Urban Sprawl
Here at VoteWater, weâre in favor of responsible, measured development that inflicts minimal impacts on water quality and quantity, neighboring communities and the environment in general. The âLive Local Actâ ainât it. On March 29 Gov. DeSantis signed SB102 into…
One down, one to go â and not in a good way. On May 24, after weeks of lobbying and email campaigns and public pleas by citizens and conservation groups seeking a veto, Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored it all and signed…
And so the 2023 Legislative Session has come to an end. Mercifully. Letâs be frank: It wasnât a good year for clean water or Floridaâs environment in general. While the Legislature did allot a record $1.1 billion for land acquisition…
VoteWater Executive Director Gil Smart was in the state capital of Tallahassee last week, speaking to key Florida legislators about clean-water issues and bills that are now under consideration in the state House and Senate. Alongside Friends of the Everglades…
Given the clout the sprawl industry wields in Florida, itâs hardly surprising the Florida Senate passed controversial Senate Bill 540 on April 19, over the objections of conservation groups (like VoteWater) and citizen advocates around Florida. The bill, which may…
We hate it when weâre right. Back in February, before the Florida Legislature even convened, we predicted this would be a âSession of Sprawl.â Just as we feared, bad bills that make paving over natural Florida that much easier are…
Youâve heard the term âfrom bad to worse?â This is the story of one proposal in the Florida Legislature thatâs gone from outrageous â to offensive. House Bill 359 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 540, titled âLocal Government Comprehensive…
The âSession of Sprawlâ is upon us. With nearly a month to go before the 2023 Legislative session officially begins, several bills have already been filed which, if passed, will supercharge sprawl across the entirety of the Sunshine State. These…
The words practically jump off the page. âThere is a limit to the number of people which the South Florida basin can support and at the same time maintain a quality environment,â the statement to the governor reads. âThe State…
Happy 2023 from VoteWater, where weâre confident the new year will bring tidings of comfort and joy â and lousy ideas, bad bills and terrible initiatives courtesy of the Florida Legislature. In fact, weâve already identified our first Bad Bill…