Orange County jumps into legal fight over SB 180

Orange County is joining more than two dozen local governments suing the state to overturn legislation (SB 180) with the hope of gaining back home rule authority over land use and planning.

The county announced it is joining the Leon County Circuit Court lawsuit that already includes several other cities and counties, including Fort Lauderdale, Homestead, Naples and Manatee County.

SB 180 neuters Vision 2050, Orange County’s comprehensive plan, the county said in a press release.

“With Orange County’s population projected to exceed 2 million residents by 2050, it is imperative for the County to implement smarter growth management policies that protect natural habitats, foster small business growth, promote walkability, and expand access to affordable housing,” the county said in a statement.

SB 180, which passed this year, freezes municipal government development regulations in the aftermath of a hurricane or other disasters. Lawmakers said they want to eliminate the red tape to help areas hit by storms recover faster.

But the local governments’ ongoing lawsuit called SB 180 “the largest incursion into local home rule authority in the history of Florida since the adoption of the Florida Constitution in 1968.”

“Some of the Local Governments have received letters from Florida Commerce advising them that certain Planning and Zoning Regulations are in direct conflict with Section 28,” the lawsuit said.

Orange County was one of them.

The county received notice from the state in July that its comprehensive plan amendment it submitted for state review was invalid because the state called it “more restrictive or burdensome.” But the lawsuit countered that the state never ever identified “what it was more restrictive or burdensome than, or to whom it was more restrictive or burdensome.”

“Some of the Local Governments have also had to pause moving forward with Planning and Zoning Regulations that have been years in development even if those regulations are unrelated to emergencies or rebuilding after emergencies, amounting to a waste of the public funds expended in effort to pass said regulations and expanding the reach of SB 180 past emergencies,” the 46-page lawsuit said.

In advance of the upcoming Legislative Session, Republican lawmakers have already filed bills that could make changes to SB 180.