Shining light on the good, bad and ugly of bureaucracy in Florida’s communities

“The Comp Plan.” 

It’s one of the least understood – yet most important – documents in all of local government. 

It’s short for Comprehensive Plan, a state-mandated policy document that outlines goals, objectives, and policies for the physical development of the community over a 20- to 30-year horizon. It addresses land use, housing, transportation, conservation, infrastructure, and public services, and it is used to guide zoning, permitting, and capital improvement decisions. 

That’s a mouthful. 

As County Commissioner Nick Maddox pointed out at the last commission meeting, the fact that the new plan is causing everybody a bit of discomfort is evidence that it’s probably a good mix. The county commission approved the plan 6-1 with Commissioner Christian Caban laudably dissenting (more on that in a moment). 

So, what changed in the Comp Plan? According to experts consulted by Red Tape Florida, the most important change was making it less detailed. Tallahassee-Leon’s Comp plan has been notoriously long, compared to most others in the state. The result of that is a stifling of innovation and anything other than cookie-cutter development. 

The new plan shifts more responsibility to local officials and to the land development code. While this might seem dangerous to those mistrustful of bureaucrats, it actually puts more power in the hands of private property owners who find the comp plan virtually impossible to challenge. 

In recent days, the City of Tallahassee and Leon County have held public hearings on the new comp plan. These hearings marked a significant step in the region’s ongoing efforts to address housing affordability, manage growth, and enhance transportation infrastructure. 

The need for a comp plan is glaring – Tallahassee-Leon is losing investment dollars based on its current onerous restrictions, according to experts consulted by Red Tape Florida. 

The current plan is so detailed and impenetrable that it can lead to unintended consequences. For example, the current Comp plan requires an existing access to a canopy road be used, rather than a new access somewhere else on the property. That sounds good, but there has been at least one instance where an existing dirt road access required more trees to be taken out rather than a place elsewhere on the property where the canopy was less prolific. 

Now, there have been complaints from neighborhood groups falling into two main buckets: we don’t like the impact on our neighborhoods and the process has moved too slowly. 

Red Tape Florida will have more to say on those matters soon, but as a sneak peek, you should know that this process began around 8 years ago. 

A central focus of the plan is to tackle the city’s housing affordability crisis. By revising land use policies to encourage higher-density development and mixed-use zoning, the plan aims to increase the supply of affordable housing units. This approach is particularly crucial in areas experiencing rapid growth, where housing demand has outpaced supply, leading to escalating costs.  

That’s one reason Leon County Commissioner Christian Caban was the lone dissenting vote. He supported the plan advanced by staff, but did not approve of changes made at the county commission meeting that watered it down a bit. “If we’re looking at adding regulations to building homes in Leon County I think that will drive the cost of housing stock up and not do anything to increase the amount of homes with affordable housing,” Caban said. 

The City has not yet voted on the plan as that body lost a quorum at its last meeting due to illness and meeting conflicts. 

Mayor Donna Deegan’s newly unveiled 8-point plan to streamline Jacksonville’s civil plan review and permitting process is a masterclass in modern governance. It not only accelerates development timelines but also fosters transparency, collaboration, and innovation—qualities that many Florida cities, including Tallahassee, would do well to emulate.  

At the heart of Deegan’s initiative is a commitment to efficiency and responsiveness. By transferring the Development Services Division to the Public Works Department, the city has already eliminated bureaucratic silos that often stall progress. The plan’s embrace of digital tools — most notably the JaxEPICS permitting platform — has modernized the review process, reducing permit approval times from 100 days to just 40. This digital-first approach, coupled with the exploration of AI-driven comment analysis and an “Express Lane” for expedited reviews, positions Jacksonville as a forward-thinking city ready to meet the demands of rapid growth.  

Crucially, this transformation wasn’t crafted in a vacuum. Deegan’s administration actively engaged industry stakeholders, including the Northeast Florida Builders Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties, to identify pain points and co-create solutions. This collaborative ethos ensures that reforms are grounded in real-world needs, fostering a sense of shared ownership and mutual benefit.  

Contrast this with Tallahassee’s development review process, which, despite some digital advancements, remains encumbered by complexity and delays. Developers in the capital city must navigate a labyrinth of approvals — from Land Use Compliance Certificates to concurrency applications and Natural Features Inventories — often resulting in protracted timelines and increased costs. A 2017 study by the DeVoe Moore Center highlighted these inefficiencies, noting that the average wait time for permits imposed significant opportunity costs on entrepreneurs.  

While Tallahassee has introduced electronic plan reviews and concurrent processing to streamline operations, these measures fall short of the comprehensive overhaul seen in Jacksonville. The absence of integrated platforms like JaxEPICS and limited stakeholder engagement means that systemic issues persist, hindering the city’s ability to attract and retain development projects.  

Jacksonville’s approach demonstrates that meaningful reform requires more than incremental changes; it demands visionary leadership, strategic investment in technology, and genuine collaboration with the private sector. By prioritizing these elements, Jacksonville has not only improved its permitting process but also signaled to businesses and residents alike that it is open for growth and innovation. 

For Tallahassee and other Florida cities grappling with development challenges, Jacksonville’s model offers a clear roadmap. Embracing digital transformation, breaking down bureaucratic barriers, and fostering public-private partnerships are not just best practices —t hey are imperatives for cities seeking to thrive in a competitive landscape. 

In an era where time is money and efficiency is paramount, Jacksonville has set a new standard for municipal excellence. It’s time for others to follow suit. 

Tallahassee’s latest brainstorm? A proposed moratorium on new gas stations through the end of 2025. Because nothing says “forward-thinking governance” like halting business development in response to a single neighborhood’s discontent. This move, sparked by the Circle K controversy in the Canopy neighborhood, is less about urban planning and more about appeasing a vocal minority. 

Let’s be clear: new gas stations don’t sprout up because developers have a fetish for fuel pumps. They emerge in response to market demand. If there’s a need for more fueling options, businesses step in to meet it. It’s called capitalism — a system that, until recently, Tallahassee seemed to participate in. 

But now, the city is considering a blanket freeze on gas station development. Why? Because a group of homeowners in a single neighborhood didn’t want a Circle K nearby. Never mind that the proposed station met all zoning requirements and had been in the works for months. The city’s response? Threaten eminent domain, then pivot to a citywide moratorium. Talk about overkill. 

This isn’t just about gas stations. It’s about a troubling precedent: local government inserting itself into the free market, deciding which businesses are acceptable based on the whims of a few. Today it’s gas stations; tomorrow, will it be fast-food restaurants? Coffee shops? Where does it end? 

Moreover, this knee-jerk reaction undermines the city’s credibility. If businesses can’t trust that approved projects will proceed without political interference, why invest in Tallahassee at all? The message is clear: your investment is only as secure as the city’s latest PR crisis. 

Let’s also not kid ourselves about the so-called “evaluation period.” This isn’t some impartial study session. It’s a year-and-a-half timeout, cooked up under the guise of “planning,” when in reality, it’s a panic-driven overcorrection to a neighborhood spat. If Tallahassee genuinely cared about thoughtful zoning reform, it would follow its own existing planning processes — not slam the brakes on an entire sector of the economy while it figures out what it might want to do. 

And for those who think this is a visionary move, let’s look at other cities that have tried something similar. In Petaluma, California, outright bans ignited lawsuits and raised concerns about fuel access in lower-income neighborhoods. If Tallahassee wants to add itself to the list of overregulated cities that kill investment through regulatory whiplash, it’s well on its way. 

In the end, this moratorium isn’t about thoughtful urban planning or environmental stewardship. It’s about optics and short-term appeasement. And it’s a disservice to the principles of free enterprise and the long-term economic health of Tallahassee. 

For a city that prides itself on progress, this feels like a step backward. 

In the wake of a number of Red Tape Florida reports on the flailing Tallahassee airport, local government officials are rolling out a plan to throw money at airlines in hopes they’ll stay for more than a weekend. In the latest Blueprint agenda item, TLH outlines its strategy to use Minimum Revenue Guarantees (MRGs)—basically taxpayer-backed safety nets for airlines—as a shiny new tool to lure carriers into offering new routes. Of course, they stop just short of calling them “subsidies,” preferring euphemisms like “community-sponsored incentives.” But let’s call a spade a spade: if public dollars are handed to private airlines to offset risk and cover losses, that’s a subsidy in everything but the name. 

