Land Use Up To County Or City?

Originally Posted on Saturday, February 18, 2006

There was an excellent article in the South Florida Daily Business Review that detailed a power struggle that is currently brewing in Broward County regarding who has the right to decide what to do with the land: the individual municipalities or Broward County. It is an interesting situation becuase Broward County currently makes the determinations as to how the land will be used, but the argument made by proponents of the municipalities states that those making decisions on how the land in their city should be used may have never even been to the city.

This does seem to be a valid argument especially in a case such as Broward County where the land has been 80% developed. However, it is precisely this point that commissioners use as justification for their having the say. They argue that when a region is nearing its capacity for new developable land, it is crucial that what remains be coordinated at the regional level rather than the city level. It seems this is a very important issue with no clear right or wrong answer.

There should be some sort of interaction between the cities and county in order for cities to provide input around an existing and evolving plan that will ensure long-term regional growth and prosperity. Hopefully, the Internet will continue to enable citizens to communicate and interect with their government live never before and conversely allow the governments to interact with one another on a truyl cohesive level that benefits everyone.