Photo Courtesy of Visit Florida

The Committee for a Sustainable Emerald Coast is asked to consider, evaluate, and make recommendations concerning issues of regional importance related to long-range planning to assure sustainable growth and development in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties. CUES is also helping to staff this effort.

Areas where the committee will be asked to provide input are:

• Intergovernmental cooperation and conflict resolution among local governments in the four-county area
• Procedures and protocols that can be used to determine the full cost accounting of development in the four-county area
• Opportunities to work together to grow and diversify the economy
• Opportunities to work together to meet growing infrastructure needs for roads, schools and water supply
• Opportunities to work together to improve availability and access to affordable workforce housing, educational and health care facilities
• Opportunities to work together to protect our environment

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CUES is partnering with the Florida Center for Environmental Studies on two new studies for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. These projects, “Evaluating the Potential of a Marine Zoning Plan for Southeast Florida” and “Developing and Implementing a Methodology for Preparing Cumulative Impact Sections of Project Reviews and Assessments,” are among those being coordinated by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (SEFCRI). SEFCRI is developing Local Action Strategies (LAS) targeting coral ecosystems from Miami-Dade through Broward, Palm Beach, and Martin counties. Our region was chosen because its reefs are close to shore and co-exist with intensely urbanized areas that lack a coordinated management plan (such as that of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary). Local Action Strategies are locally driven roadmaps for collaborative and cooperative action among state, federal, territory, and non-governmental partners. Objectives include formulating and implementing priority actions needed to reduce key threats to valuable coral reef resources. The goals and objectives of the LAS are linked to those found in the U.S. National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs, adopted by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force in 2000.

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The Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS) 8th National Forum will be a terrific opportunity to surf the leading edges of regional stewardship. With its theme, Regional Stewardship from the Top Down AND the Bottom Up, the conference will explore how state governments like Florida, Kentucky, Michigan and California are embracing regional approaches to problem solving.  At the same time, Forum participants will learn from each other and from national experts how to advance their own regional agendas by putting cutting edge communications, research, and organizing tools to work. And what better place for diverse and dynamic leaders to gather than in South Florida, one of America’s most energetic, diverse and dynamic regions?

You will learn specific examples of how leading states are embracing regional problem-solving; new strategies for improving local government through municipal cooperation and consolidation; better ways to communicate regional issues to key constituents; and cutting edge ways to identify the trusted leaders in your community who can help lead change. Who should attend? CEOs; senior marketing and public policy staff; board leaders from regional business and civic organizations; leaders from regional and community foundations solving regional problems; and senior policy staff from state and county governments looking to drive regional problem-solving.

CUES is a proud member of the ARS and is a co-sponsor of this forum. Registration and sponsorship opportunities can be found on the ARS website. For more information, please contact MaryBeth Burton at mburton@fau.edu.

 
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The Design Institute, a program of CUES’ northern office in Jupiter, regularly hosts nationally known keynote speakers and works with elected officials to improve design in communities throughout South Florida. Over the last four years, the Design Institute team has worked with public officials to develop workable solutions for 28 problematic sites in 26 towns and cities in South Florida. This award represents the third statewide award the Design Institute has garnered. The Design Institute is receiving 1000 Friends' Better Community Award for its innovative approach to promoting the principles of smart growth and design throughout the region. The award will be presented at a Design Institute to be held in September.

The Design Institute results are impressive. The City of North Miami Beach sought and won concessions from Wal-Mart and Miami-Dade County regarding the design and placement of a new, big-box retail building. The City of Vero Beach went on to hire top talent to create a vision-based plan to protect the community's historic character while accommodating development. A 400-acre site in Coconut Creek slated for half-acre residential lots will now accommodate a mixed-use, high-density town center. Other successes are being tracked at www.floridadesigninstitute.org (see Results icon). For more information on this program, contact Director of the institute Marie York at myork@fau.edu.

 
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The 2005 A Guidebook to New Urbanism in Florida commemorates and celebrates Florida’s 120 plus New Urbanist developments and plans – over twice as many as the 2002 Guidebook that was developed by CUES.

The 2005 Guidebook features:

• Locations and essential facts about projects and plans
• Best practices from our state’s successful historic urbanism
• Articles by leading practitioners and observers of the movement
• Florida New Urbanism resource list organized for easy reference

To order your guidebook today, go to:
http://www.cnuflorida.org/guidebook/documents/guidebook_ad.pdf or contact guidebook editor, Jean Scott, at 561-620-3815

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