Right now, TLH says its hands are tied by FAA grant rules that limit airport-sponsored incentives to things like waiving facility fees and tossing in a few marketing dollars. Since other cities are sweetening the pot with off-airport money—courtesy of city halls, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, and anyone else with a public checkbook—TLH wants in on the game. So the solution? A $10 million MRG fund over 15 years, sourced from “economic development resources.” Translation: tax dollars from sources they hope no one scrutinizes too closely. 

That sounds lovely—until you remember this airport has been down this runway before. 

Take AirTran. In the early 2000s, the city threw more than $2 million in revenue guarantees and marketing support at them. The moment the money dried up, so did AirTran’s interest in Tallahassee. Or look at JetBlue, the most recent flame. TLH finally wooed the airline into launching service to Fort Lauderdale in 2024, thanks in part to over $3 million pledged by eager local boosters. But the route was pulled within months. It turns out you can’t bribe people into buying plane tickets they don’t want. 

The math is optimistic. According to TLH’s consultants, a $10 million investment will miraculously return $1.1 billion in economic impact and over 1,100 new jobs. How? Well, that part is fuzzy. The estimates are “based on assumptions” about aircraft size, load factors, airline strategy, and other conveniently unprovable forecasts. But don’t worry—they have charts. 

In practice, MRGs guarantee airlines a minimum revenue threshold. If a flight underperforms, the public makes up the difference. TLH even gives an example: a hypothetical airline flying from TLH to LaGuardia is guaranteed $1.5 million, but if it only makes $1.2 million, the city writes a check for the shortfall. Any leftover MRG funds get “rolled over” to lure in the next suitor. 

There’s a notable bit of revisionist history in how they discuss JetBlue’s now-defunct route to Fort Lauderdale. It flopped due to low performance—but TLH says that, had they had an MRG in place, they could’ve saved it. Or maybe just delayed the inevitable? The silver lining: fares dropped, traffic surged briefly, and they estimate consumers saved $620,000. Of course, JetBlue also bailed, but hey—stats! 

The document tries to spin this all as a win-win. Airlines reduce risk, passengers get lower fares, the city gets “economic impact,” and no one dares say “corporate welfare” out loud. But at its core, this is a bet that taxpayer-funded parachutes will entice airlines to stick around longer than the next quarterly earnings call. Whether that’s smart economic development or just subsidized hope remains to be seen. 

Tony Knox is a character. He has run for governor twice. He speaks his mind. 

But mainly, he shines shoes. 

Lots and lots of shoes. 

He had a gig at the Tallahassee airport for more than a decade in the 1990s and 2000s before his contract wasn’t renewed. 

The 72-year-old has shined the shoes of Jeb Bush and countless other politicians, lobbyists and members of the process. He’s worked the League of Cities convention every year since the year Ronald Reagan left office. 

And last year, he tried to get back into the Tallahassee airport to provide his services to the members of the process and other businesspeople who fly in and out of town. 

But Knox ran headlong into a lack of creativity and flexibility that have contributed to TLH being the most expensive airport in the country. 

Knox spoke with a lot of Tallahassee leaders about this – from commissioners to City Manager Reese Goad and finally Airport Director David Pollard, who asked to see a picture of what his stand would look like. 

The response from Pollard: it doesn’t match our new airport design. 

“He didn’t like the stain on the wood,” Knox said.  “He told me that have a beautiful airport and that the stand looks too bad. But they wouldn’t even tell me what they wanted the stand to look like.” 

Knox sent him the picture, which you see as a part of this story. 

Knox then asked if the airport wanted to design its own stand, but was told they couldn’t afford to do it. A recent piece in Red Tape Florida revealed that the airport has $1.5 more in revenue than expenses, with the excess shuttled off to the fire services fund or other unnamed general funds.  

Knox says the typical shoe stand costs a couple hundred dollars to construct. “The chair costs more than anything else,” he said. “You’re basically just building a small porch with one step.” 

But apparently the airport wanted something much grander and more expensive that would match TLH’s marble-heavy aesthetic. 

Knox doesn’t know about all of that – he just wants to work and meet people, and perhaps most importantly, train new workers. 

“Tony Knox isn’t going to stay there and shine shoes all day,” Knox said. “I teach a person how to work. I’ll teach you how to present yourself and shine shoes. Most people don’t even know how to talk to people.” 

Ryan Cohn, EVP and partner at Sachs Media in Tallahassee, has been a Knox customer and proponent of independent airport governance. He says Knox’s story is another example of the missed opportunities that hold the airport back. 

“Imagine if our airport actually felt like Tallahassee,” Cohn said. “Before your flight, you could sip a Lucky Goat latte while getting a shoeshine, browse local books from Midtown Reader, and buy handmade candy from Lofty Pursuits. That’s the kind of experience people remember.” 

“But that takes vision,” Cohn added. “Instead, we got an airport bar named after Monroe Street.” 

For his part, Knox says he isn’t giving up. 

“I just want to shine shoes,” he said. 

By Jami Holder 

To readers of Red Tape Florida:  We are pleased to announce a new content-sharing partnership between Red Tape Florida and the Devoe L. Moore Center at Florida State University. From time to time, the Devoe L. Moore Center will share research and other writing that is relevant to Red Tape Florida’s mission of shining a light on excessive local government regulation and bureaucracy. Today is the first installment in that partnership. 

Floridians are currently suffering from an affordable housing crisis. According to a recent report from the Florida Housing Coalition, more than 2.1 million Florida households were cost-burdened, or spending more than 30 percent of their monthly incomes on housing costs. This crisis is occurring as a result of a housing supply shortage. Even with an influx of new apartment complexes being built across Florida, the market is still not providing enough housing options for low and moderate-income households.  

S.B. 184, a bill sponsored by Florida Senator Don Gaetz, R-Pensacola, would require local governments to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) in certain areas of all cities in Florida. ADUs, also referred to as granny flats, casitas, or in-law suites, are small-scale developments contained within pre-existing single-family housing lots. The passage of the Senator’s bill could soon become a promising step in promoting the development of ADUs and other forms of medium-density and urban infill housing. 

ADU’s are part of a trend toward medium-density housing and are increasingly popular alternatives to large-scale apartment complexes. These types of housing help restore “missing middle housing” because they aim to fill in a gap between single-family homes and high-density apartment buildings. Missing middle housing types include townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, condos, and, in some cases, ADUs. They are typically designed to be cohesive within an existing neighborhood design. This housing also minimizes urban sprawl by allowing for urban infill within pre-existing neighborhoods to avoid new subdivision development. 

ADUs can address the state’s affordable housing crisis by providing Floridians with a cheaper alternative to single-family houses. For example, ADUs can be especially beneficial for seniors, who may wish to age in lower-density residential areas rather than in apartment communities. ADUs can also provide families with flexible housing options for young adults and can provide property owners with an additional source of income. 

Despite these community benefits, ADUs currently face a number of legal and regulatory barriers in Florida. Several of Florida’s 67 counties do not mention ADUs in their local ordinances at all, and some counties explicitly prohibit them from being built in single-family zoning districts. When they are allowed, ADUs face restrictions in size, location, and owner-occupancy. These burdensome regulatory barriers deter homeowners from constructing ADUs on their land. 

If Floridians wish to have more affordable housing options, restrictions against ADUs should be eliminated. ADUs should be allowed by default in all single-family zoning districts in Florida, and excessive minimum lot size requirements should also be reduced so new units can more easily be developed. Additionally, property owners should be encouraged to rent their ADUs on the long-term market instead of as vacation rentals or short-term leases.  

Sen. Gaetz’s bill is a great step in the right direction by Florida lawmakers, but more bills should still be introduced to further ease regulatory barriers to ADUs.  Policies that relax restrictions on market-driven housing will be necessary to meet the affordable housing challenges faced by Floridians. 

