Sunday, March 14, 2010

The words "Department of Community Affairs" tend to cause trepidation in the hearts of developers and property rights advocates throughout Florida -- and especially in the Florida Keys.

In fact, two years ago, some developer-friendly state legislators unsuccessfully pushed legislation to abolish the DCA.

Currently, the DCA is in the midst of a sunset review process that each state agency undergoes every 10 years. The Legislature this year must decide on one of three options for the agency's future: continuing, abolishing or modifying it.

This review comes at a time when Florida's budget is facing a $3 billion deficit, and a slow economic recovery may force deep cuts to state programs and agencies.

The DCA is the state's land planning and community development agency. According to its Web site, "Its role is to assist Florida's communities as they meet the needs of Florida's ever-expanding population. The department ensures that new growth complies with the state's vital growth management laws, while also helping established communities revitalize their older or traditional neighborhoods."

The DCA has far-reaching power, from assisting Florida's communities in planning for the impacts of growth and development to administratively housing the Florida Division of Emergency Management. This power allowed the agency to block many controversial development projects throughout the state in order to protect the fragile environment and manage growth.

In an attempt to protect the Florida Keys from the kind of runaway development seen in the 1950s and '60s, the state designated Monroe County as an Area of Critical State Concern in 1975. This brought the Keys and other critical concern areas under DCA oversight.

The agency established a countywide program that incorporates monitoring affordable housing, wastewater management, habitat protection, growth management, amendments to land use plans and hurricane evacuation. This process resulted in the Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) and other efforts to balance development with infrastructure and ecological limitations. The goal is to ensure that future growth does not jeopardize nonrenewable resources or the unique character of the Keys.

At times the relationship between the DCA and the county has been strained. For example, in 2008 the DCA overruled the Monroe County Commission when it approved rules that would have allowed construction of a luxury hotel and yacht marina to displace boatyards and commercial fishing-related businesses on Stock Island's Safe Harbor. However, Keys governments also recognize the value of being an Area of Critical State Concern, including the benefit of a smart growth framework that will provide for sustainable and livable communities.

The DCA also has implemented sound environmental policies at times when the county and Keys' municipal governments have not -- a benefit recognized by environmentalists.

The quality of life and environment benefits Keys residents enjoy stem largely from the DCA counterbalancing aggressive tactics by some officials in local governments and special interests that support unfettered development.

We encourage residents to be especially vigilant during these difficult economic times, and to contact state legislators on the importance of maintaining the DCA.

It's difficult to imagine what the Keys would be like without the agency's oversight and the Area of Critical State Concern designation. Would it be a 125-mile concrete corridor of looming high-rise condos and hotels?

Given the choice, we prefer the expansive vistas featuring mangroves draped in nesting egrets, soaring eagles and ospreys, pelicans gliding in formation, diving cormorants, and kingfishers perched at the ready, highlighted by breathtaking sunrises and sunsets over sparkling turquoise and azure waters.

We suspect most of you do, too.

-- The Citizen