December 2000

By James Lawlor

North Carolina: Flood hazard act softened. The Flood Hazard Prevention Act signed into law in August is a lot easier on local governments than the original draft, reports chapter legislative liaison David Knight. For instance, S. 1341 allows the lowest habitable floor of structures to be at the base level of the 100-year floodplain instead of two feet above.

The law also gives local governments priority for federal clean water loans if they enact a floodplain ordinance. The measure bans salvage yards, solid waste disposal facilities, and chemical storage and hazardous waste management facilities in floodplains, although it is silent on the subject of animal confinement operations.

Also passed by the legislature: S. 1328, which sets a goal of preserving one million acres of open space over the next 10 years without, however, however, appropriating funds for acquisition. Finally, the legislature extended for another year a moratorium on new billboard construction along a 155-mile stretch of Interstate 40 through the center of the state.

Florida: Watchful waiting. A casualty of the hectic closing days of this year's legislative session was the Florida Land Title Protection Act, which would have changed the legal boundary between privately owned uplands and the publicly owned waterways they border from the high water to the low water mark. H. 1807 passed the house but died in a senate committee.

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth warned in a recent chapter newsletter that the bill's sponsors are likely to try again next year. Butterworth notes that the change would amount to a "land grab," placing huge amounts of now public land in private hands." It would result in the loss of huge numbers of cypress trees along shorelines, ban fishermen from many lake and river banks, and effectively prohibit local governments from regulating riparian development.

Executive director Marcia Elder says the chapter is carefully tracking the progress of the Governor's Growth Management Study Commission, which is headed by Mel Martinez, chairman of the Orange County Commission. On October 25, the growth commission heard presentations on growth management programs in Maryland, New Jersey, and Austin, Texas. Over 60 planners have volunteered to serve on the commission's technical advisory committees and to act as resources for the commission, Elder notes.

New Jersey: Licensing issue. The chapter is concerned about a bill that passed the state senate early in October, legislative committee cochair James Girvan, AICP, reports. S.B. 1013 would exempt certain state employees who practice planning as part of their job from the state's licensing requirement. A recent interpretation of the civil service law makes licensing mandatory for such employees, Girvan says. The bill introduced by Sen. Gerald Cardinale was an attempt to address the problem.

The chapter is concerned that the bill would produce a two-tier system, allowing certain planners to practice without the benefit of a license, and working against the best interests of the profession and the general public. Sen. Cardinale did not respond to the legislative committee's offer to work out a better solution, Girvan says.

Chapter leaders are urging members to let assembly members know of their concerns.

California: High points. Chapter executive director Sande George recently provided a scorecard on some the bills the chapter has been following closely. One bill is S.B. 2095, which the chapter supported Gov. Gray Davis signed in September. It encourages the use of recycled water for landscaping and other nonpotable uses.

The governor also signed A.B. 1396, which the chapter supported as well. It offers one-time fiscal relief for cities, counties, and special taxing districts, sending a total of $212 million back to the local governments. The governor vetoed another chapter-backed bill, S.B. 1637, which would have capped local government contributions to the state's Educational Revenue Augmentation Fund. In his veto message, Gov. Davis argued that localities were already getting significant fiscal aid from the state.

Two chapter-supported bills that would have provided funding for regional planning efforts and grants for general plan updates, A.B. 1968 and A.B. 2774, failed to pass the assembly. Two bills died on Gov. Davis' desk. A.B. 83 would have barred local governments from requiring a business license or imposing a business tax on employees; A.B. 1992 would have permitted the disclosure of tax information to officials of a charter city.

The governor also vetoed A.B. 2075, which would have allowed business owners to change logos on on-premises signs without requiring compliance with a new sign ordinance. A senate amendment would have made it clear that new sign ordinances could require removal of nonconforming signs--with a proper amortization period. The sponsors objected that they had not intended the bill to grant that authority. As a result, the chapter and municipal organizations asked the governor to veto the bill.