Volusia growth management commission : a study of intergovernmental cooperation and coordination in growth management

Growth Management has been around for approximately forty years. States such as Florida are now mandating that all jurisdictions develop comprehensive growth management plans that will protect the environment and require that infrastructure be commensurate with development. They have made the plans regulatory documents instead of long range visionary plans. However, the State of Florida has overlooked the fact that these regulatory documents can create major adverse impacts on adjacent jurisdictions and cause deterioration coordination. of intergovernmental cooperation and

One jurisdiction, Volusia County, Florida, had the foresight to recognize the potential adverse impacts that would result from the State's new growth management legislation. The fifteen jurisdictions in the County took it upon themselves to develop a commission that would be able to improve intergovernmental cooperation and coordination and make the plans of the jurisdictions consistent with one another.

This venture was the Volusia Growth Management Commission. This paper provides the history and framework of the Volusia Growth Management Commission and looks at the issue of how theVolusia Growth Management Commission has been successful in improving intergovernmental cooperation, coordination and consistency among comprehensive plans.