Danny Nix takes aim at minimum lot sizes with Florida Starter Homes Act

A proposal by Port Charlotte Republican Rep. Danny Nix to ease local zoning rules to spur construction of smaller, more affordable homes has cleared its first House Committee.

The House Intergovernmental Affairs Subcommittee advanced HB 1143, titled the “Florida Starter Homes Act,” on a 14-2 vote following debate over local control, infrastructure capacity and housing affordability.

HB 1143 would bar local governments from requiring minimum lot sizes larger than 1,200 square feet for residential properties connected to public water and sewer, while also limiting their ability to impose stricter setback, height, density and parking requirements.

Under the proposal, local governments also would face accelerated timelines for reviewing development permit applications, with some applications deemed approved if officials fail to act within specified time frames.

Nix told Committee members Thursday the legislation is designed to increase the supply of entry-level housing by allowing developers to build smaller and more affordable homes on smaller properties. He said the bill would apply in counties with at least 500 residents per square mile, of which there are currently 16.

“Last year, only 20% of Florida’s working-class households could afford to buy a starter home,” Nix said. “In 2012, that was 74% who could. Land basis cost, as a Realtor I know, is what creates a divide and a gap that comes into these properties.”

Avery Bernstein, a 21-year-old college student from Gainesville who said he helped draft the measure, said minimum lot size requirements often make smaller homes effectively illegal. Bernstein pointed to Houston’s minimum lot size reforms as a model, saying similar policies in Texas have resulted in thousands of smaller, more affordable homes being built.

“When a developer buys a large and expensive lot, they’re only going to build a large and expensive home the vast majority of the time,” Bernstein said. “Since starter homes need a smaller lot to be developed, many local governments are actually making these starter homes illegal.”

The Florida League of Cities opposed the proposal, warning the bill could override local comprehensive plans and strain infrastructure. Florida League of Cities Deputy General Counsel Rebecca O’Hara said the measure could allow dense development in areas without adequate planning safeguards and lacks assurances that homes built would be affordable.

“What will result from this is premature development of land at the edges of towns subsidized by existing taxpayers because concurrency … is notably absent from this bill,” O’Hara said. “Water and sewer connections may be there for a lot today, but adding eight homes to that same lot and doing that multiple times will quickly overwhelm existing water and sewer capacity because that is not what has been planned for.”

Orlando Democratic Rep. Rita Harris raised concerns that the bill could unintentionally spur growth in areas not equipped to handle it, particularly in counties with residents who vocally defend established rural boundaries. Still, she voted to advance the measure, saying she expects continued work with local governments as it moves forward.

“In my county, Orange County, we have a rural boundary,” Harris said. “People are very, very protective of that rural boundary. So I would like to see some more protections around those counties that have that in statute or ordinances around it to ensure that there will not be growth in those spaces because the communities have worked really hard to ensure that those areas stay pristine.”

Nix acknowledged that the bill remains a work in progress, but said it would help address Florida’s affordable housing crisis if approved.

“This bill has come a long way from where it was at, but the bill is still not perfect, we get that,” he said. “We are definitely looking forward to having conversations to see the direction that’s going to put this in a posture that’s really good for Floridians.”

HB 1143 now heads to the Housing, Agriculture & Tourism Subcommittee for its second of three Committee stops. A comparable bill (SB 948) filed by Ocala Republican Sen. Stan McClain has cleared its first Senate Committee. If approved by the Legislature and signed by the Governor, the legislation would take effect on July 1.