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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Everglades Protection Area; 2
amending s. 163.3184, F.S.; requiring comprehensive 3
plans and plan amendments that apply to certain lands 4
within or near the Everglades Protection Area to 5
follow the state coordinated review process; requiring 6
the Department of Environmental Protection, in 7
consultation with specified entities, to make certain 8
determinations for such plans and amendments, to 9
provide written determinations to the local government 10
and specified entities within a specified timeframe, 11
and to coordinate with the local government and 12
specified entities on certain planning strategies and 13
mitigation measures; providing a condition for the 14
adoption of such plans and plan amendments upon 15
certain determinations by the department; specifying a 16
requirement for the transmittal of certain 17
comprehensive plan amendments to the department; 18
revising the scope of the state land planning agency's 19
compliance determination relating to plans and plan 20
amendments; amending s. 163.3187, F.S.; authorizing 21
site-specific text changes for small scale future land 22
use map amendments; prohibiting the adoption of small 23
scale development amendments for properties located 24
within or near the Everglades Protection Area; 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
requiring local governments whose boundaries include 26
any portion of the Everglades Protection Area to 27
transmit adopted small scale development amendments to 28
the state land planning agency within a specified 29
timeframe; amending s. 420.615, F.S.; conforming a 30
cross-reference; providing an effective date. 31
32
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 33
34
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2), paragraph (a) 35
of subsection (3), subsection (4), paragraph (b) of subsection 36
(5), and paragraph (a) of subsection (11) of section 163.3184, 37
Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (d) is added to 38
subsection (2) of that section, to read: 39
163.3184 Process for adoption of comprehensive plan or 40
plan amendment.— 41
(2) COMPREHENSIVE PLANS AND PLAN AMENDMENTS. — 42
(a) Plan amendments adopted by local governments sh all 43
follow the expedited state review process in subsection (3), 44
except as set forth in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d) (b) and (c). 45
(d) Proposed plans and plan amendments that apply to any 46
land within, or within 2 miles of, the Everglades Protection 47
Area as defined in s. 373.4592(2) must follow the state 48
coordinated review process in subsection (4). 49
(3) EXPEDITED STATE REVIEW PROCESS FOR ADOPTION OF 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS. — 51
(a) The process for amending a comprehensive plan 52
described in this subse ction shall apply to all amendments 53
except as provided in paragraphs (2)(b), (c), and (d) (2)(b) and 54
(c) and shall be applicable statewide. 55
(4) STATE COORDINATED REVIEW PROCESS. — 56
(a) Coordination.—The state land planning agency shall 57
only use the state coordinated review process described in this 58
subsection for review of comprehensive plans and plan amendments 59
described in paragraphs (2)(c) and (d) paragraph (2)(c). Each 60
comprehensive plan or plan amendment proposed to be adopted 61
pursuant to this subsec tion shall be transmitted, adopted, and 62
reviewed in the manner prescribed in this subsection. The state 63
land planning agency shall have responsibility for plan review, 64
coordination, and the preparation and transmission of comments, 65
pursuant to this subsect ion, to the local governing body 66
responsible for the comprehensive plan or plan amendment. 67
(b) Local government transmittal of proposed plan or 68
amendment.—Each local governing body proposing a plan or plan 69
amendment specified in paragraph (2)(c) or paragraph (2)(d) 70
shall transmit the complete proposed comprehensive plan or plan 71
amendment to the reviewing agencies within 10 working days after 72
the first public hearing pursuant to subsection (11). The 73
transmitted document shall clearly indicate on the cover sheet 74
that this plan amendment is subject to the state coordinated 75
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review process of this subsection. The local governing body 76
shall also transmit a copy of the complete proposed 77
comprehensive plan or plan amendment to any other unit of local 78
government or government agency in the state that has filed a 79
written request with the governing body for the plan or plan 80
amendment. 81
(c) Reviewing agency comments. —Except as provided in 82
paragraph (d), the agencies specified in paragraph (b) may 83
provide comments rega rding the plan or plan amendments in 84
accordance with subparagraphs (3)(b)2. -4. However, comments on 85
plans or plan amendments required to be reviewed under the state 86
coordinated review process shall be sent to the state land 87
planning agency within 30 days a fter receipt by the state land 88
planning agency of the complete proposed plan or plan amendment 89
