SCANNING Sarasota PLANNING

excellent discussion of threatening bills bubbling in Tallahassee - one is HB 479 - it would pre-empt localities from controlling their own water resources. SB 840 would castrate local efforts to cope with impacts of large developments. Carrie Seidman  is joined by  Manatee County Commissioner George Kruse Bradenton Times editor Mitch Maley  Mark Hebden of Save Florida Home Rule!   Mitch Maley:  "An engaged community cannot be bought"

 Tallahassee is seeking to strangle our input into developer projects that impact our lives, our roads, our environment. 1000 Friends is watching: Dear Thomas, On your marks, get set, go      The official start of the 2026 Florida Legislative Session is Tuesday, but as many of you know, legislation has been filed, and bills are already moving through committees. In fact, a key committee is meeting  this Monday ,  before   the session even begins, to hear a bill we have serious concerns about.    Here’s a quick look at what’s on the agenda next week, and how you can take action:    ️ Monday — Senate Judiciary Committee    SB 208 – Land Use and Development Regulations  (The “Sprawl by Another Name” bill)   This bill raises significant concerns for community planning and environmental protections.    Please act now  – click the button b...

One major theme of this excellent Panel Discussion held Dec. 10 in Venice, Florida, is how the people we elected to represent us have in fact been empowering developers. We the People are far more helpless to protect our environment and our local vision of the land thanks to state reps who've transferred our legal powers to developers we no longer can constrain. Panel Discussion Moderated by Suncoast Searchlight reporters Derek Gilliam and Josh Salman with panelists: Tom Knight , Sarasota County Commissioner John Meisel , West Villages Improvement District Board Member Nick Pachota , Mayor of Venice Susan Schoettle , Former Assistant Sarasota County Attorney Jon Thaxton , Director of Policy & Advocacy, Gulf Coast Community Foundation

  The Florida Legislature may reconsider next year a very bad law that prohibits approval of any measure by a local government that developers deem “burdensome or restrictive”.   Your help is needed to make it happen.   The law is known by its 2025 Senate bill number, SB 180 .  It was slipped by developer lobbyists into a bill for hurricane damage relief. Legislators were falsely told that it only protects the right to rebuild property damaged by a hurricane.    Instead, the new law , s. 252.422(2), Florida Statutes,  prohibits any county or city for one year after being within 100 miles of a hurricane path, from adopting   “a more restrictive or burdensome amendment to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations” or development approval procedure.   Restore good wetland protections?  Nope.  Rein in urban sprawl?  Nope.  Increase building setbacks or limit heights?  Nope.  Not even a little.  Our ...