Bill Aims At Discouraging Fla. Urban Sprawl

By The Tampa Tribune
Published: February 20, 2009

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TALLAHASSEE (AP) - A state planning requirement to provide ample road capacity before new development can take place was designed to stop urban sprawl, but it's had the opposite effect.

The Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday will vote on a bill (SB 360) that would exempt dense urban areas from that constraint.

Planners have found to their dismay that it has pushed growth into suburban and rural areas because roads there are less traveled and cheaper to build.

The bill also would eliminate extra planning requirements for developments of regional impact if they are in dense urban areas that have at least 1,000 people per square mile.