Jami Holder is a Research Intern at the DeVoe L. Moore Center in the College of Social Sciences and Public Policy at Florida State University and an Interdisciplinary Social Sciences major with a concentration in urban planning.  

Jami Holder 

via: floridapolitics.com

Builders and homeowners often get exasperated by delays — waiting costs time and money.

Good news might be coming soon for people in Florida who build houses or need home repairs.

A new proposed law (HB 683) aims to make the process of getting building permits for smaller jobs faster and easier. On Friday, the House passed it unanimously, 114-0.

Read the entire story on Floridapolitics.com

Sometimes, break even isn’t break even. 

At a high level, the City of Tallahassee budget site (which is a wonderful service to residents, by the way) shows that the Tallahassee Airport is spending exactly what it is taking in. 

But a deeper dive shows that is not the case. 

For years, the airport – with the highest fares in America – has been making a profit of more than $1.3 million. That money has been shuttled off to the fire services fund up until this most recent year when $1.506 was sent to what was simply described on the web site as “other funds.” 

What is “other funds?”  We can’t find it on the site. But it begs the question, why is the City making its most-expensive-in-the-nation airport a profit center. Sure, $1.5 million is only about 7.5 percent of the total budget, but the airport is the butt of local jokes and is an albatross around the city’s neck, why not reinvest that money into … something. 

Also, how about some local vendors in the airport?  

The book selection in TLH is embarrassing – couldn’t a local bookstore be a better alternative? What about a Lucky Goat, Red Eye or Ground Ops coffee shop? Why does everything have to be some vanilla airport vendor? 

And why is change always so off the table? 

This August piece in the Tallahassee Democrat featured some excellent arguments from Sachs Media executive Ryan Cohn on an airport authority, but City Manager Reese Goad dismissed the idea for no other reason than it had already been talked about before.  

That’s not good enough. 

The Greater Tallahassee Chamber – which had at one time strongly advocated for an authority – seems to have backed off that position and sided with Goad.  

We recently featured our own ideas on changing the dynamic at the airport, followed by some even better ones from local CEO Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet.  

Another way the airport could do better at holding down costs is through salary control. The total salary line for airport employees has increased around 30 percent since the 2021-2022 budget, from $4.13 million to $5.35 million. The rate of inflation during that period was around 18 percent.  

Dividing total FTEs (58) into total salary lines, gives an average salary of $92,313. 

It should also be noted that the airport has allocated expenses back to the city for functions that are well represented by airport personnel. For example, the airport sends $157,000 back to the “home office” for accounting expense even though there are 3 full-time equivalents (FTEs) listed in “Admin-Finance.” 

The bottom line: TLH airport — which isn’t growing, features the highest prices in the country and which isn’t exactly known for its stellar service — should be reinvesting every penny it makes into improvement.  

Red Tape Florida recently released an investigative piece on the slow growth and high fares at Tallahassee International Airport, and the feedback was enormous.

Local Tallahassee resident, Co-Founder of Launch Tally and WellConnector and Sr Advisor, Informatics Strategy, APHL Board Chair at Ruvos, Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet weighed in on the issue at hand and offered some insightful suggestions.

Here are some ideas…some may already be in the works and some may not make sense for our region but maybe it will keep the conversation going…we need to think differently…

Build a Regional Air Alliance

• Form a multi-county/regional partnership with neighboring counties and cities to jointly market TLH as the airport for the broader region (not just Tallahassee).
• Leverage joint funding for incentives to attract airlines

Create a “Fly TLH” Incentive Program

• Offer rebates or local tax credits to businesses that book a minimum number of flights through TLH annually.
• Develop a frequent flyer cash-back or perks system that rewards residents who consistently choose TLH over Jacksonville or Panama City.

Develop an Airline Incubator Program

• Partner with start-up regional airlines or charter operators and help incubate new routes with subsidized landing fees, marketing help, and operational support.
• Pitch TLH as a test market for new short-haul or hybrid models (examples: semi-private flights or subscription-based air service like JSX).

Strategic Public-Private Partnership

• Create a public-private fund involving FSU, FAMU, TSC, major local employers, and the state to subsidize or offset the financial risk for new airlines/routes.
• Example: Amazon, Apple, or JetBlue helped fund new airport developments in other markets. It could also be a way to attract them to do business in our region.

Tech + Travel Innovation Hub (one of my favorites)

• Position TLH as a smart airport innovation zone, inviting tech startups to test autonomous luggage handling, biometric security, or AI-enhanced travel experiences. We can be a beta testing ground..make it easy for these companies to do biz in Tallahassee.

Redefine TLH’s Brand

• Launch a bold rebranding campaign that positions TLH as “The Capital Gateway” or “The Smartest Airport in the South.” We have a ton of smart marketing folks in our community..they can come together (work as one) to help.

Now, if we want to change the game…we will need a quarterback willing to lead the vision and execute.

Oh, there is one more….Free Parking.

Offering free parking at TLH could be a game-changing incentive….especially in a city like Tallahassee, where travelers drive to the airport.

Immediate traveler savings: For many, parking adds $50–$100 to a trip. Free parking makes TLH more competitive vs. JAX or Panama City. And it is not only about the $ but the time and convenience…how many people get a family member to drop them off at the airport at 5AM or get picked up at 11PM to save on parking…..

Behavior shift: People often drive 2–3 hours to fly cheaper. Free parking could help tip the balance back in TLH’s favor—especially for last-minute or short trips.

Perceived value: “Free parking” is simple and powerful marketing ….easy to remember, easy to sell. To me this is the best part. The publicity alone could drive more attention to TLH as we are thinking different about travel.

“Fly TLH Free Parking” Program

Why not try it? Conduct a pilot program for 12–18 months offering free parking for travelers who book through TLH (would require proof of boarding pass).

Could be tiered: first 3–5 days free, then reduced pricing. We won’t know if it will work if we don’t try it…

Free Parking for Loyalty

Partner with local banks, business groups, or airlie to offer free or discounted parking based on flight frequency, employer affiliation (state worker, FSU/FAMU/TSC, etc.), or enrollment in a “TLH Perks” program.

Weekend or Off-Peak Parking Free

Free parking Friday–Sunday or for early morning/late-night flights to encourage use of underutilized times. Again, proof of a boarding pass is needed.

Free Parking as a Business Incentive

Offer companies and agencies free airport parking for employees who book business travel from TLH

Make it part of Tallahassee’s business retention and expansion strategy.

Amplify the Strategy

Combine free parking with targeted airline recruitment, marketing, and economic development initiatives.

Use it as leverage in regional business conversations: “We don’t just want you to stay in Tallahassee—we’ll make it easier for your people to travel too.”

Just some initial thoughts and ideas…..

Here is a hint: You won’t have to pass “Go!”

In addition to having one of the greatest nicknames in all of sports – the Chanticleers – Coastal Carolina University knows how to market and drive attendance. 

The Conway, S.C., Division 1 football team had a decent 2024 (6-7 record) with decent attendance, averaging 17,128 in a stadium of 20,000. Season tickets average around $200. 

But that didn’t stop Coastal Carolina Athletic Director Chance Miller from being bold. He announced that all concessions at Coastal Carolina football games will be FREE (excluding alcohol, of course). Hot dogs, soft drinks, pretzels – all free for ticket buyers. 

Miller is throwing an estimated $250,000 a game down the drain, but what a great investment! Think of the goodwill, the increased ticket sales and the brand boost for the program. It’s a move that will create positive momentum and loyalty to the Chanticleers (which is a fierce rooster, by the way). 

Now, you probably know where this is headed. 

Tallahassee has long fought what is called “leakage” — in-market travelers who drive to Jacksonville, Atlanta or even Orlando to save money. They do this because the Tallahassee airport’s fares are the highest in the nation.  

Sometimes the financial calculations can be tricky – a $100 difference for a single traveler might not be worth the trouble and added expense of gas, parking, and time. 

But if a family of 4 is saving $250 per passenger, that’s a thousand bucks and mom and dad would probably spend some time on I-10 to save that kind of cash. 

In the middle of those two, it can be a close call, balancing finances, convenience and time. 

