Getting the green light for big housing projects and other large scale development would be easier under a bill up before a House panel Tuesday. As Jim Ash reports, the controversial measure by Republican Representative Mike La Rosa of St. Cloud is drawing angry protest from environmentalists.
The bill allows large development projects to skip reviews by regional planning councils in exchange for a fast-track state review. It also limits the power of local governments to deny permits, warns Sierra Club lobbyist David Cullen.
“This section of the bill places the interest of a speculator over the community and their ability to choose what they want to do as a community, through their comprehensive plan.”
The bill cleared a key economic development committee. A Senate companion gets heard Wednesday.
