CRAWFORDVILLE, Fla. (WTXL) — Commissioner Fred Nichols held a town hall to talk directly with neighbors. Two-state laws discussed at the meeting have propelled Wakulla County citizens’ ongoing concerns about overdevelopment in the county.
- Commissioner Nichols spoke to residents about Senate Bill 180 and the Live Local Act.
- Many understood the need and thought behind these laws, but thought they weren't restrictive enough on developers.
- Watch the video below to see what neighbors thought of these laws.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
From the effects of state laws on rural counties to the septic/sewer issues in Wakulla, neighbors expressed their opinions at Monday night's town hall. Overdevelopment was one, if not the biggest, concern that people discussed.
Two-state laws discussed at the meeting have propelled Wakulla County citizens' ongoing concerns of overdevelopment in the county.
Commissioner Nichols addressed these during Monday's town hall, addressing the need to be informed.
"The thing that we have to take into effect as a county is we have to make sure that we protect the county," said Wakulla County Commissioner Fred Nichols. "And there are a lot of things that get said to us where people are running on emotions, and when you run on those emotions, sometimes you don't think so, and we have to protect the county, and that's my job."
Senate Bill 180, which passed earlier this year, prohibits local governments from adopting ordinances for more restrictive land-use or development rules for the county.
The Live Local Act is a state law to help encourage more affordable housing development. It does this by requiring qualifying multi-family or mixed-use housing in certain commercial, industrial, or mixed—use areas.
Neighbors understood the need, but many believed these laws weren't restrictive on development enough. Some are concerned that these may be the first step in more state control over local governments.
"You look at Senate Bill 180, and it just reeks of this stepping stone that the state's starting to take to start moving into control of killing local government and putting it all under state control," said Steve Cushman, neighbor. "I mean, you see a lot of that with a lot of these bills coming up nowadays, it seems like they're more focused on 'let's pull back the county some and start taking control of those, those local governments, and we'll tell them how what they can build, and we'll tell them what they can do.'"
Commissioner Nichols says the town hall brought good discussions. He says he's going to look into the suggestions that attendees made.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