The big idea: 

What if Tallahassee’s airport decided to make that call a little harder by going to free parking? The short-term lot costs $15 for a full day; $13 for long term. For a 7-day vacation that’s around $100 of savings that could be offered to travelers. For some, it might be enough to make a difference. 

Another idea: How about free coffee at the airport, especially for the plague of pre-dawn flights that seem to be the only options to travel out of town? Sure, there are existing contracts, etc. but why is Tallahassee making its lightly traveled airport a profit center instead of finding ways to make it attractive for residents? Put another way, if Coastal Carolina can give away free food and drinks to their football fans, can’t Tallahassee figure it out for its travelers? 

We’ve talked about downtown Thomasville, Georgia’s allure – how much do you pay for parking there? Zilch. 

Time for new leadership? 

There is also the issue of governance. The Greater Tallahassee Chamber has, in the past, sought to move the airport to an “authority” as exists in other Florida communities.  While we certainly aren’t in favor of change for change’s sake, can the performance of the airport really get any worse under a new structure? 

We can’t find a single commercial airport in Florida that hasn’t seen passenger traffic growth in the last 30 years, which would make TLH dead last in growth. That alone should be cause for a new model. 

One thing to keep an eye on is the state of Florida deciding to take control of the airport. It is certainly a nuclear option, but the airport of a capital city is a vital link in the state’s economic development efforts.  

Changing the mindset 

Back to the spirit of the Chanticleers, there is good evidence that Tallahassee leaders are thinking innovatively. The City of Tallahassee recently announced a new exhibit at the airport touting the National High Magnetic Laboratory at Florida State. 

Even though that’s an idea that has, ahem, been around since at least 2017, it’s a good one. 

One last point: Surely it’s just a matter of time before someone loses their life driving for hours to fly out of a cheaper airport. Our current setup is unsafe, not good for the environment and not respectful of city residents. It’s time for some truly innovative thinking to turn this airport around. 

So, raise a glass of coffee – or the arm of a parking garage barricade – to the Chanticleers and their innovative approach to customer relations.  

While TLH fares are highest in the land; traffic has stalled 

In 1994, the Tallahassee Airport celebrated a major milestone – more than 1 million passengers flew out of TLH. 

In the more than 30 years since then, growth in other Florida airports has been rapid. 

Palm Beach Airport passenger traffic has grown 50 percent. Ft. Myers has almost tripled. Nearby Jacksonville up 38 percent. In fact, along with Pensacola, Jacksonville was recently rated one of the fastest growing airports in America. 

And another state capital airport, in Austin, Texas, opened in 1999 with 6.6 million passengers – in 2024 that number tripled to more than 21 million. 

So, how about TLH in the past 30 years? 

Traffic has actually dropped. That’s right, there are fewer people flying in and out of Tallahassee than there was when Lawton Chiles was governor. The Tallahassee airport had about the same number of travelers the year of The Choke at Doak (FSU’s comeback from 31-3 vs. UF) as it did in 2024. 

According to the Office of Economic Vitality, while 1.06 million passengers flew in and out of TLH in 1995, that number was just 968,000 in 2024. 

Those JetBlue blues 

It’s not for lack of trying. Efforts to attract new carriers and new routes have led to brief interludes with JetBlue and other airlines. Various marketing campaigns have attempted to stem the tide of in-market travelers choosing to fly out of Jacksonville, Atlanta or Orlando (called “leakage” in the industry). 

And there have been failed deals to develop the airport, including a much-ballyhooed $616 million deal with North American Aerospace Industries that was the subject of celebratory party and claims by Mayor John Dailey that it would be a “gamechanger” (two months before his narrow primary election win over Kristin Dozier) before it eventually fizzled.  

Other improvements to the airport have been frequent and expensive: 

• In 2015, more than $10 million was spent on a terminal redesign. 

• In 2021, another $4.5 million was spent on improvement to the concourses.  

• In 2022, an international processing facility was constructed, at a cost of $28 million, with the promise that it would create 1,600 jobs.  

• In 2023, the City allocated another $1 million to airport renovations.  

Oh, and about those fares 

Another thing that has kept Tallahassee passenger traffic low is high fares. Presumably because of limited supply, TLH fares were recently found to be the highest in the entire U.S. The analysis found that the average fare out of TLH is a whopping $562. 

One theory, in media reports, is that the willingness of Tallahassee’s political class to fly at the last minute means airlines hold fares higher.  

A larger issue is the lack of competition and the lack of growth in the market, as evidenced by this recent Red Tape Florida report.  

Sandbagging gets new meaning 

But then there are questions of service, coordination with federal partners, communication and more. 

Complaints about airport service are legendary in Tallahassee. 

To wit, the week of March 22 was not a good one for TLH as multiple issues surfaced. 

On March 22, passengers on an American flight to Miami spent an hour on their plane before being taken off en masse and then reboarding again less than an hour later. As one passenger posted on X, “According to our pilot, there is no maintenance crew here to sign off on the flight log.” Another asserted that the maintenance contractor lived 45 minutes away. 

Red Tape Florida reached out to Airport Director David Pollard for clarification on this, but he has not responded.  

That same day, an American flight to Charlotte was delayed 4 hours which meant two flights to Charlotte left at roughly the same time from two separate gates. Red Tape Florida’s Skip Foster witnessed a passenger end up trying to board the wrong Charlotte flight – after his actual flight had already left.  

It was also noted that employees wearing the same work garb as baggage handlers were serving as gate agents and were boarding flights.  

Then, on March 28, both TSA scanners apparently malfunctioned at the same time, resulting in hand-wanding of passengers. 

This caused so many to miss their flights that, as one passenger posted on Facebook, the pilot had to order sandbags added to the plane to get the balance correct.  

Thankfully, the flight arrived safely. 

Always soaring: Bureaucracy 

Meanwhile, even though passenger traffic isn’t growing, the airport bureaucracy is. 

Just since 2010 (so, for half of the 30-year span of growth-less-ness at the airport), the airport budget has grown more than 50 percent to just under $20 million. More than $4 million of that is for salaries and overtime. 

The current budget increased more than 16 percent over prior year. City of Tallahassee budget numbers are not available online for 1995. 

COMING LATER THIS WEEK: Red Tape Florida offers a few suggestions for changing the game at TLH. 

Let’s state this clearly up front: 

The City of Ormond Beach is on a course to spend tens of millions of taxpayer dollars fighting a perfectly legal new home development on behalf of a handful of nearby homeowners who are weaponizing local government to deny someone their property rights.  

The casualties of this futile battle are: local jobs, affordable housing, smart development, public trust, taxpayer dollars and common sense (more on all of these shortly). 

A Red Tape Florida investigation detailed the situation earlier this week. The short version: A property owner wants to develop a defunct golf course into homes that will fit well within the current neighborhood, but the city is denying them any kind of zoning. A federal lawsuit has been filed after the homebuilder exhausted all efforts. 

That this type of anti-free market activity is happening in a bright red county is quite breathtaking. 

This is not a simple difference of opinion, by the way. As the homebuilder’s legal team has unearthed, the city is simply not operating in good faith on this matter. They are starting with “how do we deny this” and then trying to find (or manufacture) a rule to support their desired final outcome. 

That leads to email correspondence such as the planning department admitting to the city attorney: “(we) cannot find another city that has assigned a Planned Development with no development order.” The city attorney’s response is, essentially, don’t worry about it. 

If you’re reaction to this is to shrug, then let us offer some dominos that might affect others in Ormond Beach and around the state. 

Domino No. 1: The impact on blue collar workers. These 300 or so homes would all need roofers, plumbers, electricians, landscapers, painters, cabinet makers, dry wall installers, irrigation experts, graders and countless other tradespeople. This is work that is being withheld from them by the government and neighbors who don’t actually own the land in question. 

Domino No. 2: Affordable housing. What’s particularly insidious about this weaponization of local government by NIMBY neighbors is the attempt to strong-arm the developer into building houses that are LESS affordable (presumably because the nearby homeowners don’t want to associate with any riffraff). It’s embarrassing and insulting.  

