By June 30, 2006 Affected
Local Governments In Florida Are To Address Compatibility Their Land
Planning With Existing Military Installations
The Legislature finds that incompatible
development of land close to military installations can adversely affect
the ability of such an installation to carry out its mission and that
such development also threatens the public safety because of the possibility
of accidents occurring within the areas surrounding a military installation.
In addition, the economic vitality of a community is affected when military
operations and missions must relocate because of incompatible urban
encroachment. Therefore, the Legislature has directed local governments
in the state to cooperate with military installations to encourage compatible
land use, help prevent incompatible encroachment, and facilitate the
continued presence of major military installations in this state.
Each county in which a military installation
is either wholly or partially located and each affected local government
must transmit to the commanding officer of that installation information
relating to proposed changes to comprehensive plans, plan amendments,
and proposed changes to land development regulations which, if approved,
would affect the intensity, density, or use of the land adjacent to
or in close proximity to the military installation. Each county and
affected local government shall provide the military installation an
opportunity to review and comment on the proposed changes.
An "affected local government"
means a municipality adjacent to or in close proximity to the military
installation as determined by the state land planning agency and a "military
installation" means a base, camp, post, station, airfield, yard,
center, home port facility for any ship, or other land area under the
jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, including any leased facility.
Affected local governments are also required
to update or amend their comprehensive plan to include criteria and
address compatibility of adjacent or closely proximate lands with existing
military installations in their future land use plan element. Plans,
once updated to address military installation compatibility shall transmit
the update or amendment to the Florida Department of Community Affairs
(DCA) by June 30, 2006. DCA, the state's land planning agency, must
consider land use compatibility issues in the vicinity of or in close
proximity to all military installations in coordination with the Department
of Defense. The June 30, 2006 deadline is a short timeframe and local
governments may require some GIS and planning assistance and coordination
in developing these updates.
In the Panhandle, the necessary plan
updates will touch numerous local governments such as Walton, Okaloosa,
Santa Rosa, Escambia, Bay and Gulf Counties and municipalities such
as Defuniak Springs, Freeport, Fort Walton Beach, Mexico Beach and Pensacola.
Large, multi-jurisdictional military installation such as Eglin Air
Force or Tyndall have numerous missions to perform and supports activities
that can present land use compatibility problems, require particular
lighting and land density situations and which may threaten serious
damage or harm to adjacent communities if accidents occur. Nevertheless,
these bases provide an economic main vein to the region through direct
yearly expenditures and multipliers in the billions of dollars. Further,
they often support concurrent land and habitat conservation benefits.
It would be a tremendous loss to have these bases close or lose particular
mission components due to incompatible land uses occurring adjacent
or nearby to their boundaries and flight corridors.
Click
Here for Legislative Requirements
Click
Here for Suggested Goals, Objectives and Policies for Your Comprehensive
Plan Update
Click
Here for a Homes, Habitat and Highways article
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