The watchdog group’s legal analyst says the measure ‘drastically’ limits local development authority.
A Florida controlled growth watchdog group is assailing a newly approved state measure, claiming it attempts to provide help on hurricane recovery but severely limits local autonomy.
The nonprofit organization 1000 Friends of Florida is calling for a second look at SB 180. An analysis from the group says the measure should be repealed when state lawmakers reconvene in 2026.
“With this legislation, the state has stripped away all local government home-rule authority to plan for the future and stolen the rights of citizens to help shape their communities through planning. These rights have been foundational to Florida’s planning process since 1985,” the 1000 Friends of Florida statement said.
The measure signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis is for “emergencies.” It prohibits “certain local governments from adopting ordinances for substantial improvements or repairs to a structure which include cumulative substantial improvement periods” and revises “public hurricane shelter funding prioritization requirements for the Division of Emergency Management,” among other stipulations.
The 1000 Friends of Florida organization voiced opposition to the bill as it was winding through the House and Senate, but it gained support regardless. The development watchdog group said the law hampers local control on development.
“SB 180 blocks local governments from adopting land-use rules that are more ‘restrictive or burdensome’ than those in place before recent hurricanes — even if those rules are completely unrelated to storm recovery. It also invites lawsuits, freezes local planning authority for years, and threatens the rights of everyday Floridians to shape their own communities,” a news release from the group said.
Noted land-use lawyer Richard Grosso has been commissioned by 1000 friends of Florida to provide a 12-page legal analysis.
Grosso’s initial assessment says that the law that went into effect July 1 “has an immediate and drastic impact on the authority of local governments to amend their comprehensive plans and land development regulations, or issue development orders with conditions opposed by any person or entity.”
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