Domino No. 3: Erosion of public trust. Ormond Beach is going to lose this lawsuit and be forced to do what is clearly their legal obligation. Then what will happen to the millions in legal fees the city must pay? Answer: Of course, it will be just absorbed into the massive bureaucracy that is local government. And remember, the city could also be on the hook for tens of millions in punitive damages for the lose of use of the property – perhaps even as high as $40 million. That’s a disaster for Ormond Beach taxpayers.  

Domino No. 4: The loss of revenue to local government from higher property values – revenue that could help lower taxes or provide vital services to residents.  

By the way, there was an easy solution here: The 500 homeowners could have bought the land in 2018 for the same purchase price, and it would have been just about $5,200 each. If financed, as a group, the monthly payments would have been manageable. 

Instead, ALL Ormond Beach taxpayers are on the hook for a lawsuit that could cost many times the value of the property in question. 

It’s time for Ormond Beach taxpayers to demand an end to this. The developer has already shown a willingness to compromise, adding greenspace, buffers and more to his proposal. 

The city needs to show some leadership and look out for all of its taxpaying residents by coming to the table and working out a solution.  

Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida

City Attorney censors Planning Director; did commissioners know? 

The email from Ormond Beach Planning Director is as damning as it is shocking. 

While Ormond City Commissioners and the City Attorney grandstanded for the public on how a former golf course was not eligible for a zoning designation called R-2, the planning director was raising his hand with a different view. 

“Good morning, Randy,” wrote Planning Director Steven Spraker to City Attorney Randy Hayes on Dec. 20, 2023. “We are having issues with the analysis of why the R-2 zoning is not appropriate zoning for the application.” 

Spraker then listed three reasons why R-2 was the appropriate designation: 

1. It was zoned that way for more than 40 years.  

2. The surrounding subdivisions are all zoned R-2. 

3. The R-2 designation is consistent with the type of land use that had been proposed to the city commission. 

City Attorney Hayes was having nothing of Planning Director Spraker’s views. 

Red Tape Florida obtained a “red-lined” draft of the portion of the planning board report written by Spraker in which the Hayes struck the planning director’s views and didn’t bring them up verbally to commissioners or the public during the April 16, 2024, meeting in which the matter was discussed. 

Now, Ormond Beach residents are facing a massive lawsuit, lost opportunities for affordable housing and the jobs that would be created from a new development. 

First, a recap of the story: The long-defunct Tomoka Oaks Golf Course in Ormond Beach was acquired by developers aiming to revitalize the area with an upscale residential community.  

The proposed development seeks to transform the neglected land into a vibrant neighborhood, addressing the increasing demand for quality housing in Ormond Beach. The developers emphasize that this project will not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the area but also contribute to the local economy by attracting new residents and creating job opportunities during the construction phase.  

But the entire commission has kowtowed to a small group of residents who oppose the plans, saying it will hurt their quality of life.  

The city has demanded the developer dramatically reduce the number of homes built on the property – without giving a specific number – and has refused to allow R-2 zoning even though that’s what existed before and after the golf course and that’s how the surrounding homes are zoned. 

The city has gone even further, pressuring the developer – Tomoka Reserve – to build homes that were $1 million or even more in a transparent attempt to placate residents’ concerns that “riff raff” will invade their neighborhood.  

No movement from the city 

While Tomoka Reserve has voluntarily increased green space, increased buffering, decreased density and made other concessions, the city hasn’t budged. 

“It’s understandable that city commissioners want to be responsive to the neighbors of this project,” said Patrick Slevin, a spokesman for Tomoka Reserve. “But why should the land in question be zoned any differently than the land the protesting homeowners live on? Why is R-2 good enough for the current homeowners, but not potentially NEW homeowners? 

Also, what about taxpayers? What about property rights? What about affordable housing? What about jobs?” 

The price of NIMBY: Jobs 

When it comes to jobs, local tradespeople pay a price for NIMBY obstructionism. 

Fortunately, we don’t have to guess at the negative impact on jobs and the economy, the University of Colorado created an interactive model to quantify it. 

The numbers are staggering: 

The Tomoka Reserve project would create an average of 365 jobs a year for the five years of the project, pumping over $200 million into the economy.  

Those jobs would mean a lot to local tradespeople like Cuba Hanks, who runs Abaco Windows, in Ormond Beach. New homes mean he can hire up local workers and pay them a fair wage. Even if he only got a third of the window business, Hanks says it would be huge. 

“This would absolutely benefit my company and all of the trades,” Hanks said. “It would give security to me and my company and my employees. 

‘There is a very good chance I’d need to hire more people.” 

Hanks bristles at the idea that the project wouldn’t have a positive economic impact. 

“If somebody tells you that it won’t help Ormond Beach, they are bald-faced lying,” he said. “I don’t care who you are, nearly 300 houses is life-altering for a business.” 

Property rights for me, not thee 

Meanwhile, not only can the property owner not create new homes and new jobs, but the nearby homeowners – who are fighting to deny Tomoka Reserve its property rights – are flagrantly infringing on those very rights. 

Trucks, trampolines and more are residing on Tomoka Reserve property. 

So far, the city has not responded to Tomoka’s requests for action.  

Which means all that is left is expensive litigation and the promise of less pressure on the housing market. And more jobs are missed. 

Leon County Commissioner for District 4, Brian Welch, took to Facebook this week to talk about the developments near Chiles High School.

Read his full statement here.

Red Tape Florida’s Skip Foster weighed in on a situation in Ormond Beach where some commissioners are trying to tie up the mayor in knots of bureaucracy by having him defer to “public information officers” when he is approached by the media.

It’s such an amazing moment when the Mayor of Munchkin City makes the impromptu announcement on the public square that “the joyous news be spread” that the Wicked Witch is dead.

In Ormond Beach, he would have needed to clear that with the public information officer first.

Read the full article here.

In Leon County, our growth industry is bureaucracy 

Anytime even the smallest new development is announced in Tallahassee, someone inevitably says “we are turning into Orlando.”  

Not only is that not happening, Tallahassee and Leon are getting much farther away from being a growing, vibrant community where our citizens see their incomes rise and our children stick around to build meaningful and rewarding careers. We can, however, find growth in at least one major category: We grow bureaucracy the way Iowa grows corn. 

The easiest way to measure the growth of a community is by looking at population. And if you believe the science and research – that communities with stagnant populations are most likely to suffer crime and poverty – the population picture is ugly. 

Since 2015, Leon County has added just 12,544 residents – a 4.4 percent increase over that period. 

In the short term, the picture is even worse. Leon County actually LOST population between 2022 and 2023 and early estimates show another loss in 2024. 

It’s a stark contrast to the period from roughly 1970 to 2010 – a 40-year period when  Leon nearly tripled in size. 

Compared to its fellow Florida counties, Leon’s population growth looks even more anemic. From 2020-2025 (est.) Leon ranks No. 63 out of 67 for population growth, just behind Union County, home to Raiford and Lake Butler. 

Public sector anything but low growth 

You might think that since the county isn’t growing, that the two local governments that serve Leon residents have also shown smallish growth, but that hasn’t been the case. 

The combined operating budgets of the City of Tallahassee and Leon County now total $1.285 billion, a $377 million or 42 percent increase since 2015. While local government doesn’t necessarily need to grow at the rate of inflation, those two local governments’ growth has far exceeded the rate of inflation during that time. 

Some of the categories on which local government spends money are eye-popping. 

The City of Tallahassee spends more than $1.47 million on its communications department; $839,000 on “strategic innovation” and $463,000 for its ethics office (even after it was recently rocked by its own ethics scandal).  

Leon County (and most other Florida and U.S, counties) have been able to grow at this high rate, without leaning into millage rate increases,  because property values have increased so sharply during the inflationary period of the last few years. Property tax revenue in Leon County has increased almost 50 percent from 2020 to 2025 ($147 million to $218 million). 

In Tallahassee, property tax revenue has increased more than 50 percent since 2020. 

But cumulative inflation for that period is just 25 percent.  

Back to the private sector 

More evidence of Tallahassee’s lack of growth is the lack of available housing inventory. This chart compares Leon County to the three counties closest in population (greater and less than). As you can see, Leon has fewer listings than any counties with similar size populations. Eventually this will result in upward pressure on prices as we know from our high school Econ 101 price curve. 

