The city of Alachua is one of 25 municipalities and counties across Florida named in a lawsuit filed on Monday challenging the constitutionality of a law restricting local governments from regulating development after natural disasters.
The lawsuit filed in Leon County by Weiss Serota Helfman Cole + Bierman law firm calls Senate Bill 180 (SB 180) the “largest incursion into local home rule authority” in Florida’s history since its constitution was adopted in 1968.
Gov. Ron DeSantis passed SB 180, also known as the “Emergencies Bill,” in June, aiming to improve how cities rebuild damaged properties after natural disasters like hurricanes.
The law prohibits municipalities listed in the Federal Disaster Declaration for hurricanes Debby, Helene, Milton, or future hurricanes from proposing or adopting “more restrictive or burdensome” amendments to their comprehensive plan or Land Development Regulations (LDR) for one year after a hurricane makes landfall.
Cities and counties can’t place moratoriums on construction, reconstruction or redevelopment of property damaged by the storms and cannot increase permitting and inspection fees for 180 days after a state of emergency is declared for a hurricane or tropical storm.
Unless the reconstruction increases the impact on public facilities, the law bars governments from charging additional impact fees on developers.
Anyone can sue their local government for declaratory and injunctive relief to enforce the bill, which applies retroactively from Aug. 1, 2024, through Oct. 1, 2027.
Monday’s lawsuit argues that the obligations enforced by SB 180 do not only apply to emergencies, conflict with Florida’s Community Planning Act, intrude on Home Rule Powers and are too vague to comply with.
Orange County and Manatee County have already received letters from FloridaCommerce stating that amendments to their comprehensive plans are too “restrictive or burdensome” without identifying what they are more restrictive or burdensome than.
“SB 180 should be declared invalid and the defendants should be enjoined from enforcing it,” the lawsuit says. “In addition to the inevitable incurring of public funds, SB 180 creates a chilling effect against the Local Governments’ exercise of their constitutionally granted rights and the ability to defend the same.”
On Aug. 25, the Alachua City Commission voted 5-0 to join the lawsuit. The city paid a $10,000 flat fee and will pay an additional $5,000 if an appeal is filed.
During a regular meeting last week, the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners unanimously moved not to join the lawsuit.
Commissioner Ken Cornell said he’d spoken with attorneys involved with the bill who said the sponsor wanted to help people rebuild in the event of property damage, not stop local control over additional development.
Cornell said the sponsor would be working to fix any misconceptions in the bill and that the county could reevaluate joining the lawsuit by the next fact policy meeting in November if changes hadn’t been made.
“I think we can get this fixed by talking to the bill sponsor as opposed to going through the courts,” he said. “I would rather us not spend the money and join the lawsuit yet. If they don’t fix it, then I’ll be ready to join the lawsuit.”
The local city governments named in the lawsuit are Alachua, Cutler Bay, Deltona, Delray Beach, Destin, Dundee, Edgewater, Fort Lauderdale, Homestead, Jupiter, Lake Alfred, Lake Park, Margate, Miami Shores Village, Mulberry, Naples, North Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Pinecrest, Pompano Beach, Stuart, Weston, Windermere, along with Manatee and Orange counties.
The defendants listed in the lawsuit are Florida’s Secretary of Commerce J. Alex Kelly, Division of Emergency Management Executive Director Kevin Guthrie, Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, Executive Director of Florida’s Department of Revenue Jim Zingale and Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia.