- April 27, 2026
Dear Editor:
Most people have never heard of Chapter 163, but this single chapter of Florida law has controlled how our county has grown for the last 40 years — and its repeated weakening is one of the main reasons we face flooding, strained water supplies, and rising taxes today.
In 1985, Florida passed the landmark Growth Management Act. The centerpiece was a rule called “Concurrency.”
It was straightforward and powerful:
New development could not be approved unless the needed infrastructure — roads, drainage systems, water supply, schools, and other public facilities — was already in place or guaranteed to be completed at the exact same time the project opened.
The goal was to prevent the kind of runaway growth that leaves communities flooded, traffic jammed, and taxpayers stuck paying to fix problems later.
For many years, this rule helped protect Florida’s quality of life and environment.
2011: The rules were gutted, major deregulation took place and completely eliminated the Department of Community Affairs — the state agency that had enforced these growth rules — and dramatically weakened the concurrency requirements.
Local governments were given far more flexibility to waive the old standards.
The emphasis shifted from strong oversight and protecting communities to speeding up development approvals.
Many experts warned at the time that this would lead to growth without adequate infrastructure.
We are now living with those consequences.
2026: Chapter 163 is under review again. Major changes include expanding “administrative approvals” that would fast-track large projects with even less local review, fewer public hearings, and reduced oversight.
The devastation in Volusia County because concurrency was weakened in 2011, too many developments have been approved without adequate roads, drainage, or stormwater systems.
The results across Volusia County are clear and painful:
This is not theory. These are the real, daily consequences Volusia families are living with.
We must stop the pattern of unchecked development.
Our county cannot continue paying the price with flooded homes, higher insurance costs, strained water resources, and neighborhoods that feel less safe.
An informed community is our best defense.
Julio David Sosa
Deltona
Editor's note: Sosa is a candidate for Volusia County Council, running to represent District 5.