And that’s exactly what is happening in Leon County. 

Since the start of 2020, the median price of a home in Leon County has risen from $225,000 to $315,000 – a 40 percent increase in just 5 years. Those percentages in similar counties: Alachua up 19 percent; Hernando up 41 percent; Escambia up 26 percent; St. John’s up 38 percent. 

Orlando? Really? 

It shouldn’t be surprising that Leon County’s growth is anemic – anti-growth forces have opposed all sorts of new development, both residential and commercial, with varying degrees of success. 

From parking garages to gas stations to urban infill and many more, Tallahassee-Leon has consistently advocated against ALL growth, even as it claims to be for “smart growth.” 

Invariably, snide comments in social media posts on new development claim that Leon is on the verge of “turning into Orlando.” Here are Google Earth shots comparing the two: 

Of course, it’s a ridiculous comparison. Orange County (Orlando) population has grown more in the last two years than Leon County has in the last 35. 

While the issue is being demagogued, Tallahassee-Leon is experiencing exactly what you would expect from a low-growth area – high poverty, particularly concentrated in certain areas, and decades of high crime.  You can draw a direct line between our failure to grow and the desperation in our poorest neighborhoods. 

Leon County’s rolling rate of people below 150 percent of poverty (2019-2023) is 25.6 percent – well above the state average of 21.3 percent. And the 32304 zip code has become infamous for being one of the poorest in the state.  

And while Leon County’s violent crime rate is no longer worst in the state, it is still above the state average.  

An Urban Land Institute 2002 working paper on the relationship between growth and economic strength presciently identified this type of nexus. 

The study found the following benefits of growth: 

• Maintains the current standard of living, at a minimum; 

• Accommodates the steadily growing population of the United States that results from annual birthrates and immigration levels that continue to outpace the number of deaths and the rate of out-migration; 

• Provides additional choices of where to live and work;  

• Generates new jobs, new income, new tax revenue, and higher property values; 

• Stimulates greater opportunities for the revitalization of urban areas. 

Further, ULI compared high-growth metro areas to low-growth and found that the higher growth areas had more jobs, better transportation, better education and better recreation, even as the market tried to keep pace with an influx of new residents. 

Back to poverty, should we really hate Orlando so much when the average Orlando household makes more than $1,000 per month than the average Tallahassee household?  That extra income in our county would transform the lives of Tallahassee’s struggling families.  

(Why is one almost triple the other?) 

How much is a fair discount for work not done by local government? And why does that question have so many different answers, even within the same county? 

Red Tape Florida took a look at work done by private providers – businesses who do electrical inspections and the like. 

Florida law is crystal clear – if a homeowner or contractor uses a private provider inspector to perform electrical or other types of building inspections in lieu of the local building official, the local government must discount the permit fees by the amount of the cost savings realized for not having to perform the services. 

In Leon County, that discount is 60 percent. Same in Bay County. In the city of Clearwater, it’s 50 percent. In Martin County, it’s 65 percent. 

But in Tallahassee, that number is just 20 percent.  

Why? 

The fee for the permit is supposed to cover the costs incurred by the government. In fact, statutes require building departments to operate as enterprise funds. They are only allowed to use the revenue generated from permit fees to fund the operation of the department. But Tallahassee is taking 80 percent of the money it would receive for doing the inspection itself, even though it’s not actually doing the work. Which also begs the question of where that money is going? 

According to John Reddick, the City of Tallahassee’s Growth Management Director, it’s because of the city’s “maintaining of high-quality service.” 

“Due to the relatively larger scale of projects in the city limits, the types of construction and requests from builders can demand significant time and attention from staff,” Reddick said.  

But the actual providers have another theory – that the city simply doesn’t want private providers to do the work. That was the case in Bay County before a lawsuit was filed by Al Wilson, who runs a private company called the Florida Building Code Compliance Authority. Bay County was giving just a 25 percent discount to private providers, much less than the discount mandated by statutes. 

After successful litigation, Bay County is now up to 60 percent, which means hundreds of dollars per inspection no longer flow into local government coffers in exchange for no work being done. 

But lest you think this is inside baseball for builders, contractors and developers, the people actually paying this added expense are the eventual homebuyers. It’s part of the reason why overregulation is such an underreported factor when it comes to the affordable housing crisis.  

“These local governments are just thumbing their nose at the will of the Legislature,” said Wilson, who has become a crusader against overregulation. “They take money for work they don’t do, and force you to sue them to make it right. 

“But the people paying the price aren’t people like me, it’s the homebuyer. When you start adding up a few hundred dollars here and a few thousand dollars there, it can really make a huge difference in the eventual sales price,” Wilson said. 

What’s stark about the situation in the state capital is that right across the street at Leon County’s office, the discount is 60 percent – about three times what Tallahassee is offering. 

Why is Leon County so much higher than the City of Tallahassee? 

According to Justin Poole, Leon Director of Building Plans Review and Inspection, the number was determined by his predecessor 6 years ago. But he thinks it’s too high. 

“After six years of experience with private provider projects, I can easily say that 60 percent is too much of a discount,” Poole said.  “Dealing with private provider projects is an administrative nightmare, and in my opinion, the discount should be around 25 percent.”   

Stay tuned for future updates… 

The controversy over proposed changes to Thomasville Road in midtown Tallahassee generated overwhelming opposition from local businesses, commuters, and residents alike.  

On one hand, it’s a great example of how broad and admirable visions – in this case, improving the overall attractiveness of Midtown – don’t always survive the descent into the nitty gritty details of implementation. 

Folks spent a lot of time developing a vision for Midtown and, in many ways, it is a good one – a more vibrant, walkable destination area where businesses can flourish.  

But as the Midtown plan pertains to the southern end of Thomasville Road, it simply didn’t pass the common sense test – eliminating a left turn lane would have been disastrous move for commuters and businesses. And it likely wouldn’t have mattered because few of them would have survived two years of the vital road being converted to one way southbound. 

We are relieved that FDOT killed the Blueprint-driven plan, sparing businesses and commuters from what could have been an economic disaster for that area of town. 

Taking a step back, however, Red Tape Florida believes this is a symptom of a larger problem – Tallahassee seems to be a one-trick pony of “placemaking,” without a true vision or understanding of how to grow a retail economy.  While murals, landscaping, and wider sidewalks may enhance an area’s aesthetic appeal, they are not enough to grow a thriving retail economy. 

Midtown’s future success requires more than cosmetic changes; it demands a serious strategy for attracting and sustaining retail businesses. 

While it is now clear that Blueprint citizen engagement badly missed the mark, something else caught our eye. The survey of residents about what to do in Midtown was notable for what was NOT included as options for a response. Blueprint asked survey takers to rank the following in importance: bicycle facilities, bus stops and amenities, congestion relief, pedestrian facilities, placemaking, travel speeds and signage and wayfinding.  

Notably absent from the survey? Business development and parking. The entire survey is devoid of anything that might help drive some actual commerce. 

Making a difference is going to require some new thinking, not just from local government, but from folks in nearby residential areas who too often take a NIMBY (not in my backyard) approach. 

The area will never become a thriving walkable area until there is a critical mass of places to walk. Right now, a smattering of wonderful restaurants and retail establishments are surrounded by non-retail establishments such as associations, law offices, accountants, office parks and even an oil-change shop.  But, visionary public officials would realize that we need a level of retail density in the area that attracts and engages strolling shoppers.   

How can they help achieve that vision?  Re-write our local building code so that it embraces flexibility in retail design and makes it easier and faster to get building permits.  Usher in a cultural change so that Tallahassee’s permitting bureaucracy looks for a way to say “yes” instead of tolerating a bureaucracy that loves to say “no.”  And, expand to the Midtown area the successful grant programs, such as the ones used by Tallahassee’s Community Redevelopment Agency. These are programs that help finance new retail construction and façade improvements.    

And then, of course, the issue of parking simply must be addressed. There isn’t nearly enough of it, even for existing businesses. A plan for a garage was shouted down by nearby residents who want their cake – a quiet walkable area – and eat it, too (preferably at a place they can walk to).  

