Heritage - Smart Growth

Growth IconSustainable development in the Nature Coast will require—and challenge us to produce—new thinking and new paradigms in terms of how we conceptualize and implement residential development. Open space and greenspace, significant conservation reserves, mandatory use of Florida Friendly landscaping and native plants, housing in scale and proportion to the surrounding landscapes and communities, and working developments around wildlife needs and corridors rather than the other way around are essential in the Nature Coast. Read how you can help.

Residential Development

The bulldozers are at the gates of Eden and what happens next is up to us. The counties of the Nature Coast have the great opportunity and responsibility to manage growth, and create a future where human communities exist in harmony with natural communities. Such vigilance is necessary to ensure we retain the moniker “Nature Coast” for future generations.

However, even with a down economy, a number of megadevelopment projects are being proposed in the Nature Coast. The cookie cutter subdivisions of Tampa have been marching north and unless we act now, both the landscape and culture of the Nature Coast could be lost forever. Sadly, many of the megaprojects we see proposed today (Sunwest Harbourtowne, Quarry Preserve, Reserve at Sweetwater Estuary) often address these issues with greenwashing, or they simply ignore them.

Zamora Suwannee There are no shopping malls in Suwannee, and the Chamber's emphasis is on the natural wonders surrounding the town.

It is critical that citizens become involved in Growth Management to hold the line on ill advised amendments to Comprehensive Plans. Citizens can learn about Smart Growth principles to help advocate for future development in the Nature Coast that enhances, rather than degrades, the interface between human and natural communities. Citizens can learn about wildlife corridors and natural areas in their counties in order to better protect them. Many groups throughout the state are now engaged in communicating priorities to planners and elected officials.

We need agencies like the Florida Department of Community Affairs to stand strong and ensure that growth patterns in the Nature Coast, particularly along the coast, are sustainable and put the resource and the rights of existing residents first.

Resources

Principles of Smart Growth

  • Create Range of Housing Opportunities and Choices

    Providing quality housing for people of all income levels.

  • Create Walkable Neighborhoods

    Desirable places to live, work, learn, worship and play, are a key component of smart growth.

  • Encourage Community and Stakeholder Collaboration

    Growth should respond to a community's own sense of how and where it wants to grow.

  • Foster Distinctive, Attractive Communities with a Strong Sense of Place

    Communities can craft a vision and set standards for development and construction which reflect values of architectural beauty and distinctiveness.

  • Make Development Decisions Predictable, Fair and Cost Effective

    Smart growth must be embraced by the private sector.

  • Mix Land Uses

    Mixed land uses should be integrated in communities to create better places to live.

  • Preserve Open Space, Farmland, Natural Beauty and Critical Environmental Areas

    Open space preservation bolsters local economies, preserves critical environmental areas, improves quality of life, and guides new growth for existing communities.

  • Provide a Variety of Transportation Choices

    Choices in housing, shopping, communities, and transportation is a key aim of smart growth.

  • Strengthen and Direct Development Towards Existing Communities

    Smart growth focuses on existing communities, utilizing existing infrastructure, resources existing neighborhoods offer, and conserving irreplaceable natural resources on the urban fringe.

  • Take Advantage of Compact Building Design

    Smart growth provides a means for communities to incorporate more compact building design as an alternative to conventional, land consumptive development.