In a sweeping attack on the home rule authority of every city and county in the state of Florida, the Florida Legislature has adopted Senate Bill 180 (SB 180) with a last-minute amendment that prohibits all local government initiated ordinances that impose more restrictive or burdensome comprehensive plan amendments, land development regulations, or procedures concerning review, approval, or issuance of site plans, development permits, or development orders for the period commencing August 1, 2024, through October 1, 2027. SB 180 also bans local moratoria on construction, reconstruction, or redevelopment of property damaged by a hurricane during the same timeframe. Critically, the amended law applies retroactively, declaring such ordinances null and void ab initio.
To enforce compliance, SB 180 empowers residents and businesses to bring civil actions against local governments to obtain declaratory and injunctive relief, along with recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, if a local government fails to announce its intent to repeal such ordinance within 14 days of receiving written demand, and proceeds to repeal such ordinance within 30 days.
Although the amendment appears to be limited in its impact and apply only to counties identified in Federal Disaster Declarations for Hurricanes Debby (DR-4806), Helene (DR-4828), and Milton (DR-4834), those declarations collectively cover every county and municipality in Florida.
SB 180 is currently pending presentation to the Governor. Local governments should immediately review all ordinances adopted since August 1, 2024, and assess whether any fall within the scope of this sweeping state preemption. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us to discuss: Jamie A. Cole (jcole@wsh-law.com); Susan Trevarthen (strevarthen@wsh-law.com); Chad S. Friedman (cfriedman@wsh-law.com); or Roger C. Pou (rpou@wsh-law.com).