The irony? A central parking facility encourages walking by getting people out of their cars and onto the sidewalks. And perhaps a surge in retail activity would make it easier for business owners to survive new traffic patterns rather than take it in the teeth while lipstick is put on the pig. 

Tallahasseeans often look longingly north to the bustling downtown across the Georgia state line. But downtown Thomasville isn’t a destination because of cobblestone streets and fancy light fixtures. It works because of a healthy glut of retail. Parking is easy. Shopping is prolific. It’s safe and easy and thriving …. that’s what real placemaking looks like. 

The intersection of local government and private business is never simple. But it’s time for Tallahassee to run some new plays – and one of them should be to develop a strategy specifically designed to grow retail. Midtown seems as good of a place as any to start. 

In other words, let’s take a sharp turn toward a business-first approach to placemaking. 

Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida

We are a new site, powered by Hammerhead Communications, which will shine a light on local government bureaucracy in a unique way. 

You will find that most of our content falls into three buckets:

1. Accountability: There are far too many stories of excessive government red tape that are never told – RedTapeFlorida.com will shine a light into the dark corners of bureaucratic inefficiency. 

2. Affirmation: Along with that vinegar will come honey – telling the stories of when government does things the right way to encourage best practices. 

3. Advocacy: We will offer our thoughts on the best way to address shortcomings and build on successes. In particular, you will read a lot about our belief that the increased costs of government red tape are connected directly to the issue of affordable housing. 

We might even break a little news regarding how local government does business in other ways.  

While our initial focus will be on Tallahassee, we are already expanding into other markets around the state. This effort will be focused on local government – the state of Florida has already taken steps to reduce red tape, but some of that has not trickled down to the local level. 

As our site launches, you will see compelling stories about red tape and its impact on our economy, such as: 

• The inside story of the Thomasville Road/Midtown Tallahassee controversy and the failure of the bureaucracy to adequately communicate the ramifications of the project. 

• A column on how reducing regulation can impact the issue of affordable housing. 

• A story of how the joint Tallahassee-Leon County urban design studio is proving to be an effective operation.  

As you can see, those initial stories cover the three buckets of accountability, affirmation and advocacy. 

Often, it’s the small business entrepreneurs and their blue-collar employees — such as plumbers, electricians, roofers and the like – who bear the brunt of the added time and cost these regulations impose. And, then of course, those costs are inevitably passed down to consumers such as homebuyers or the small businesses that occupy commercial property. 

There is also an economic development price to be paid for localities who have a reputation as not being business friendly because of glacially slow permitting or other red tape. 

Here is one thing RedTapeFlorida.com will not be: Involved in any way in political campaigns or electoral politics. We started this “off-election-cycle” to make this point clear – RedTapeFlorida.com is about policies and procedures, not precincts and polling. 

One feature you will see on our site is “Retribution Watch.” For too long, private sector people have been afraid to tell some of the stories you will read for fear of retribution. We will not allow that to happen without shining a light on such unscrupulous behavior. 

It’s also this fear of retribution that has caused us to keep our list of sponsors private, even as some businesses choose to tell their specific stories publicly. 

As you encounter red tape, we hope you will share those with us, using this link. You might also have suggestions on public records requests in your community or other ideas for the site. 

If you would like to be a sponsor, please reach out to us here. We have a variety of packages including an “affiliate” sponsorship for just $175 a month for those who may not be directly involved in these matters but simply want to support the mission. 

You can follow us on all major social media platforms (@redtapeFl), and we hope you will share the site with your friends and colleagues. 

Through accountability, affirmation and advocacy, we look forward to lessening the burden of government red tape in a way that benefits our entire economy. 

Skip Foster 

President 

Hammerhead Communications 

Lost in the national discussion over affordable housing is this: Fully 25 percent of the cost of a new home goes to regulations.  

One quarter.  

It’s essentially a regressive tax on housing that impacts starter and luxury homes alike. 

In Florida, the median price of a new home is a bit higher than the national average – a little over $400,000 — so more than $100,000 of that goes to government regulation. 

Sure, the home building market needs regulation, for safety, to protect the environment. But $100,000 for every $400,000 home? It’s excessive and a sign that the bureaucracy is out of control.  

How come all we ever hear about is “greedy developers” and “unscrupulous contractors” when, by far, the entity making the most money of a new home is the government? 

Red Tape Florida is always fascinated, and disappointed, when groups advocating for affordable housing – such as the Capital Area Justice Ministry – fail to include reducing government regulation in their often-voluminous list of recommendations. 

Are these groups really trying to address affordable housing or are they just pushing a narrow ideology. 

It should be no surprise to anyone that the affordable housing crisis is particularly acute in Tallahassee – it’s one of the most difficult places in the country to build a house.  

And that’s reflected in the numbers. Tallahassee-Leon’s new housing permits totaled just 517 in 2024 LINK COMING. Comparing that to the two counties that rank just above Leon in population is, well, embarrassing. Escambia County had more than double the permits at 1,200 and St. John’s had 2,746, five times Leon’s new home construction. 

Surely we all remember Economics 101 and the price curve, based on supply and demand. 

These numbers make it easy to argue that something is suppressing Tallahassee’s housing supply, which the law of supply and demand tells us will increase prices every time. 

It’s RedTapeFlorida.com’s contention that, in Leon County at least, that “something” is excessive red tape and regulation. 

When someone wants to include that as a part of their affordable housing platform, perhaps they will get a more friendly reception. In the meantime, RedTapeFlorida.com will continue its mission of making housing more affordable by shining a light on the good, bad and ugly of local and state government red tape. 

An inside look at Tallahassee’s midtown debacle 

By Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida 

The story of last week’s Thomasville Road controversy started 15 years ago. 

But the key date was, believe it or not, Nov. 9, 2019, when a small group of people unwittingly set into motion the series of events that culminated with a community-wide uproar. 

Before we get there, let’s start with some background. 

When vision collides with common sense 

About 15 years ago, a committee of local residents set out to make Midtown Tallahassee a more livable, walkable, and vibrant place. These well-intentioned volunteers came up with a grand plan that sounded like something anyone would support – spacious sidewalks, lush landscaping and vibrant public spaces aimed at boosting economic development. 

But a funny thing happened on the way to actual implementation. It turns out, what the local bureaucracy thought was appropriate public engagement and communication, actually resulted in just 30 people deciding the future fate of Midtown.  

And what those 30 people chose was not just wildly unpopular, it was viewed as openly hostile to businesses and to workers who commute through one of the city’s most vital arteries. 

Most critically, the conversion of Thomasville Road to one-way traffic for two years — a move that could cripple businesses — was never disclosed to the very property owners with whom local government was negotiating for right of way access. As a result, business owners only recently learned about a change that could devastate their livelihoods. 

In fact, the two-year, one-way plan doesn’t appear in any documents reviewed by Red Tape Florida. 

Not in the Midtown placemaking committee. Not in any documents of the Capital Regional Transportation Planning Authority (CRPTA). Not in Blueprint. Not in either the Tallahassee City Commission or Leon County Commission. 

Some Midtown property owners only found out after they had negotiated the sale of their property rights. Heartbreakingly, multiple business owners shared that their employees  started asking last week if their jobs are in jeopardy because of the plan.  

While Friday’s decision by FDOT to kill the Blueprint Midtown placemaking plan was welcomed by most in Tallahassee, it almost didn’t happen.  

Red Tape Florida has learned that even the office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis became engaged on the issue, making it clear to all stakeholders that Blueprint-proposed changes to Thomasville Road were a non-starter. 

Here is Red Tape Florida’s inside story of how a Tallahassee “placemaking” project collided head on with common sense.  

From idea to implementation 

The Midtown Action Plan – which became a part of the Blueprint process — was the product of discussion that began as early as 2009. A working group was formed, consisting of heads of local business and neighborhood associations, private business owners and two retailers. Sadly, the two retailers have since gone out of business. 

The plan that resulted from this effort is filled with aesthetic and brand improvements to the area which encompasses part of the Thomasville Road and N. Monroe corridors, such as murals, colorful planters, “xeriscaping” and such. 

