, whether mailed or hand-carried, must be verified by the APA Florida Secretary or Executive Director so please completely and legibly fill out all required fields on the proxy. If you have any questions, please contact the Chapter Office at 850-201-3272 or fapa@floridaplanning.org. See you in Daytona Beach!
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 23
LAND USE & PLANNING: Law Case Update
by: Nancy E. Stroud, AICP, JD
These last several months have been an active one for land use decisions in several high profile cases. Of special note is the United States Supreme Court opinion in Murr et al. v. Wisconsin, et al, issued on June 23, finding that state and county land use regulations requiring substandard platted lots in the same ownership to be “merged” for purposes of development did not create a regulatory taking of property. The decision can be accessed here. The Murrs, siblings who were deeded their parents’ adjacent riverfront lots along the designated wild and scenic St. Croix River after the county and state increased the minimum lot size for residential development, argued that the merger provision worked a regulatory taking of the undeveloped substandard lot that they owned next to the family vacation home lot. The American Planning Association (including the Wisconsin chapter) filed an amicus brief in support of the county and state, as did several other organizations in support and opposition. Professor Michael Allan Wolf, of the Levin College of Law, University of Florida, wrote the APA brief. The APA brief is a primer on the basics of subdivision and zoning law, and explains how most states have adopted the long standing “merger” zoning regulation as a way to protect single substandard lots from having no use available after the zoning regulations have changed. The APA explains that in the case of adjacent lots in the same ownership, the equities are different, especially where the owners take ownership after the regulations have been changed. In that case, a reasonable use most often, as in this case, can be made of the properties when viewed together “as a whole” or as one property. The Supreme Court decision recognizes this legitimate zoning regulation and indeed confirms the ability of zoning regulations to protect property value while promoting important community wide environmental and aesthetic purposes. More specifically, the decision establishes a new federal rule for determining the relevant parcel in a regulatory takings challenge, which evaluates the claimant’s “reasonable expectations about property ownership.” The Court will now look to the treatment of the land boundaries under state and local law, the physical characteristics of the land, and the effect of the regulation’s restriction on one parcel on the value of the adjacent parcel. In the Murrs’ case, the court noted the wild and scenic designation of the river, the rugged geography of the lots spanning both on the riverbank and adjacent bluffs, and the testimony that the lots together had greater market value than separately. The court split 5-3 on the decision regarding how the relevant parcel should be defined, although all justices agreed that in this particular case there was no taking (Justice Gorsuch had not yet been seated on the Court.) In the latest iteration of a long-running battle between the Town of Ponce Inlet and owners of riverfront land eyed for a mixed use development, Town of Ponce Inlet v. Pacetta, LLC et al., the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal on June 16 reversed a regulatory takings judgment against the Town that had resulted in a $30 million damages trial court judgment, plus liability for Pacetta’s attorneys fees. The opinion can be accessed here. The Pacetta company began buying riverfront parcels in Ponce Inlet in 2004 and, with some encouragement from town staff and individual council members, Pacetta decided to create a mixed use planned waterfront development. The Town’s 2003 Comprehensive Plan and 2004 riverfront zoning overlay did not permit the development. By 2006 the company had acquired 16 acres in ten adjacent parcels. As the citizenry began to get wind of the proposed waterfront development opposition grew. The Town council approved at first reading an amendment to its Comprehensive Plan that lifted limitations on commercial development necessary to allow the Pacetta plan to go forward. During that state mandated review of the amendment, everything at the Town changed. A citizen referendum passed that amended the Town charter to incorporate the original comprehensive plan waterfront development limitations, and a new Town Council was elected. The outgoing council refused to enact the comprehensive plan amendments when they came back from state review. Readers may remember the Pacetta I case, where the District Court of Appeal invalidated the charter amendment on the basis of the statutory prohibition against charter initiatives affecting five parcels or less. The Court there ruled that Pacetta’s 16 acres was one parcel. Subsequently a trial court found that the Town had violated the Bert Harris Act on the basis that Pacetta had a vested right in its proposed development based on the Town’s actions. This decision was reversed by the District Court of Appeal in Pacetta II, which ruled that the owners had no vested right where the comprehensive plan and zoning did not allow the development; it found that the trial court improperly required the approval of the comprehensive plan continued on page 25
24 Summer 2017 / Florida Planning
[LAW CASE] UPDATE
continued from page 24
