Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
March 24, 2017 1:00 a.m.
Near the end of Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, City Attorney Tammi Bach listed a series of state legislative bills that are directed at local governments. These issues warrant serious review and consideration from not only local government officials, but also residents of Fernandina Beach.
HB 13/SB 1770 (Community Redevelopment Agencies)- Community Redevelopment Agencies (CRA) were originally authorized by the State Legislature (Community Redevelopment Act of 1969). The enabling legislation described a series of findings and declarations of necessity as the basis for the legislation (and many of those conditions remain applicable today).
CRAs are created by local governments are typically funded through a mechanism called “tax-increment financing” (TIF). When created, a property’s value is recorded as a base line value. As time passes and property values increase (in theory), the new additional revenue is channeled to the CRA, not the local government. For example, a property pays $1,000 in taxes as related to the base line value. If a subsequent year’s taxes are $1,200, $1,000 goes to the local government and the additional $200 is directed to the CRA. No new taxes are levied, but the distribution of the tax payments is altered. That revenue is restricted for use solely within the CRA boundaries. Fernandina Beach has a CRA, but unfortunately, the anticipated redevelopment to drive property values higher has not occurred.
The proposed legislation would “sunset” CRAs by 2037, and institute additional reporting requirements and restrictions on CRA funding (including bonds which CRAs are authorized to issue). As with most of the proposed legislation to be reviewed here, the basis for the sponsors’ opposition to CRAs, especially since no state funding is involved, is not evident.
HB 17 (Home Rule)- This bill preempts local government autonomy by restricting the enactment of any local requirement to those requirements that have been expressly permitted by the State. Any existing requirement that cannot be found to be based in specific state legislation would be “grandfathered” until 2020, at which time the requirement would be automatically repealed. This legislation is vigorously opposed by nearly every local government, the opposition for which is based upon the 1968 amendment to the Florida Constitution that introduced and authorized home rule powers for municipalities; previously, municipal powers were restricted to what the State expressed granted. Essentially, HB 17 appears to be a circuitous effort to undermine a previously adopted amendment to the state’s constitution. Local governments are unique, and should be so treated rather than having dictates directed from Tallahassee.
HB 425/SB 188 (Short-term rentals)- In a state so beholden to tourism, the clamor regarding short-term rentals continues to grow. Proponents for developing statewide regulations point to the patchwork of regulations across the state and inherent the inherent rights of property owners. Proponents for local government control argue that the problems of short-term rentals (over-occupancy, noise, litter, encroachment of residential neighborhoods, parking, etc.) should be addressed locally since the challenges and communities are so varied.
Fernandina Beach has regulations related to short-term rentals and, since these regulations have been “grandfathered” due to previous legislation, the proposed legislation (which would preempt municipalities from adopting any regulations related to short-term rentals) would not impact the City’s current regulations. Nonetheless, this legislation represents another state-level effort to reduce or eliminate local authority.
HB 487/SB 330 (Wireless communications)- The public rights-of-way are under the control of local governments. The proposed legislation would allow telecommunications equipment to be installed with minimal government oversight. Such placement would be able to ignore pedestrian amenities, impair lines-of-sight, and impact aesthetics. Equipment (towers) of up to sixty feet high would be permitted by right by this legislation, again, with minimal local government oversight.
While we have many issues locally that draw our attention and interest, efforts and events in Tallahassee (and Washington) should not be overlooked. Throughout my local government career, I have often wondered why so many state legislators (irrespective of the state) who cut their political teeth at the local level turn so against the interests of local government when they are elected to a state or federal office.
Please contact our State legislators, Senator Aaron Bean ([email protected]) and Representative Cord Byrd ([email protected]), to share your comments on the aforementioned issues or any other concerns you may have regar