11/21/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Editorial: If a tree falls. does anyone in Tallahassee hear it? 11/14/17 8:39 AM So, he went the way of the czar, filing a bill that abolishes their authority over him. Setting aside the fact that this bill would be a boon for developers who want to clear-cut Florida to the last stump, we could agree that in some cases local regulations seem overbearing, useless, or nonsensical. But there is another side to this. For instance, in 2011 the town of Jupiter zapped a local couple with a S 1.6 million fine for removing 109 mangrove trees from their lot without permission. After fighting it out in court, a panel of appellate judges agreed the town was wrong because mangroves are protected and regulated by the state. That fact, however, did not stop the trees from being axed. The Steube-Edwards bill does not identify which state agency would police trees, or how an agency, if designated, would handle these issues, or if no one would be responsible for this regulation. One might argue this bill either puts everyday Floridians at the mercy of big, distant state government, or means they are not governed at all. The perceived absurdity of local regulations should not create an automatic mandate for Tallahassee to step in and declare them null and void. The place to fix or repeal these local laws is the chambers of city and county commissions, by appealing directly to locally elected leaders, not the state Capitol. If opponents cannot find satisfaction that way, there is always the ballot box. It always puzzles us why the people who complain loudest about interference from Washington want to afflict local government with their own mandates. Stay tuned to see what other authority Tallahassee seeks to take from the government officials closest to the people. http://GM5-LKweb.newscyclecloud.com/opinion/201711 14/editorial-if-tree-falls-does-anyoiie-in-tallahassee-hear-it Page 2 of 2 P145