Concurrency‐Management Practices in Florida: Comparative Assessment

Abstract

The present paper reviews the strengths and weaknesses of concurrency‐management systems as a means of tying growth‐management practices to funding infrastructure improvements. This assessment is accomplished by offering a comparative analysis of Broward and Lee Counties' (Florida) concurrency‐management systems. This analysis illustrates two divergent approaches taken to implement concurrent facility level‐of‐service requirements. Specific conceptual and practical methods aimed at refining concurrency‐management systems are offered. These methods relate to administrative and operational topics, level‐of‐service capacity allocations, implementation of growth management policies, and facility funding. The present paper recommends that the principles of flexibility and predictability underpin any local government's concurrency‐management system. Through the incorporation of concurrency‐management practices, such as, and including, integrated review processes, district‐wide level‐of‐service capacity averaging, tiered long‐term certification, and dedicated infrastructure funding, an effective, acceptable, and meaningful growth‐management tool is created. In turn, concurrency management serves to ensure that facilities are in place when they are needed and it does so in a manner that avoids economic dislocation through development moratoriums.