from the local government. If the state land planning agency 90
comments on a plan or plan amendment adopted under the state 91
coordinated review process, it shall pr ovide comments according 92
to paragraph (e) (d). Any other unit of local government or 93
government agency specified in paragraph (b) may provide 94
comments to the state land planning agency in accordance with 95
subparagraphs (3)(b)2. -4. within 30 days after recei pt by the 96
state land planning agency of the complete proposed plan or plan 97
amendment. Written comments submitted by the public shall be 98
sent directly to the local government. 99
(d) Everglades Protection Area determinations. —A proposed 100
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plan or plan amendment that applies to any land within, or 101
within 2 miles of, the Everglades Protection Area as defined in 102
s. 373.4592(2) must be reviewed pursuant to this paragraph by 103
the Department of Environmental Protection in consultation with 104
all federally recognized Indian tribes in this state. The 105
department shall determine whether the proposed plan or plan 106
amendment, or any portion thereof, adversely impacts the 107
Everglades Protection Area or the Everglades restoration and 108
protection objectives iden tified in s. 373.4592. The department 109
shall issue a written determination to the state land planning 110
agency, the local government, and all federally recognized 111
Indian tribes in this state within 30 days after receipt of the 112
proposed plan or plan amendment. The determination must identify 113
any adverse impacts and may be provided as part of the agency's 114
comments pursuant to paragraph (c). Before the adoption of the 115
proposed plan or plan amendment, the department shall work in 116
coordination with the state land p lanning agency, the local 117
government, and all federally recognized Indian tribes in this 118
state to identify any planning strategies or measures that the 119
local government could include in the proposed plan or plan 120
amendment to eliminate or mitigate any adver se impacts to the 121
Everglades Protection Area or the Everglades restoration and 122
protection objectives in s. 373.4592. If the department 123
determines that any portion of the proposed plan or plan 124
amendment will adversely impact the Everglades Protection Area 125
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or the Everglades restoration and protection objectives 126
identified in s. 373.4592, the local government must modify that 127
portion of the proposed plan or plan amendment to include 128
planning strategies or measures to eliminate or mitigate such 129
adverse impacts before adopting the proposed plan or plan 130
amendment or that portion of the proposed plan or plan amendment 131
may not be adopted. 132
(e) State land planning agency review. — 133
1. If the state land planning agency elects to review a 134
plan or plan amendment specif ied in paragraph (2)(c) or 135
paragraph (2)(d), the agency shall issue a report giving its 136
objections, recommendations, and comments regarding the proposed 137
plan or plan amendment within 60 days after receipt of the 138
proposed plan or plan amendment. Notwithstan ding the limitation 139
on comments in sub-subparagraph (3)(b)4.g., the state land 140
planning agency may make objections, recommendations, and 141
comments in its report regarding whether the plan or plan 142
amendment is in compliance and whether the plan or plan 143
amendment will adversely impact important state resources and 144
facilities. Any objection regarding an important state resource 145
or facility that will be adversely impacted by the adopted plan 146
or plan amendment must shall also state with specificity how the 147
plan or plan amendment will adversely impact the important state 148
resource or facility and must shall identify measures the local 149
government may take to eliminate, reduce, or mitigate the 150
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adverse impacts. When a federal, state, or regional agency has 151
implemented a permitting program, a local government is not 152
required to duplicate or exceed that permitting program in its 153
comprehensive plan or to implement such a permitting program in 154
its land development regulations. This subparagraph does not 155
prohibit the state l and planning agency in conducting its review 156
of local plans or plan amendments from making objections, 157
recommendations, and comments regarding densities and 158
intensities consistent with this part. In preparing its 159
comments, the state land planning agency sh all only base its 160
considerations on written, and not oral, comments. 161
2. The state land planning agency review shall identify 162
all written communications with the agency regarding the 163
proposed plan amendment. The written identification must include 164
a list of all documents received or generated by the agency, 165
which list must be of sufficient specificity to enable the 166
documents to be identified and copies requested, if desired, and 167
the name of the person to be contacted to request copies of any 168
