The draft law of the Florida Senate to reset the rural borders under discussions

Tallahassee, Fla. – People still move to Florida and it doesn't look like they won't stop soon.

This is the reason why a senator of the state of Marion County sponsored a draft law that would restrict the rules for the development of the district, including the end of the recent measures to protect rural areas approved by voters.

State Senator Stan McClain, R-Cocala presented SB 1118 in February. He says that more has to be done to optimize the development rules and make it easier to build more houses.

Subsequently, a change not only prohibits local initiatives or referenders in relation to the land development regulation, but also local control, but also retrospectively, but also retrospectively after 2011 referenders.

[RELATED: How to find, contact your Florida state senators or representatives]

McClain appeared on Monday for the draft law in the Senate Committee for Community Affairs, and it was the first time that someone spoke McClain about the bill.

“One of the things that happens is that we have an inconsistent application of the current laws we have and we end up. One day we approved developments and the next day we try to stop developments,” said McClain.

David Bear, the president of the non -profit Save Rural Seminole, says that Senate Bill 1118 essentially eliminated the rural border of Orange County and make the existing rural border irrelevant.

Before the legislator met on Monday on the Capitol, he announced a petition that he started with News 6, in which he asked the legislator in the Community Affairs Committee to reject them.

“This calculation will be the death blow of our rural border because the properties can be removed,” said Bear. “And so, like a puzzle, the real estate will get out of the rural border, and the line will basically mean nothing.”

[RELATED: These are the bills Central Florida state representatives are pushing during the legislative session]

In Seminole County, 82% of voters increased the rural border last year when an overwhelming majority voted for the support of an intelligent growth referendum.

In Orange County, 73% of the voters approved a Charter change and created a rural border in Ostorange County.

“What does 82% bring in Florida or somewhere in the country? Nothing, ”said Bär. “That tells them that this is an overwhelming problem.”

If SB passes 1118, certain agricultural areas would also be classified as “agricultural enclaves”, and developers would essentially be able to avoid traditional zone and country use discussions at the local level.

Bear says it is paving the way for developers who try to avoid public comments and to apply for administrative approval at the state level.

[RELATED: These are the bills Central Florida state senators are pushing during the legislative session]

“Unlike in the past, in which they had to go to the Seminole County Commissioners, people who react to the voters here and we with whom we can communicate. They had to go to them, and ultimately the local commissioners voted against, ”said Bear. “That no longer exists. What will exist now is, if there is so -called agricultural property, it is applied for administratively in Tallahassee and you have to approve that land will be converted into residential buildings. “

Senator Carlos Guillermo-Smith, D-orange County, is not a member of the Senate Community Affair committee, but he represents District 17, who is the more rural, rural department of Orange County. He tells News 6 that he actively works behind the scenes of the Senate to stop this legislation.

“That is what Tallahasee politician often do. You can see the results of a voter on our local communities, they do not like the results of these referenders and they use their power in Tallahassee to try to lift the will of the voters, ”said Guillermo-Smith. “But that doesn't end here. We know that the power of people will actually stop such legislation, which is why it is really important that people turn their state representatives and turn to their senators and tell them that they should vote against this legislation. “

The chairman of the Seminole County, Jay Zembower, who represents District 2, tells our News 6 team that he and his colleagues have received many calls from affected voters.

“Our legal team looks at it and analyzes it. We talk to our legislators and communicate our concerns about it, ”said Zembower. “Seminole County is a charter County in the home bar, and the reason is the people who live, work and play and go to school, here decide how to look their community. We get it, there are some bad actors in the whole state, for which laws are appropriate, but we did a great job here in Seminole County to respect the will of all and respect our voters. “

News 6 has examined the effects on central florida and the real effects in our local districts.

SB 1118 would also have an effect on the arable land in Marion County, an area that the sponsor of the law represents.

McClain, a house builder, was elected to the Florida Senate last year after serving at the Florida House for eight years. Previously, he worked in the Marion County Commission.

News 6 turned to his office several times to ask about his perspective before the meeting on Monday, and we have never received an answer.

Bear says he is not against development, but believes that the balance for our communities and our quality of life is of crucial importance. An increase in development with high density could burden County resources that would be responsible for providing supply companies such as water, waste water and electricity and can ensure that our streets and infrastructure can support this growth.

“Communities can grow in all kinds of ways, and if the communities do not plan how it works, they will not like the result because the result will be a patchwork of spread and concrete jungle, and people don't go to Florida,” said Bear. “If you do not plan what you have after the Subdivision of Cookie Cutter to St. John's River to get our biscuit cutter.”