Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Metropolitan communities are increasingly governed by an agglomeration of special purpose governments. In growing regions, independent special districts have proliferated beyond city boundaries to provide fire protection, water, community development, transportation, health-care, and a host of other public services. While complex local governance structures have been studied for decades, how special district designs and functions affect regional policy outcomes remains poorly understood. This paper seeks a better understanding of special district impacts by examining whether, and how, special district concentration and layering shape the conversion of rural lands to urbanized uses in unincorporated areas.

We use the case of land use in Florida to investigate how special districts influence regional land use policy outcomes. We test the theory that a combined lack of special district transparency and institutionalization of developer interests hastens the development of regional land, encouraging metropolitan growth and contributing to urban sprawl. We further examine whether elements of institutional design -- elected or appointed boards, assessment and fee taxing authority, dependence on city or county governments – contribute to or impede rapid development. Finally, we explore how the actions of other common district types, such as mosquito control, irrigation, transportation, and wastewater generate land use implications. While roughly half of the state’s 1,668 special districts are community development authorities created to construct and manage gated communities, nearly two dozen distinct types of special districts may hold explanatory value in understanding land-use. This study offers a first glimpse into how the functional and policy boundaries within specialized governance impact development patterns in a rapidly growing mega-state.

To examine these special district impacts on land use policy outcomes, we compile an innovative regional land use dataset from previously undervalued government data. The analysis begins with satellite land cover imagery from NOAA's Coastal Change Analysis Program, which records land cover type (e.g., natural open space, wetlands, impervious surfaces) on 30 by 30 meter areas. Imagery data are obtained at five year intervals from 1996 and 2011, and are coupled with archival data of special district formation and institutional characteristics - such as how board members are selected and the ability to issue debt or levy taxes. We use a Bayesian multi-level, spatio-temporal logistic regression approach to model land development status (developed/undeveloped) - our measure of land use policy outcomes. This study demonstrates how the functional and geographic boundaries that exist within complex, highly specialized, and rapidly changing governance arrangements impact regional policy outcomes.