amendments. APA Florida chapter filed an amicus brief in Pacetta II in support of the Town. The trial court had also found in Pacetta’s favor on several constitutional issues. It found in particular that the Town had worked a regulatory taking on 4 of the 10 parcels, and also found state and federal constitutional due process violations relating to the remaining 6 parcels. When the jury convened in 2014 to decide the money damages owed to Pacetta, it awarded almost $20 million in damages on the takings claim, that totaled to more than $30 million when interest was added, and the trial court also awarded Pacetta its attorney’s fees. The Town appealed, and in the most recent decision Pacetta III, the District Court reversed the trial court’s taking liability decision, saying that the trial court should have looked at the Pacetta property as a whole – the 10 parcels together as one parcel, as it did in the first case regarding the charter initiative. The developer treated the property as a single parcel, and in fact had earlier argued in Pacetta I to its benefit that it was a single parcel. It was clear from the record that there was no total taking of value of the whole property because the trial court specifically had found that there was not taking on 6 of the individual parcels. The court reversed the takings damages and attorney’s fees awards. However, the court remanded the case to determine if there was a “partial taking” of the whole property, which would require the trial court to balance the multiple factors set out in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104 (1978). In addition, the District Court agreed with the trial court that Pacetta had not presented any evidence for separate or independent damages for the due process claims, so no damages could be awarded for those constitutional claims. Will we see a Pacetta IV? Stay tuned. On May 25, the Florida Supreme Court decided Hardee Co. v. FINR II, Inc. and settled the conflict between state courts of appeal as to whether the Bert Harris Act allows claims arising from governmental action that regulates property adjacent to the claimant’s property. In this case, the county granted a special exception to a phosphate mining company that reduced the required setback from the adjacent property, the site of a neurological rehabilitation center. The rehabilitation center (FINR) brought the Harris Act claim against the county for $38 million in damages for devaluation of its property. The Second District Court of Appeal held that FINR could bring the claim, but certified the question to the Supreme Court based on conflict with City of Jacksonville v. Smith, 159 So. 2d 88 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015) (holding that property owner had no claim under the Act for operation of a fire station on adjacent property). The Supreme Court narrowly construed the Act and reviewed legislative history of the Act, and determined that the adjacent owner had no property interest in the adjacent setback and could not bring the claim. The court also noted that 2015 legislative amendments to the act had clarified that the act was not meant to apply to property not itself subject to governmental regulation. Find the case here. The Third District Court of Appeal decided Village of Palmetto Bay v. Alexander School, Inc. on March 15, upholding
the Village’s charter provision that requires an approval at a public election of 75% of the voters within a radius of 2,000 feet from a private school before the school may increase permitted enrollment. The proposal failed in two separate elections, and the school filed suit challenging the constitutionality of the charter provision. The trial court found that the provision violated due process and was arbitrary and capricious. The appellate court disagreed, finding that the school failed to carry its “extraordinary burden” of proving that the charter provision bears no substantial relationship to public health, safety, moral or general welfare, including a failure to provide evidence on the impacts of the proposed enrollment increase. It also found that there was no procedural due process violation, citing the Florida Supreme Court’s acceptance of voter referenda in the case of Florida Land Co. v. City of Winter Springs, 427 So. 2d 170 (Fla. 1983). The case can be found here. A surprising case decided June 30, from the Second District Court of Appeal, Heine v. Lee County et al., has narrowly construed the standing of persons who can bring challenges to land use decisions on the basis of their inconsistency with the comprehensive plan. The Heines challenged a Planned Development rezoning of property owned by Alico West Fund, LLC which sought to develop a mixed use project to serve nearby Florida Gulf Coast University students. The rezoning “authorized an increase in development of up to 250 hotel rooms, 246,000 square feet of commercial/ retail space, 100,00 square feet of office space and 300,000 square feet of research and development space,” and boat slips and trailer spaces along North Lake. The Heines are residents in a community south of the property, and have a recreational easement for the use of the North Lake. They alleged that the rezoning was inconsistent with several Plan policies such as buffering and landscaping, the mix of housing types, noise security and visual impacts, and safety requirements. The trial court found that the Heines did not have standing to challenge the rezoning because they did not challenge the rezoning “use, densities or intensities of uses.” The Court referenced section 163.3215(3), Florida Statutes, which authorizes an aggrieved person to challenge a development order that “materially alters the use or density or intensity of use on a particular piece of property which is not consistent with the comprehensive plan.” It held that this plain language restricts standing, despite the more liberal construction granted by cases in other District Courts of Appeal, and despite other language in section 163.3194(3)(a) of the statute that provides consistency includes compatibility between the plan and “land uses, density or intensities, and other aspects of development permitted by such order.” Read the decision here. Nancy Stroud is a founding member of Lewis, Stroud & Deutsch, PL. She can be reached at NStroud@lsdlaw.net
Summer 2017 / Florida Planning 25
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MASTER OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING Apply at spa.usf.edu/graduate/murp
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[FLORIDA] PLANNING Published by the Florida Chapter, American Planning Association, the Florida Planning newsletter has a current circulation of 2,600 members, subscribers and other readers. Four issues are published a year.
