Zombie sprawl

In this episode: A month-old law enacted by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature — with help from lobbyists representing major developers — already has more than 15 square miles of farmland around the state at risk of being consumed for new housing subdivisions. Many of the proposed projects have been previously rejected by county commissioners because of concerns about traffic congestion, habitat destruction, and encroachment on rural communities. But Tallahassee has now tied the hands of locally elected leaders. Plus: Amendment 3, the Florida Legislature’s controversial property tax ballot measure, is suddenly in limbo. And the growing problem of “dark lobbying” in the state Capitol. Show notes To make a donation in support of Seeking Rents, click here. To reserve a ticket to our discussion about data centers in Venice with Alice Herman and Christian Casale of Suncoast Searchlight and Emily Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times, click here. Stories discussed in today’s show: New law has developers poised to build on thousands of acres of farmland around Florida Dark lobbying in the Florida Legislature After taking money from Walmart heirs, Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature helped billionaires hide their family fortunes Florida judge rules property tax amendment misleading, orders rewrite Same circus, different clowns Bills discussed in today’s show: Senate Bill 686 — Agricultural Enclaves Passed the House of Representatives by a 90-20 vote (vote sheet) and the Florida Senate by a 34-2 vote (vote sheet). Questions or comments? Send ‘em to [email protected] Listen to the show: Apple | Spotify Watch the show: YouTube Get full access to Seeking Rents at jasongarcia.substack.com/subscribe