Jan. 23, 2025 State Rep. John Snyder 303 House Office Building 402 South Monroe Street Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300 Dear Honorable Rep. Snyder: The Florida Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA Florida) offers its strong support for HB 209 entitled the State Park Preservation Act. The bill reinforces the Division of State Parks’ mission for land conservation and public access to Florida’s outstanding natural resources, and strikes a proper balance with popular activities such as camping, recreation, bicycling, fishing, birding, etc. We applaud your efforts to protect the integrity, natural environment, and outstanding user experience of Florida’s nationally recognized state parks. APA Florida is an association representing more than 3,200 professional urban and regional planners across the state working for a diverse array of public and private sector entities to enhance Florida’s natural and built environment for the benefit of today’s residents and future generations. HB 209 is consistent with our adopted Legislative Platform and Priorities that includes: • Supporting a long-range approach to land and resource management that conserves, protects, and enhances the state’s natural resources; and • Providing for open, collaborative, meaningful and responsible citizen participation in decisions affecting the public. On behalf of APA Florida, I offer our organization’s support in advancing this important legislation into law. Please contact me or Executive Director Stefanie Svisco, as we are ready to offer support and assistance during the process in any way we can. Respectfully,
Allara Mills-Gutcher APA Florida President 2017 Delta Blvd. Suite 101 Tallahassee, FL 32303 o: 850-201-3272 e: connect@floridaplanning.org floridapIanning.org
Allara Mills-Gutcher, AICP President
Jerry Bell, AICP Secretary
Melissa Dickens, AICP VP Professional Development
Tony Palermo, AICP VP Membership & Outreach Services
Whit Blanton, FAICP Immediate Past President
Lara Bouck, AICP, PE VP Certification Maintenance
Kathie Ebaugh, FAICP VP Conference Services
Ali Palmer VP Communications
Edward Ng, AICP President-Elect
Brad Cornelius, AICP, CPM, CFM Treasurer
Juan Mullerat VP Section Affairs