(Download) "Planning and Permitting to Protect Wetlands: The Different Roles and Powers of State and Local Government" by Richard Totoiu, Jason Grosso * Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Planning and Permitting to Protect Wetlands: The Different Roles and Powers of State and Local Government
- Author : Richard Totoiu, Jason Grosso
- Release Date : January 01, 2010
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 89 KB
Description
The First District Court of Appeal's recent decision in Johnson v. Gulf County, Case No. 1D08-6189 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009), reinforced the principle that a local government has the authority under F.S. Ch. 163, Part II, to regulate and even prohibit development within wetlands. (1) In Johnson, the court overturned a trial court ruling that, because neither the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nor the Florida Department of Environmental Protection asserted jurisdiction over an approximately two-acre tract of wetlands, the county was not required to enforce a provision in its comprehensive plan prohibiting development within 50 feet of wetlands. (2) The First District held that when the plain language of a county's comprehensive plan prohibited development within 50 feet of wetlands, regardless of whether those wetlands are under the jurisdiction of federal and/or state permitting agencies, the county has the authority and duty under F.S. Ch. 163, Part II, to enforce its comprehensive plan and prohibit development from occurring within these areas. (3) "The jurisdiction of these two agencies," wrote the court, "is not determinative of the county's jurisdiction to administer its comprehensive plan and land use regulations." (4) The First District's decision in Johnson did not involve an express claim that the county was legally preempted from establishing and enforcing restrictions on development near wetlands, but presumes and illustrates the broad authority local governments have in adopting and enforcing comprehensive plan policies to regulate development within wetlands. This article examines the recurring issue in environmental and land use law of just how far local governments may go in regulating developments within wetlands and to what extent state permitting rules may preclude or preempt local wetland protection ordinances.