Council Meeting | June 18, 2026
FOCUS AREAS
ABOUT THE SWFRPC
Our mission is to work together across neighboring communities to consistently protect and improve the unique and relatively unspoiled character of the physical, economic and social worlds we share for the benefit of our future generations.
The Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC or “Council”) was created by an interlocal agreement between Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee and Sarasota Counties in 1973. In accordance with Florida Statutes, the agency is directed by a 36 member council, composed of 25 county commissioners and municipal elected officials, 7 gubernatorial appointees from all counties within the region, and four ex-officio (non-voting) gubernatorial appointees representing the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and water management districts.
The SWFRPC is designated Regional District 9 and acts as a regional information clearinghouse, conducts research to develop and maintain area wide goals, objectives, and policies, and assists in implementing a number of local, state, and federal programs. The Council serves as an advocate for the Region with State and Federal agencies, including the Legislature and Congress. View the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council’s rules (Division: 29I) on the Florida Administrative Code website.
Since its creation in 1973, the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council (SWFRPC) has worked with local governments to protect natural resources and promote the creation of jobs within our six county region.
Southwest Florida serves Regional District 9 and consists of six counties with a total area (land and water) of 6,663 square miles and a land area of 5,986 square miles. Four of the counties border the Gulf of Mexico, with a total shoreline of 4,515 miles, and comprise a large portion of the Region’s urban area. Two counties are bounded by Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake in the United States. The six counties in the Southwest Florida Region include:
Charlotte | Collier | Glades | Hendry | Lee | Sarasota
- Responsibilities set forth by Chapters 163, 180 and 186 of Florida Statutes and other applicable state, federal and local law;
- To serve as a regional coordinator for members, to exchange, interchange and review various programs of member jurisdictions relating to regional problems;
- To promote communication between members for the conservation and compatible development within the region; and
- To cooperate with federal, state, local and non-governmental agencies to accomplish these objectives.
Regional planning agencies assist local governments in resolving their common problems, engage in area-wide comprehensive and functional planning, administer certain federal and state grants‐in‐aid or other programs, provide technical assistance, conduct research related to regional issues, and provide a regional focus in regard to multiple programs undertaken on an area-wide basis. These programs and services include transportation planning, economic development, emergency preparedness planning, ecological services such as research and scientific studies, dispute resolution, workshop and event coordination.
Florida’s Regional Planning Councils (RPC’s) are public organizations that serve as bridges between state and local governments representing an area in which resources, characteristics, and issues co-exist. RPC’s provide comprehensive planning and intergovernmental coordination for managed, responsible growth. Florida Statutes 186.502(4)(1) recognize RPCs as Florida’s only multipurpose regional entities in a position to plan for and coordinate intergovernmental solutions to growth-related problems on greater-than-local issues, provide technical assistance to local governments, and meet other needs of the communities in each region.
- SRPP: Strategic Regional Policy Plan
- Regional Data Clearing House / IC&R
- Annual Report/Financial & Audit Reporting
- Regional Dispute Resolution
- Enhanced Biennial Rule Review
For more information: Statutory Mandates
Regional Planning Councils are Delegated: 37 Duties within 11 Chapters:
- Chapter 129: Administrative Procedures Act
- Chapter 163: Intergovernmental Programs
- Chapter 186: State & Regional Planning
- Chapter 258: Myakka River Management Coordinating Council
- Chapter 260: Florida Greenways & Trails Council
- Chapter 288: Commercial Development & Capital Improvements
- Chapter 339: Transportation Finance & Planning
- Chapter 380: Land and Water Management
- Chapter 403: Environmental Control
- Chapter 420: Housing
- Chapter 1013: Educational Facilities
