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In reference to a new state law that empowers owners to demolish old homes, I must question, due to the lack of public debate, if the governor was briefed on the environmental repercussions of the legislation he recently signed into law?
The legislation passed under HB423 which provides “that a local government may not prohibit or restrict a property owner to obtain a building permit to demolish any single-family residential structure located in certain flood hazard areas…” has far-reaching implications for the historic fabric of the state of Florida and “catastrophically” aggravates climate change.
Mitigating for sea level rise is treating the symptom not the cause and does nothing to protect the environment. The new law accepts the dire prognosis of climate fate as fait accompli and this does more harm than good.
The genesis of the law may have been in good faith, but the new standards are in bad form. Sea level rise is one of the side effects of poor planning and lack of stewardship of the built environment.
Rising sea levels correlate to rising carbon (mainly due to over development) and it can be mitigated if municipalities accept the reduction of embodied carbon in their sustainability policies. Allowing old homes in coastal areas to be demolished and rebuilt because they are vulnerable to sea level rise is like killing patients because they are vulnerable to disease.
This law does not mitigate climate factors, it aggravates them.
Building construction and operations are responsible for approximately 40 percent of human produced carbon emissions worldwide, adding to a warmer climate and rising seas.
As a matter of fact, studies show that allowing demolitions for new construction is “environmentally catastrophic.” According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation,“Arguments that promote a practice of disposable real estate are unsustainable at best and at worst environmentally catastrophic. New buildings…will likely never offset the carbon cost of their construction. We don’t have time to simply build our way to a sustainable future.”
As of Jan. 1, 2022, demolitions of old homes will require no historical oversight. Any owner that objects to a future historic designation will still be able to demolish their structure if their finish floor elevation is too low. This decree will slowly erode the state’s cultural and architectural heritage while simultaneously speeding up the climate challenge.
Saving an old home will calm the seas, not rise them.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Karelia Martinez Carbonell
Local resident and preservation advocate
