Be careful, Florida. At the rate you're going, you too will be like Boynton Beach, an aging, congested community showing more than suburban sprawl.
Boynton Beach has a coyote problem.
Be careful, Florida. At the rate you're going, you too will be like Boynton Beach, an aging, congested community whose abundant housing, crowded roadways and underutilized shopping plazas show more than suburban sprawl. The city, like many communities in Florida, illustrates what happens when natural habitat gives way to rampant development.
A recent fatal coyote attack on a dog, along with increased sightings of these wild animals by residents, prompted city officials and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to address growing concerns. Coyotes, like bears, deer, racoons, opossums and other animals, are losing their unspoiled natural habitat. So, they are adjusting to city life.
Boynton Beach isn't the only community trying to figure out how its citizens should adapt to its new four-legged neighbors. City and county officials are now left with a problem that state leaders let fester for years — the erosion of growth management policies that has encouraged rampant development and the loss of natural wildlife habitat.
Truth is the encroachment, as humans and wild animals compete for space, has been an ongoing problem that hasn't drawn much concern from state government. Back in 2006, the FWC released a report that predicted what would happen if the state's population doubled within the next 50 years. The forecast? Roughly 7 million acres of rural and natural habitat would be converted to urban use. That's equivalent to the state of Vermont, according to the Florida 2060: A Population Distribution Scenario for the State of Florida report.
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That's a whole lot of Boynton Beaches.
The state can do more to better manage growth. It's just hasn't been willing to do so, and the future outlook isn't all that encouraging. The trend coming out of Tallahassee calls for an even greater relaxation of what's left of growth management and more legislation that will further cripple what local communities can do to address development.
Florida used to care about unfettered growth
Remember when Florida was known for its clear springs, pristine beaches, majestic forests and vast open spaces? A time when agriculture was the state's largest industry with a growing competitor called tourism? Well, population growth changed all that. In 1970, according to U.S. Census data, Florida had 6.7 million residents, about the population of today's Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties combined. Today, almost 24 million people now call Florida home.
The state's laissez-faire approach to development hasn't helped either. There's money to be had in population growth, and state leaders were all too willing to comply to the demands of builders and financiers who saw big bucks in Florida's undeveloped farmland and forests.
Florida once had a growth management law that required local communities to create comprehensive plans for future development. But, state lawmakers and then-Gov. Rick Scott repealed it in 2011. At the time, creating jobs — an ongoing mantra for Scott — was the given rationale, but unchecked development became the harsh reality.
Without strong state mandates to manage urban growth and protect environmentally sensitive lands, the burden fell to local communities, which embraced the challenge of land use planning. Those efforts irked developers who used their influence to get help from a proven ally — the governor's office and the Florida Legislature. Over time, cities and counties saw new state laws that pre-empted their efforts to address and manage growth within their communities.
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In June, SB 180, a controversial bill that freezes local land-development regulations and comprehensive plans through October 2027, became state law. The law, which restricts cities and counties from adopting measures that are more restrictive than what existed before the 2024 hurricane season, effectively ties the hands of local communities from adopting and enforcing any significant ordinances that might rein in developers or build climate change resilience.
Several communities, along with 1000 Friends of Florida, have gone to court challenging the new law. It remains to be seen how the lawsuit will turn out but one thing is becoming clear. Local communities, like the coyotes of Boynton Beach, had better adjust to a challenging landscape that allows unfettered development over growth management.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network-Florida. He can be reached at [email protected].
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