Legislation to block local governments in South Florida from stopping the construction of dense housing on contaminated land is heading to its final stop in the House after breezing through its penultimate panel this week.
Members of the House Commerce Committee advanced the measure (HB 979) on a mostly party-line vote, with Democrats on the dais voting “no.”
HB 979, dubbed the “Infill Redevelopment Act,” is a two-birds-with-one-stone proposal. It would provide the state’s three most populous counties with additional housing inventory while also enabling developers to make use of polluted tracts.
“This bill helps to provide much-needed housing supply in communities by allowing property owners to administratively rezone properties that are environmentally damaged and are located in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties,” the measure’s sponsor, Hialeah Republican Rep. David Borrero, told the committee Wednesday.
Examples of such lands include former gas stations, dry cleaners, landfills, industrial plants, auto repair shops and manufacturing sites where chemicals or heavy metals may have leaked into the soil or groundwater, as well as properties enrolled or subject to state brownfield or cleanup programs, where testing, monitoring or remediation is required before or during development.
If passed, the bill would require local governments to approve housing developments on such properties if they span 5 or more acres, using the highest residential density allowed on nearby land, overriding zoning restrictions that would otherwise limit such construction.
Cities and counties could not use zoning, subdivision rules or discretionary approvals to reduce the density or intensity of the projects, though they could apply generally applicable architectural design standards that do not affect density.
If no nearby residential zoning exists, local governments would have to permit single-family homes or townhomes under state minimum standards.
A strike-all amendment approved at the bill’s first House stop Feb. 5 added a requirement for an open-space buffer between new developments and adjacent single-family homes and townhomes.
Notably, HB 979 does not add new remediation requirements or condition project approvals on cleanup first. State law requires contaminated lands to be assessed and cleaned under rules the Department of Environmental Protection administers.
Additional levels of oversight and cleanup standards fall under Miami-Dade’s Risk-Based Corrective Action ordinance and Broward’s Environmental Assessment and Remediation section. Palm Beach participates in state petroleum cleanup programs.
HB 979 will next go to the House State Affairs Committee, after which it would face a floor vote. Its upper-chamber companion (SB 1434) by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud awaits a third and final committee hearing after clearing its first two stops with uniform support.
