CUES Senior Fellow Frank Schnidman wrote the amicus brief for John Norquist, President of the Congress for New Urbanism, that was cited by the Supreme Court in its Kelo opinion. Frank has taught and studied these issues for more than 30 years, attended the Supreme Court oral argument, and has organized and chairs the July 15 IOG seminar on the impact of the Kelo decision on Florida.

On Friday, July 15 the IOG at FAU has organized “Kelo v. New London: The Impact of the United States Supreme Court Decision on Redevelopment and Economic Development in Florida.” This affordable morning “Hot Topics for Local Government Officials” seminar will bring together experts who have been involved with the case from both sides to analyze the decision of the Supreme Court. The faculty for this seminar will provide real “take home” value that will allow participants to better understand the impacts of the case on Florida, and therefore help them do their own jobs more effectively.

More than 60 local government officials and landowners have already registered, and additional information about the seminar can be found at the CUES website.

The facts of the case are relevant to the economic development efforts of many Florida communities. In 1978 the City of New London created a development corporation. In 1998 the state authorized funding for a new park at Fort Trumbull, a historic military facility within the city. Pifzer Pharmaceuticals thereafter announced that it was going to develop a global research facility in New London. The city moved forward with a development plan to improve the Fort Trumbull neighborhood, including a marina, hotel, 80 housing units, conference center, Coast Guard Museum, office, and retail space. The project would have a significant beneficial impact on the community, according to the commissioned studies by the development corporation, bringing in between 518 and 867 construction jobs, 718 to 1,362 direct jobs, and 500 to 940 indirect jobs. The developments would also create between $680,544 and $1,249,843 in tax revenue.

The state supreme court, in a challenge by land owners who did not have blighted property but who nevertheless found themselves being condemned to have their property turned over to a private developer, held that the taking of these properties was constitutional under the state and federal constitutions because the economic benefits satisfied the “public use” requirement. The question presented to the U.S. Supreme Court in Kelo is whether economic development constitutes a “public use” under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution.

The important public policy issue inherent in Kelo and important to Florida relates to whether under Florida law, a government must make a finding of blight before it can condemn property to “alleviate” the blight, or can it condemn property solely for the purpose of economic development—because the new owner will build a project that will pay more taxes? For information on the case, and on the entire issue of redevelopment in Southeast Florida, please see www.cuesfau.org/cra.

And, we hope to see you at the July 15 seminar!

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On Friday, June 3, 2005, the South Florida Regional Resource Center (SFRRC) held its Second Annual Regional Excellence Awards Luncheon at the Hilton Deerfield Beach Hotel. This notable event, emceed by Senior Editorial Writer Doug Lyons of the Sun-Sentinel, continues to promote regionalism amongst the seven county region’s civic and business leaders. Leaders and organizations dedicated to improving Southeast Florida’s quality of life through innovative and cooperative regional efforts were recognized and celebrated.

VisionBROWARD, a community economic development partnership, undertaken during 2004 by a public-private partnership, including the Broward County Board of County Commissioners, the Broward Alliance, The Broward Workshop, and Nova Southeastern University, in cooperation with the Broward League of Cities, received the Regional Partnership Award. This county-based project that included contributions from private citizens, business leaders, the educational community, local governments, and community organization leaders recognized the importance of regional thinking and action in Broward County’s economic development success. Additionally, Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman received the Regional Leader Award for her coordination of VisionBROWARD and her strong voice promoting regional solutions to our region’s complex problems.

The South Florida Economic Summit-2004-2005, hosted by The Broward Alliance, Miami-Dade’s Beacon Council and The Business Development Board of Palm Beach County, received the Regional Business Award for their efforts in branding the tri-county area as a unified and world-class business destination with one goal in mind: job creation, retention, and capital investment.

The State Road 7/US 441 Collaborative, a multi-jurisdictional and agency partnership dedicated to improving the economic and aesthetic conditions of the State Road 7 corridor in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, received the Regional Advantage Award. The collaborative was recognized for its significant results in addressing challenges to redevelopment in this regionally-significant corridor.

Florida Department of Transportation District 4 received the Regional Governance Award for overseeing all state roads in a five county area, comprising Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties, and leading the state in providing such amenities as landscaping, paver blocks and decorative lighting. Rick Chesser, retiring district secretary, a true regional steward, was recognized for his professional commitment and personal leadership on behalf of the residents and visitors who use the transportation system serving South Florida.

The SFRRC is a partnership between the CUES, the Collins Center for Public Policy, Inc., and the South Florida and Treasure Coast Regional Planning Councils. The SFRRC, through its partners, works to ensure that local groups, partner organizations, and other public and private regional entities work productively together to shape regional public policy in South Florida. www.sfrrc.net

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As the 2005 hurricane season officially began in early June, CUES’ Living on the Edge: A Treasure Coast Barrier Island Study was completing data collection on hazards vulnerability characteristics of the barrier islands that stretch from Martin County north to Indian River County. The year long study examines the characteristics of “People,” “Place” and “Economy” that influence the region’s ability to withstand and recover from coastal storm events. The project, which is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through the Florida Hurricane Alliance, is being coordinated with CUES’ work with the Committee for a Sustainable Treasure Coast (CSTC), a regional stakeholder group developing a vision for growth management policy in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River Counties.

Based on the academic hazards vulnerability literature and the experiences of the 2004 hurricane season, CUES sought to identify and quantify the assets at risk on the barrier islands. Assets of the community were broadly defined to include: the population (both the residents and the workforce); elements of the natural environment, such as beaches, marine turtles and the Indian River Lagoon aquatic ecosystems; features of the built environment, including homes and commercial buildings; and the economy, which is created as a product of the interaction of these factors. Using a case study methodology, we researched conditions before and after Hurricane Frances and Jeanne, noting that these storms provided a context to assess resiliency.

The study viewed the assets with respect to the regulatory context outlined in the statutes and programs developed by the Department of Community Affairs, which oversees the Local Comprehensive Planning Process and the Comprehensive Emergency Management Planning process; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection; and federal policy embodied in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program and disaster assistance grants. These public policies define development practices, emergency response and recovery procedures, and mitigation policy for hazards events. The aim is to understand how these public policies come together to maximize community resiliency and identify changes that could be introduced in the post-disaster reconstruction period to develop more sustainable communities and effective hazard mitigation policy.

Work on this project will continue through the end of the year, but preliminary findings are already making an impact. CUES has met with the Sarasota County Coastal Advisory Committee, which is considering similar post-hurricane planning and mitigation issues. In addition, the research will inform the CSTC final report, due to Senator Pruitt at the end of the summer. Although the study area of this project is confined to the barrier island geography, the regional approach to hazard vulnerability and mitigation analysis proves to be on the cutting edge and a potential model for replication.

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