News Digest
2022 Florida Legislative Session: Floating Solar Arrays
"A floating solar array on a pond in Orlando. Florida has thousands of lakes and ponds where floating panels could be used". Photo: Paul Hennessy, SOPA Images, ZUMA Press in WallStreet Journal SB 1338/HB 1411 State requirement for amendments to local land regulations...
“20 millionth longleaf!”
Photo: Samantha Neely, The News Herald "A group of agencies are working together to make the Panhandle a better place, one tree at a time. The Northwest Florida Water Management District celebrated the planting of the 20 millionth longleaf pine on district lands on...
Florida’s floating solar bills
"SB 1338 (Diaz) and HB 1411 (Salzman) would require that a floating solar facility be a permitted use in the appropriate land use category in each local government’s comprehensive plan. Each local government would be required to amend its land development regulations...
Large install example: “Singapore’s floating solar farm on the Tengeh Reservoir”
Photo: Sembcorp Industries in Euronews.green Background article published 2021: "Singapore's floating solar farm on the Tengeh Reservoir has officially been opened. Made up of 122,000 solar panels spanning 45 hectares, it is roughly equivalent to the size of 45...
“Chaparral Slough: A Win for Florida’s Panther, People and Nature”
Photo: Nature Conservancy "The Lykes Bros., Inc. and TNC [The Nature Conservancy] are one step closer to protecting Chaparral Slough, securing the 11-mile long wildlife corridor... As this Florida Forever project proceeds, it will conserve native habitats and...
Technical Trees? Email Address for Each Public Tree “Befriending Trees to Lower a City’s Temperature”
Photo: Alana Holmberg, The New York Times "A program in Melbourne, Australia, that tracks every public tree — and even gives each an email address — is seen as a way to manage climate change. High in the branches of a 122-year-old Dutch Elm, two workers in a bucket...
Legal: “Is customary use doctrine constitutional? Walton County judge declines to rule on it.”
Photo: Daily News File Photo "In two separate rulings, one on a motion and the other following a court hearing, Walton County Judge David Green declined to rule on the constitutionality of Florida's existing customary use doctrine. His doing so didn't shock anyone...
Legal update: “Maryland high court upholds Baltimore billboard tax”
"Maryland’s highest court has upheld a tax imposed by the city of Baltimore on selling billboard advertising. The Court of Appeals last week rejected arguments by Clear Channel that the tax violates constitutional provisions that protect freedom of speech. The appeals...
“Stroll Through a 3D World at the International Chalk Festival”
Photo: Courtesy Photo in Sarasota Magazine "The International Chalk Festival has been taking place in Sarasota and Venice since 2007. Thousands of people come every year to experience 3D chalk designs by more than 100 international and local artists. This year, the...
“Soon when you walk down the street, 3-D creatures could try to sell you something”
Photo: Ocean Outdoor in Washington Post "A new form of outdoor advertising is slowly taking hold. But experts warn of overload...Anamorphic advertising is coming — usually right out of a building. ( It all began with a floating cat. Photo: Independent UK (click photo...
“North Florida Land Trust acquisition of Tiger Island moves forward slowly”
Map: from Fernandina Observer 'Tiger Island has no zoning. Consequently, the County Planning Department is proposing that it be zoned Open Rural (OR). By doing so, North Florida Land Trust will be able to get it appraised and finally conserve it. Tiger Island – a...
Jacksonville: “Long awaited regulations arrive for waterways”
Photo: FWC in Resident News " ...The City of Jacksonville is on the cusp of limiting long-term anchoring in the city’s waterways, and the highly-trafficked Ortega River in particular, to 45 days. It didn’t take an act of Congress, just the Florida Legislature, and...
Affordable housing/density: “Council discusses accessory dwellings, zoning changes to increase housing”
Photo: In Catalyst "As the debate rages on how best to address the housing crisis in St. Petersburg, city officials continue to explore every avenue for relief with a sense of urgency. During Thursday’s Committee of the Whole (COW) Meeting, members of the city council...
Legal: “Is Tampa’s tree canopy shrinking because of a change in state law?”
Photo: Tampa Bay Times "Tree advocates and builders reached what was called a historic compromise on protecting the city’s award-winning tree canopy in the spring of 2019. A week later, a new state law gutted much of Tampa’s and other local governments’ power to set...
“Brevard County close to fencing off Malabar Sanctuary over tree cutting permit”
Video: Fox 35 Orlando "The Malabar Scrub Sanctuary is where the Florida scrub jay thrives. This sanctuary is specifically for protecting the beautiful blue and gray bird that exclusively calls Florida home. The area has also become a popular place for bikers and...
Neighborhood Grass Roots: “JEA completes ‘poles to holes’ utility lines conversion in Ortega Point North community”
Photo: As seen in Resident Community News Group, Inc. "JEA, AT&T and Comcast announced on Nov. 30 their completion of work to convert the existing overhead utility lines to underground in the Ortega Point North Overhead to Underground Utility Conversion Project......
Legislation – SB 518 Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition weighs in on restoring local control of tree removal and trimming
Photo: Florida Senate "Background In 2019, the Florida Legislature passed a law that banned local governments from enforcing many of their tree ordinances. This left cities and counties powerless to protect healthy trees from people with less than good intentions. The...
1000 Friends of Florida’s Transportation Policy, Planning and Implementation Report
Photo: 1000 Friends of Florida "This primer provides a brief overview of major components of Florida’s transportation policy, planning and implementation process. Policy planning typically involves developing high level plans to address needs for and appropriate means...
Advertising in the rain? Arriving across the country in 2022: “Rentbrella Keeps The Drops Off Your Head – For Free If You Return It In Time”
Photo: Rentbrella in Forbes "If you’ve ever left the house, you can relate: It starts to rain and you don’t have an umbrella. You can find something to shield yourself (the ol’ coat over the head). Or grab the umbrella you brought with you. Whoops, you forgot it?...
Year ahead: “Will space advertising take off in 2022?” Current dark skies issues even without advertising
Photo: Scott Kelly/NASA via AP "Plans to advertise from space have been around for decades, but the latest proposals have met fierce criticism. In August, the Canadian company Geometric Energy Corporation (GEC) announced that it wanted to launch a small satellite with...