Then the plan moved into an implementation phase. For years, elements of the plan materialized in small increments, such as the North Monroe/Lake Ella pedestrian crossing. 

However, initial references to Thomasville Road were vague and the plan initially only spoke only in broad generalities. 

By 2019, some specifics were taking shape and a communications plan was implemented. Blueprint, in collaboration with CRPTA, held a public meeting at the Tallahassee Senior Center on November 9 and asked attendees to vote on three options for changes to Thomasville Road in Midtown. 

Options 1 and 2 both eliminated the turn lane and had minor differences with regards to sidewalks. Option 3 kept the turn lane, except it converted to a median where there is no place to turn. 

There were 49 total votes. That’s less than 2 ten thousandths of the county’s 2019 population of just over 293,000 residents. Option 2 — eliminating the turn lane — was the “winner” with just 30 votes.  

Did commissioners understand the vote? 

Those 30 people voting at the senior center ultimately led to the solution that was approved by the CRTPA board, which included three Tallahassee City Commissioners (Jeremy Matlow, Curtis Richardson and Dianne Williams-Cox) and four Leon County Commissioners (Bryan Desloge, Kristin Dozier, Nick Maddox and Rick Minor) 

But what presentation was shown to the CRTPA board that led to its approval on Oct. 19. 2020? 

Well, let’s look at two consecutive slides. First, a slide showing how many people were engaged in the process. 

While 883 people were reportedly engaged in the public process, the vast majority of those were from a survey that didn’t clearly include the elimination of the turn lane on Thomasville Road as an option. It also remains unclear how many “unique” participants this entails – that is, were there repeat attendees? 

Now, here is the next slide commissioners on the CRTPA would have seen: 

See that 61 percent number? Well, remember the vote at the senior center? 30 votes for Option 2, divided by 49 total votes equals … you guessed it … 61 percent. One has to wonder if commissioners thought that 61 percent of the total number of people engaged in the process supported eliminating the turn lane, rather than just 30 people (note: Blueprint literature does not mention whether other stakeholders were surveyed on those three specific options). 

Blueprint board buried in paperwork 

Next stop for the Midtown plan was the Dec. 10, 2020, meeting of the Blueprint IA board (made up of all five city commissioners and all seven county commissioners). 

The Midtown plan appeared in what is called “consent” — a block of items that are approved together, usually unanimously without any discussion. The 595-page Blueprint agenda included 62 pages of information on the Midtown placemaking plan. References to the elimination of the turn lane were on pages 110 and 112. There was no mention of the road becoming one way for the two years of work on the project. 

The minutes show that the consent package, including the Midtown placemaking plan, were approved 12-0 without discussion of the plan. 

Businesses Left in the Dark 

The next major development in the project seems to be September of 2024, when property owners along Thomasville Road received a letter about right of way acquisition. The letter included the same literature and renderings about eliminating the left turn lane. 

But it did not include any mention – none – of Thomasville Road becoming one-way for two years. In fact, there is no mention of that reality in any Blueprint literature reviewed by Red Tape Florida. And, of the four business owners contacted by Red Tape Florida, none knew of the “one way for two years” plan until the last week or two. 

It should also be noted that there does not appear to be any media coverage of the plan to eliminate the turn lane and at least two business owners on the impacted stretch of Thomasville Road did not know about that facet of the project until just a couple of weeks ago. 

For perspective, here is how Blueprint describes its public engagement policy: 

Did FDOT save the day? 

So, where does the Florida Department of Transportation come in? 

The Blueprint project was initially aligned with a planned Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) repaving project. The idea was to complete both projects simultaneously, along with utility maintenance. 

But, ultimately, all parties must agree to the entire scope, including the Blueprint plan. Put another way, as FDOT officials made it clear to multiple attendees during the March 4 open forum on the project: “It’s our road.”  

FDOT officials were already strongly hinting to some in the overwhelmingly opposed-to-the-new-plan March 4 crowd that the state would likely reject the plan, given the level of opposition. Three days later, they made it official. 

To FDOT’s further credit, in the days before the public meeting, Project Manager Travis Justice and his team took steps to inform Midtown businesses by proactively visiting  them to alert them about the impact of the project and make them aware of the public meeting.  

FDOT was concerned there hadn’t been adequate communication. 

Where do we go from here? 

It will be interesting to see how city and county commissioners deal with the fallout from this meeting. Red Tape Florida has learned that more than one commissioner has expressed frustration that Blueprint so badly missed the public’s wishes when it comes to this plan. Blueprint apparently went to some lengths to engage the public, but why aren’t they getting a true sense of what the community wants? What other decisions have been made with incomplete or inaccurate community input? 

For now, when it comes to Thomasville Road, FDOT has bailed out the community and prevented Blueprint from taking a wrong turn. 

Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida

By Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida 

Tallahassee — While the stories of red tape in Tallahassee are legendary and will be chronicled on this site, Red Tape Florida is also committed to showing when things are done the right way. The City of Tallahassee’s urban design studio, called DesignWorks, is a good example of a local government success story. 

Here’s how it works: DesignWorks serves as a problem-solving hub for builders, developers, and citizens navigating local regulations. Citizens, builders and developers bring a problem to DesignWorks. The team goes to work coming up with solutions, all the while getting input from all the potential stakeholders, such as the local government teams that regulate stormwater, traffic and engineering, etc. 

The DesignWorks team then comes back with potential solutions that have already incorporated feedback from all the individual departments from which the builder would have had to seek approval. 

The result? A collaborative approach that helps projects move forward efficiently, with solutions crafted upfront to avoid bureaucratic roadblocks later. 

Todd Sperry, of OliverSperry Renovation, is a big fan. 

“Regular permitting is black or white,” Sperry said. “But with this you can work with them more conceptually. The attitude is ‘how can we make you compliant with regulations.’ 

“If they can’t, they can deviate on the project because they have been in it with us from the start,” Sperry said. 

The list of DesignWorks-aided projects is impressive – Champions Ranch, the new Charlie Ward-led sports and recreation complex; Camelia Oaks, a 55-plus residential neighborhood off Mahan Road; Il Lusso and the Ballard building, an urban project in downtown Tallahassee; and smaller projects in the Bond neighborhood.  

For Sperry, it was a project in the All Saints neighborhood. 

“We had a lot that stretched between two streets – it was in violation of four different zoning regulations,” Sperry said. “They said: ‘We aren’t going to let a black-and-white interpretation get int the way of the whole project – we’re going to look holistically first.’” 

The project was ultimately completed successfully. 

Artie White, the Director of the joint city-county organization PLACE, which is over DesignWorks, said the program has its roots as far back as 2000, but was formalized in 2012.  

White says that while 75 percent of DesignWorks projects are in the private sector, government projects are also run through the program to maximize efficiency and creativity. The department handled 151 projects in the last full fiscal year. 

Mike Alfano, Administrator of Special Projects and Neighborhood and Urban Design, said inquiries to DesignWorks are usually quite open ended. “People reach out or are referred to us from city or county growth management. They come into us and the ask can range from ‘hey I have a piece of property and I don’t know what I can do.’ 

“Or, ‘hey I want to do some things but how?’”  

Alfano said DesignWorks planners then develop site plan concepts that can jumpstart the development process. 

Both Alfano and White hasten to add that the program isn’t just for big builders – individuals can go to DesignWorks for smaller projects on the property. 

One thing DesignWorks does not want to do is take business away from private sector engineers or architects.  

“We are very cognizant of not competing with the private sector,” White said. “It’s more ideation and hand-drawn sketches.”  

Sperry is hopeful the collaborative mindset and spirit of DesignWorks can permeate into the lower-level regulatory departments.  

“Everybody – from environmental codes, building codes, zoning codes, solid waste, driveway people — everybody is pass/fail,” Sperry said. “If you have a problem with one, you’ve got to figure it out or you don’t move forward.” 

With the design studio, it’s more collaborative and “can do,” he said. 

“They have a mindset there that I wish we had on the regulatory side – they try to help you rather than restrict you.” 

Skip Foster, Red Tape Florida