CHANGES OF ADDRESS For APA members, Send to: Member Records Department American Planning Association 205 N. Michigan Ave., Ste. 1200 Chicago, IL 60601 Fax: 312-786-6700 or log onto www.planning.org/myapa
ARTICLES Florida Planning welcomes articles, announcements, letters, pictures and advertising. Call 850-201-3272 regarding articles. The next issue will be published October 2017.
DEADLINES Article deadlines are generally four weeks prior to publication. Ad deadlines are generally two weeks prior to publication. Consult the editor for any exception to this schedule.
ABOUT THE CHAPTER APA Florida is a non-profit organization funded through membership dues and fees. Contributions are also welcomed for general purposes and earmarked programs. Please note that contributions are not tax deductible. For news and information on Chapter concerns, visit the APA Florida website at www.floridaplanning.org. APA Florida 2017 Delta Boulevard, Suite 201 Tallahassee, FL 32303 Phone: 850-201-3272 Fax: 850-807-2576
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[UPCOMING] EVENTS AUG. 11: WEBINAR: A NEW TOOL FOR TRACKING HOME AND RENTAL VALUES IN TODS Webinar. Theory, research and practice suggest that rental rates and home values in TOD locations have historically experienced greater capital appreciation during periods of economic growth and less downside depreciation during recessionary periods of the market cycle. Until now, homebuyers, real estate investors, asset managers, developers, planners and economic development professionals have had trouble accessing a comprehensive database in a simple, standardized methodology to benchmark month-to-month changes in home values and rental rates in TOD locations. 1.5 CMs for live viewing only. Free. Information here. AUG. 12: BIKE & BREW: S-LINE BIKE RIDE Jacksonville. Please join Groundworkers for the S-Line Urban Greenway for our monthly bike ride on the S-Line Urban Rail Trail. The casual ride will stop at one or two points to point out local landmarks and the work and achievements of Groundwork Jacksonville. Information here. AUG. 14: 2017 FLORIDA MAIN STREET CONFERENCE Fernandina Beach. This year’s theme is “Resiliency,” which will encompass a variety of topics relating to surviving disasters, fundraising, retail trends and development, long-term sustainability and more! 6 CMs. $50. Information here. AUG. 11: WEBINAR: FINDING COMMON GROUND WHEN REGULATING ELECTRONIC MESSAGE CENTERS Webinar. On-premise digital signs have demonstrated a proven ability to increase results for those that utilize them for commercial and community-oriented purposes. However, many communities are relatively unfamiliar with this rapidly evolving technology, and have concerns that these kinds of signs will create aesthetic, safety and enforcement problems for their communities. Nearly all stakeholders struggling with digital signs and their regulation often have the same questions. 1.5 CMs for live viewing only. Free. Information here. SEPT. 5-8: APA FLORIDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE Daytona Beach. APA Florida is committed to Rising to the Challenge of planning for Florida’s future. The Host Committee has put together a diverse program of speakers, sessions, workshops, and tours designed for learning and inspiration. Keynote speakers Majora Carter and Hank Dittmar will bring fresh ideas on urban design and redevelopment to make our cities more livable, resilient and beautiful. CMs available. Information here. NOV. 14-16: 5TH ANNUAL AARP LIVABLE COMMUNITIES NATIONAL CONFERENCE Dallas, Texas. Local leaders, representatives from members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities and livability experts are gathering to share ideas, best practices and solutions for making towns, cities and communities nationwide more livable and age-friendly for people of all ages. Information here. For more information on these and other APA Florida events, please visit www.floridaplanning.org/calendar/