Guest commentary: Oppose SB 354 — Blue Ribbon Projects
Last week, HB 299 — the Blue Ribbon Projects bill, was substantively amended to be less bad. However, the changes still leave the proposed bill in a form that sets a dangerous precedent for incentivizing intense development in rural areas of the state.
This morning, the Senate version, SB 354, was amended to match the changes made in the House bill.
This bill is being fast-tracked for passage and will be heard tomorrow in the Senate Rules committee for the last time before it’s scheduled for a full Senate vote. More than likely, the faster-moving House bill will be considered by the full Senate, positioning it to be passed and sent to the governor for his signature.
The now matching House and Senate Blue Ribbon Projects bills have been amended to increase the “project” size to 15,000 acres from 10,000 and clarified uses allowed in the “reserve areas.” Despite these improvements, the bill still fundamentally changes the planning patterns for the rapidly shrinking rural areas of our state, when several other high-profile bills have been proposing laws to be changed to preserve these same areas for agricultural purposes.
The Blue Ribbon Projects bills still have concerning and unclear language regarding a local government’s ability to object to these projects when there are “substantial inconsistencies” between the project’s plans and the already adopted local government’s comprehensive plan.
At a time when local governments are restricted by the state from collecting certain impact fees and when the state’s property tax reform proposals seek to drastically change local governments’ ability to provide even the basic infrastructure necessary to address critical needs, developers do not need another round of handouts designed to disregard the established planning process.
Please visit https://sccf.quorum.us/campaign/156942/ to let the Senate Rules Committee know that you oppose this amended bill and call for the adherence to already adopted local government growth plans.
Thank you for your commitment to actively protect Florida’s natural resources and, in doing so, protecting our economy and quality of life.
Founded in 1967, the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s mission is to protect and care for Southwest Florida’s coastal ecosystems. For more information, visit sccf.org.
To reach SANIBEL-CAPTIVA CONSERVATION FOUNDATION POLICY TEAM, please email