Dwindling rural land poses threat
Source: Tallahassee.com
November 09, 2007
Florida is a fast-growing state with a multibillion-dollar agriculture business that's one of its most productive economic engines. Yet the Sunshine State, for whom the orange is an icon, runs a real risk of unintentionally inflicting a form of lethal canker on the industry: unsustainable development.
As a recent report from 1000 Friends of Florida warns, the relentless rise in the number of people who call our state home has resulted in the substantial conversion of agricultural land to urban use.
Without a comprehensive strategy to protect "working and natural lands," 1000 Friends, which advocates holistic growth management, projects that 7 million more acres will be developed by 2060. By then, the state's 18 million population is expected to double.
A new University of Florida study says that the recent rate of growth has slowed slightly - but with our sunshine and comparatively low tax rates, Florida's long-term outlook for population growth remains strong. Retirement of the first wave of baby boomers is future fuel for our economy, but also a challenge for growth planners.
Because "highest and best use" is land-use lingo for development, the profit motive is strong to sell agricultural land for that purpose. Government must avoid becoming dictatorial in the real-estate market, but it can and should aggressively assert that preserving rural land and green space is in the public interest. That can include incentives that make preservation enticing to landowners.
The 1000 Friends report, written by legendary Florida environmentalist Nathaniel Reed, suggests several strategies to change "embrace the market," as Mr. Reed puts it.
Our current growth-management system, he said, "views agriculture as merely a holding zone awaiting eventual conversion to urban development. This is not sustainable since, with this model, we will end up with no land that is available for agricultural uses.
To keep that from happening, agriculture must also be considered a highest and best use, with various incentives for landowners to not sell their land for development. The report suggests that conversion of some rural land to urban use should occur only in return for some public benefit.
Importantly, it also suggests more investment in urban redevelopment - versus current public investments that promote sprawl, which is the biggest threat to the well-being of agriculture.
The report is accompanied by Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson's succinct observation that, "Without rural land, the environmental health and beauty of Florida will degrade, we will be unable to grow crops to feed our people, and the state's economy will be deprived of one of its largest economic engines."
As is often the case, balance is the highest and best goal of public policy.
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