North Florida Real Estate Growth Proves Both a Blessing and a Curse
In Gadsden County, Fla., last week, the official whose job is to manage growth — and who wants more of it — expressed frustration with the state agency that serves as a buffer against development plans that it believes would be detrimental, the Tallahassee Democrat reports.
“It’s just ludicrous and I’m fed up,” was how William McCord summed up his dealings with the Florida Department of Community Affairs.
His exasperation was a result of the DCA’s rejection of approved land-use changes in Gadsden County that would given the green light to construction of 1,112 new homes. DCA signaled its opposition before the county approved the changes, and the state agency wasn’t swayed by the local decision to move forward anyway.
McCord’s aggravation is symptomatic of tensions that are certain to persist in Northwest Florida. That’s because Panhandle counties that remained rural and sparsely populated while the rest of the Florida housing market grew like crazy have finally begun to experience the impacts of large-scale growth.
Similar tensions have surfaced in other Panhandle counties in recent years, with the St. Joe Co.’s evolution into a major real estate developer.
The so-called “Forgotten Coast” and points further inland are hardly forgotten anymore. Despite a recent downturn in much of the state, the housing market in the region has been robust. Just as Miami real estate and other downstate sectors proved in previous decades, however, growth can be both a blessing and a curse.
- On one hand, growth creates jobs and revenue, the life blood of a healthy economy and adequately funded public services.
- On the other hand, it puts additional strain on infrastructure such as roads and schools, while degrading the environment.
LEARNING FROM THE PAST
Florida has learned the hard way that to manage growth properly, its costs must be carefully considered before problems become so monumental that solutions are painfully expensive. Five years of record low Florida home loan rates led to an unprecedented real estate boom that is now leaving local governments scrambling on many levels.
Requirements in many counties now are forcing developers to help finance infrastructure improvements needed to support growth. Several downstate counties additionally impose impact fees.
Leon County has created an urban services area whose primary purpose is to encourage the densest growth within a boundary where services such as water and sewer lines already exist or could be extended inexpensively.
McCord, the Gadsden County growth management director, cited Tallahassee in his rhetorical blast aimed at DCA.
“[Agency officials] want to Tallahassee-ize the rest of the state and create Gadsden County in their own image,” he said.
McCord noted that Tallahassee property values have rocketed, and that many residents who might otherwise have purchased homes in Leon County instead bought in adjacent Gadsden or Wakulla, where prices are more affordable. Creating an urban services area, McCord contended, contributes to inflated housing costs for those who live there.
While there is an element of truth to that observation, affordable housing and growth management should not be considered separately. The problems are interconnected, and therefore the solutions must be.
Regional growth management strategies remain essential, and cooperation from state and local governments is vital. Today, Gadsden County does not face the same challenges that confront urban counties. It’s not hard to understand why some in Gadsden and throughout the Panhandle welcome additional revenue that growth fosters. Without it, they can’t hope to significantly improve the services they provide to citizens.
But it’s important just the same for local and state officials to learn from the mistakes of the past, when development elsewhere in Florida was virtually unchecked. The Panhandle’s future depends on balancing the blessings and challenges that growth brings, and in maintaining sustainable development for generations.
