Environmentalists point to polluted lakes and rivers, overcrowded schools and urban sprawl with its ribbons of faceless strip malls yawning to the horizon as evidence of a systemwide meltdown. Developers point to endless permit delays and the back-breaking cost of navigating a bureaucracy they think has lost respect for property rights and the common sense to discern good growth from bad. Lawmakers will be working from a report released last month by the Growth Management Study Commission. The 23-member panel includes elected officials, developers, regulators and environmentalists. The commission spent six months debating sweeping changes at public meetings held in eight cities.
Critics say that still wasn t enough time.
If the final report and the last six months are any indication, lawmakers face a bitter political struggle. Charles Lee, committee co-chairman and vice president of Audubon of Florida, cast the only vote against the final report. He endorsed most of the work, but said he couldn t support the final product because it doesn t go far enough to guarantee environmental preservation. I m not trying to oppose the thrust of these recommendations. I m trying to improve them, he said.