If you hold a
qualifying permit or development order, you should know that a number of permit extensions are available. However, these opportunities will not last for long-and claiming them has become trickier than in the past due to overlapping opportunities.
When the Governor of Florida declares a state of emergency via Executive Order, Florida law delays and extends the expiration dates of certain permits. Once the Executive Order expires, permit holders must notify a permit-issuing authority of the intent to exercise the applicable tolling and extension within 90 days of the expiration of the Executive Orders.
Recently, two Executive Orders expired: Executive Order 17-262 (Tropical Storm Nate) on December 4, 2017 and Executive Order 17-260 (Zika Virus) on December 2, 2017. Qualifying permit holders now have 90 days from those expiration dates to notify the permit-issuing authorities.
However, calculating the tolling and extension periods of these permits may be complicated. Executive Order 17-260 was extended several times and overlaps with numerous other executive orders, which will vary by location. Several other Executive Orders have also been extended, have not yet expired and will eventually overlap these Executive Orders. The tolling periods must be carefully adjusted to account for multiple overlapping toll periods. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection's (FDEP) Hurricane Irma
Emergency Final Order was recently extended as well. Our
previous alert outlined how, while the Emergency Final Order overlaps in some ways with the extensions provided by Executive Orders, it affects a much broader range of permits and activities regulated by FDEP.
Last year, to help the public track and research opportunities to extend the expiration of permits, Stearns Weaver Miller launched a web-based tool to track Executive Orders declaring states of emergency. This first-of-its-kind tool explains what kinds of permits may qualify for extensions, identifies the most recent Executive Orders, and depicts the counties to which they apply.
Since we launched this tool, we have received many requests to include an archive of past Executive Orders. In an effort to make our tool the most comprehensive source available for these extensions, we have done that. To access the historic archive, simply select the "archive" tab at the top of the site.
Our Land Development, Zoning & Environmental Team can assist clients in analyzing whether permits qualify for an extension, calculating expiration delay and extension periods, and preparing notifications. We can also determine whether other opportunities are available to efficiently extend permits. For more information, please
contact us.
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