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Reggie L. Bouthillier
Tallahassee
S. Elise Batsel
Tampa
Jeffrey A. Collier
Tampa
Jacob T. Cremer
Tampa
Vin Marchetti
Tampa
Kenneth B. Metcalf, AICP*
Tallahassee
F. Joseph Ullo
Tallahassee
*Non-lawyer
Special thanks to Nicole Neugebauer who assisted in the drafting of this alert. Nicole is a third-year Juris Doctor Candidate at Stetson University College of Law.
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Important Land Development and Environmental Issues Following Florida's 2019 Legislative Session
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As the dust settles and the Florida Legislature has adjourned for 2019, there are a number of bills that all landowners and developers should have on their radar. The following list details the most important bills for land development, land use, and environmental matters in the 2019 Legislative Session.
Eight bills were signed into law by the Governor:
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Community Development and Housing:
House Bill 7103
provides a variety of changes to existing law on affordable housing, development permits, impact fees, private providers for building inspections, and fire safety requirements for residential condominium associations. This bill requires that local government housing ordinances requiring a developer to either build a specified number of affordable housing units or contribute to a housing fund also provide incentives to fully offset the developer's costs for the affordable housing contribution. With regard to development permits and orders, this bill will create a "shot clock" requiring local governments to promptly review and process development permits and notify applicants of any deficiencies. This bill will also require local governments to credit certain constructions, expansions or payments toward any other impact fee required by the local ordinance for public educational facilities. In addition, mirroring House Bill 207, this bill prohibits local governments from requiring payment of impact fees prior to issuance of a building permit and codifies Florida case law requiring a reasonable connection between proposed new development and the need of additional capital facilities with the expenditure of funds and benefits to the proposed new development. Finally, this bill expands the capabilities of private providers, who are licensed building code administrators, engineers, and architects and extends the deadline for retrofitting a building to comply with the current Florida Fire Prevention Code. This bill went into effect June 28, 2019. Because of the significance of this bill, we will be issuing a separate alert with a comprehensive analysis.
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Community Development Districts:
House Bill 437
allows a landowner establishing a new community development district ("CDD") with less than 2,500 acres of contiguous land to identify adjacent land the landowner expects to annex in the following 10 years. The landowner must also provide notice to the current owners of the adjacent land. These additional lands will then follow a streamlined process to be added into the CDD. The bill also provides that CDDs may merge with other types of special districts. This bill went into effect June 28, 2019.
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Amendments to the Florida Impact Fee Act:
Like House Bill 7103,
House Bill 207 incorporates Florida case law on impact fees into the Florida Statutes. Impact fees must be reasonably connected to, or have a rational nexus with "the expenditure of the revenues generated" and "the increased impact generated" by the new residential or commercial construction. The bill also limits the expenditures of impact fees and requires that impact fees not be paid before issuance of the building permit. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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Permit Fees in Local Government:
House Bill 127
requires local governments to post its permit and inspection fee schedules, and building permit and inspection utilization reports, on its websites by December 31, 2020. This change will provide transparency and notice to landowners and developers. This bill went into effect on July 1, 2019.
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Wetland Mitigation on Government Land:
The Florida legislature acknowledged that certain timing and geographical constraints could result in the unavailability of mitigation bank credits. In response,
House Bill 521 allows for permitee-responsible mitigation to occur on lands owned by a local government for conservation purposes if state and federal mitigation credits are not available. This practice was previously prohibited by statute, but now will allow developers in areas where mitigation bank credits are unavailable. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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Closure of Open and Expired Permits:
House Bill 447
provides needed updates to Florida law to simplify and clarify procedures for closing open and expired building permits. The bill allows local governments to work with homeowners to close these permits and provides liability protections for contractors who take over a job from a previous contractor to assist in closing a permit. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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Attorney Fees and Costs on Preemption Challenges:
House Bill 829
allows for attorney fees, costs and damages in civil actions challenging a local government's proposed or adopted ordinances expressly preempted by the State of Florida Constitution or state law. The current rule in the State of Florida required each party in civil actions to pay their own attorney fees and costs. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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Private Property Rights:
House Bill 1159
significantly limits local governments ability to require permits, fees or mitigation for tree trimming, pruning, or removal on residential property if the property owner obtains documentation from an arborist certified by the International Society of Arboriculture or a Florida licensed landscape architect that the tree presents "a danger to persons or property." In addition, local governments are prohibited from requiring a property owner to replant a tree that was pruned, trimmed, or removed in accordance with this bill. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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Transportation:
Senate Bill 7068
, which we recently discussed here, created three new tollways in Florida. This bill also created the Multi-use Corridors of Regional Economic Significance Program within the Florida Department of Transportation to revitalize rural communities, promote job creation, and provide connectivity while enhancing quality of life and protecting the environment. This bill went into effect July 1, 2019.
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These bills were considered this year but did not become law. They may return next year:
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Comprehensive Plans Required to Recognize Property Rights:
House Bill 291 would have required local governments to include a property rights element in its comprehensive plan "to ensure that private property rights are considered in local decision-making." The bill gave local governments the option to either create their own property rights elements or use the ones provided in the bill.
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Implementing a Domestic Wastewater Collection System Assessment and Maintenance:
In order to limit sewer overflows and the unauthorized discharge of pathogens,
Senate Bill 286 would have established the Blue Star Collection System Assessment and Maintenance Program ("Blue Star"). The bill proposed a voluntary incentive program to lower penalties when sewer overflows occur, create a presumption of compliance with certain water quality standards for pathogens, and issue 10-year operation permits for Blue Star-certified utilities.
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Private Property Rights of Homeowners:
Senate Bill 824 would have significantly limited local governments' ability to regulate vacation rentals in residential neighborhoods. Although a municipal or county agency would still be allowed to regulate long-term rentals in residential neighborhoods, they would be prohibited from imposing occupancy limits, require property inspections, or undermine state authority on this issue. This legislation also included language to bolster and protect the rights of property owners.
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Environmental Regulation:
House Bill 771 would have created a moratorium, expiring July 1, 2024, to prohibit local governments from adopting or enforcing ordinances or other local regulations related to single-use plastic straws.
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Fracking:
House Bill 7029 would have prohibited fracking in the State of Florida.
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If you have any questions regarding the impact of these new laws on your land or project, please do not hesitate to
contact us.
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What's Developing | Summer 2019
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Opportunities Ahead as Florida Prepares for Three New Tollways
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What Have We Learned After Two Years of Reporting Under Florida's Public Notice of Pollution Act?
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*Ken Metcalf, Abbye Feeley, and David Smith are highly experienced planners. Ken Metcalf is AICP certified.
**Chris Smith is a highly experienced GIS analyst.
***Michael Paparesta is a highly experienced real estate analyst.
Ken, Abbye, David, Chris, and Michael are not attorneys and are not authorized to practice law.
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