Hidden Regulatory costs of Land-Use Planning and Growth

Management

Samuel R. Staley, Ph.D.DeVoe L. Moore CenterFlorida State University

e. sstaley@fsu.eduPresented at the American Dream Coalition annual

conference, November 7, 2015, Austin, Texas

What Uber tells us about the failure of local

regulation

• Uber’s market capitalization: $40-$50 billion Revenues on $2 billion

• City-by-city fight to operate legally• Regulation choked competition and innovation

Local regulations prevent entry based comprehensive regulation on the industry

• Market capitalization represents the potential un-monetized market value in the personal transportation market caused by local regulation

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Shopping Center Permitting Study

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A Tower’s Tale:Into the Abyss

A Case Study

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Steps required to secure occupancy permit:1.First contact2.Land use compliance certificate3.Concurrency application4.Natural Features Inventory5.Submission of Site Plan6.DRC meeting7.Site plan review approval8.Environmental management permit9.Building permit application10.Certificate of occupancy

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What is the purpose of regulation?

Nearly 2 years

Implications of uncertainty in the regulatory process

• Only “big boys” can play• Lower overall investment• Higher costs (lower quality)• Local firms with connections to local

government officials have advantage Cronyism

• None of this is visible!

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A way out of the abyss?

• Ideal: Back government out of regulating land use Anarchy? The case of Houston Virtually impossible to pull local governments back

• Exception: form-based codes

• Second best: Remove discretion through transparent administration Tie administrative decisions to core principles

• Focus on what people really care about: imacts

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Changing the discussion about regulation

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Where do we go from here?

• Focus on the long term• Focus on equity impacts• Educate activists• Regulatory mapping studies• Constructive engagement with elected

officials and regulators

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