Tallahassee Environmental Management Finding of Facts

This rule finds that uncontrolled development of land has a significant adverse impact upon the health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the city, more specifically:(1)The process of land development, which alters natural topography and creates impervious areas, can negatively affect the ecological integrity and functioning of natural resources including water, air, vegetation, and wildlife;(2)The emotional, physical, and economic well being of the community depends, in large part, on a balance between reasonable regulation to protect the environment and flexibility to develop property in a profitable and functional manner;(3)Substantial economic losses and increased future tax burdens will result from adverse development impacts or overly intensive land uses on natural resources and public and private property;(4)Stormwater runoff carries sediments and pollutants into receiving water bodies, degrading water quality, and decreasing their capacity to hold and transport water and to perform other beneficial functions;(5)Improperly channeling stormwater increases the velocity of stormwater runoff, thereby increasing erosion and sedimentation and reducing the effectiveness of natural surface water features;(6)Increases in the amount of impervious surface associated with urban development, improperly managed stormwater runoff, or inappropriate encroachment into the floodplain, can increase the incidence and intensity of floods, endangering property and human life and reducing the beneficial functioning of wetlands, water bodies, and floodplains; […] (8)Tree or vegetation removal can contribute to reduction of groundwater recharge, air purification, stormwater retardation, replenishment of native species, protection of endangered or threatened species, and scenic areas;(9)Tree or vegetation removal during development activities may accelerate the process of air pollution, erosion, sedimentation, stormwater runoff, species decline, and instability of the shallow groundwater table, endangering property and quality of life;(10)Impervious surfaces exposed to solar radiation absorb the sun’s energy and radiate heat back into the atmosphere, causing a change in ambient air temperature and an increase of energy consumption in heating and cooling buildings and motor vehicles;