When will St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners kindly join in this litigation?
Cities, counties brace for fight with state over law giving developers more muscle
Critics say the new law mostly helps developers fight restrictions on growth.
- Over 20 Florida cities and counties are suing the state over a new law that freezes local planning decisions.
- Opponents argue the law, SB 180, violates the Florida Constitution by preventing them from making key land-use decisions.
- Critics claim the measure, lobbied for by large builders, primarily helps developers fight restrictions on growth.
More than 20 Florida cities and counties have signed up to battle Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Legislature over a new law that has frozen local planning decisions, causing disruption around the state.
Manatee and Orange counties, and a collection of cities, including Deltona, Margate, Alachua, Delray Beach, Weston, Stuart and others, plan to join a lawsuit expected to be filed soon in Leon County Circuit Civil court.
Under the law, they argue, local officials now cannot make key land-use decisions for the communities they serve. The measure violates the Florida Constitution’s home-rule protections, the opponents say.
“They cannot enact any law that burdens or restricts development from August 2024 until October 2027 – and it could go even longer,” said Jamie Cole, a Fort Lauderdale attorney representing the cities and counties challenging the law.
Cole has previously represented local government in successful fights with the state over growth management, property tax and financial disclosures.
When DeSantis signed the bill (SB 180) into law in June, local governments were blocked from imposing “restrictive or burdensome” changes to their comprehensive plans or land development codes.
The law was portrayed by supporters as designed to improve state and local emergency response following hurricanes and floods. Instead, critics say it mostly helps developers fight restrictions on growth.
Developers lobbied for new law
State records show that some of Florida’s largest builders lobbied lawmakers in support of SB 180. Among them: On Top of The World Communities, the Kolter Group, North Lake Communities, Highland Homes and Associated Builders & Contractors.
Since it was enacted, the law has overturned Orange County’s new 25-year comprehensive plan and threatened building moratoriums approved in Deltona, Edgewater and Treasure Island.
A transportation plan set for Osceola County and the reinstatement of wetlands restrictions in Manatee County also face possible challenges for violating the developer-friendly standard, officials said.
Polk County earlier shelved a proposed ordinance restricting roosters on some properties out of fear it might run afoul of the terms outlined in SB 180.
And smaller-scale changes, including a halt on new gas stations in Tallahassee, may be troubled.
While the new law covers a three-year time span, the broad prohibition on restrictive or burdensome changes could be extended for at least another year if another hurricane hits anywhere near a community.
Other provisions are generally accepted by cities and counties. The law eases post-storm permitting, designates local emergency contacts and requires the publishing of guides for residents detailing recovery efforts and shelter availability.
It also prohibits building officials from raising inspection or permit fees for 180 days after a state of emergency declaration.
'Bad things' happening because of new standard, critic says
Many local leaders, though, see the restrictive or burdensome language as included chiefly to protect developers.
“There are bad things happening because of this new law,” said Dori Howington, a Deltona city commissioner who has helped rally other governments to join in the legal challenge.
For builders, the law eliminates a nagging concern. After a storm hits, local officials often propose some kind of regulation, zoning or housing density changes intended to reduce the risk of a hard-hit area suffering repeated damage during another storm.
Now, though, developers can easily fire back in court by complaining such moves are restrictive or burdensome to them.
John Kennedy is a reporter in the USA TODAY Network’s Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jkennedy2@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @JKennedyReport.
1 comment:
Ron DeDumbDumb has been office for too long and has made Florida an authoritarian state where everyone must bend the knee to the state. No actual separation of powers going on here either.
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