The Florida Legislature enacted HB 697 in the 2008 session. HB 697 establishes new local planning requirements relating to energy efficient land use patterns, transportation strategies to address greenhouse gas reductions, energy conservation, and energy efficient housing. These new requirements became effective on July 1, 2008. Implementation of these requirements presents local governments, Developers and Builders with new challenges and opportunities.

In the next couple of weeks, the Department of Community Affairs will publish a Notice of Rule Development to amend Chapter 9J-5 to address the new requirements in HB 697.

In the meantime, local governments, developers and builders should be aware that there is already a substantial body of literature addressing the connection among land use, transportation, energy, and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

As discussed in this literature, transportation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In Florida , over 40% of greenhouse gas emissions are produced by the transportation sector. Of these emissions, over 80% come from vehicular travel. Therefore, in order to reduce greenhouse emissions from the transportation sector, we must reduce vehicle miles traveled.

In review of current literature, we suggest that reduction of vehicle miles traveled will require new or enhanced transportation and land use planning strategies, including planning for alternative modes of travel, more compact mixed-use development, greater jobs-housing balance, and higher densities in appropriate places. As part of the ongoing effort to improve our products and services, our staff reviews government documents and other related sources of information to help our clients can developing appropriate planning strategies for their properties. At MJA Consulting, we read all of the government studies and major case law so you, the client, don't have to.

LEGAL BRIEFS

In the City of Lake Worth v. Save our Neighborhood , the 4 th District Court of Appeals rejected the lower court's decision that allowed a recall referendum to be initiated against city ordinances that adopted a small-scale plan amendment and a rezoning.

At issue was Section 163.3167(12), which prohibits any initiative or referendum for plan amendments affecting five or fewer parcels. The statute was adopted specifically to ensure that small-scale plan amendments would not be subject to referendum when the status of those amendments as legislative versus quasi-judicial was still at issue.

The group Save Our Neighborhood argued that the statute didn't prohibit using a referendum to repeal a small-scale plan amendment and rezoning on the basis that parcels other than those subject to the amendment and rezoning were "affected" by it. Somehow, they got the trial court to buy into this argument, which would effectively gut the restriction totally. The Fourth District Court of Appeals didn't buy it and overturned the circuit court.

EDUCATION

Everything old is new again. This past month Michael Joachim and Tracy Mullins attended a training program on the creation of Conservation Subdivisions. Much of the training involved working with natural systems, minimizing the amount of dirt moved around the site, minimize the number of trees cut, reducing the grubbing of site, developing within the context of the watershed and maintaining of view sheds. Many of the concepts brought forward, are common to Traditional Indigenous Development (TID). MJA's consultants have some depth of experience in TID, having worked with American Tribal entities and Canadian First Nations. TID planning is most popular in Australia , New Zealand , and the American southwest.