identified document. 169
(f)(e) Local government review of comments; adoption of 170
plan or amendments and transmittal. — 171
1. The local government shall review the report submitted 172
to it by the state land planning agency, if any, and written 173
comments submitted to it by any o ther person, agency, or 174
government. The local government, upon receipt of the report 175
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from the state land planning agency, shall hold a its second 176
public hearing, which shall be a hearing to determine whether to 177
adopt the comprehensive plan or one or more comprehensive plan 178
amendments pursuant to subsection (11). If the local government 179
fails to hold the second hearing within 180 days after receipt 180
of the state land planning agency's repor t, the amendments must 181
shall be deemed withdrawn unless extended by agreement with 182
notice to the state land planning agency and any affected person 183
that provided comments on the amendment. The 180 -day limitation 184
does not apply to amendments processed pursu ant to s. 380.06. 185
2. All comprehensive plan amendments adopted by the 186
governing body, along with the supporting data and analysis, 187
must shall be transmitted within 10 working days after the 188
second public hearing to the state land planning agency and any 189
other agency or local government that provided timely comments 190
under paragraph (c). Comprehensive plan amendments that apply to 191
any land within, or within 2 miles of, the Everglades Protection 192
Area as defined in s. 373.4592(2) must be additionally 193
transmitted within 10 working days after the second public 194
hearing to the Department of Environmental Protection. 195
3. The state land planning agency shall notify the local 196
government of any deficiencies within 5 working days after 197
receipt of a plan or plan amendm ent package. For purposes of 198
completeness, a plan or plan amendment must shall be deemed 199
complete if it contains a full, executed copy of the adoption 200
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ordinance or ordinances; in the case of a text amendment, a full 201
copy of the amended language in legislat ive format with new 202
words inserted in the text underlined, and words deleted 203
stricken with hyphens; in the case of a future land use map 204
amendment, a copy of the future land use map clearly depicting 205
the parcel, its existing future land use designation, an d its 206
adopted designation; and a copy of any data and analyses the 207
local government deems appropriate. 208
4. After the state land planning agency makes a 209
determination of completeness regarding the adopted plan or plan 210
amendment, the state land planning age ncy shall have 45 days to 211
determine if the plan or plan amendment is in compliance with 212
this act. Unless the plan or plan amendment is substantially 213
changed from the one commented on, the state land planning 214
agency's compliance determination shall be limit ed to objections 215
raised in the objections, recommendations, and comments report 216
and the review of planning strategies or measures adopted 217
pursuant to paragraph (d) . During the period provided for in 218
this subparagraph, the state land planning agency shall i ssue, 219
through a senior administrator or the secretary, a notice of 220
intent to find that the plan or plan amendment is in compliance 221
or not in compliance. The state land planning agency shall post 222
a copy of the notice of intent on the agency's Internet websi te. 223
Publication by the state land planning agency of the notice of 224
intent on the state land planning agency's Internet site shall 225
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be prima facie evidence of compliance with the publication 226
requirements of this subparagraph. 227
5. A plan or plan amendment ad opted under the state 228
coordinated review process shall go into effect pursuant to the 229
state land planning agency's notice of intent. If timely 230
challenged, an amendment does not become effective until the 231
state land planning agency or the Administration Com mission 232
enters a final order determining the adopted amendment to be in 233
compliance. 234
(5) ADMINISTRATIVE CHALLENGES TO PLANS AND PLAN 235
AMENDMENTS.— 236
(b) The state land planning agency may file a petition 237
with the Division of Administrative Hearings pursuan t to ss. 238
120.569 and 120.57, with a copy served on the affected local 239
government, to request a formal hearing to challenge whether the 240
plan or plan amendment is in compliance as defined in paragraph 241
(1)(b). The state land planning agency's petition must cl early 242
state the reasons for the challenge. Under the expedited state 243
review process, this petition must be filed with the division 244
within 30 days after the state land planning agency notifies the 245
local government that the plan amendment package is complete 246
according to subparagraph (3)(c)3. Under the state coordinated 247
review process, this petition must be filed with the division 248
within 45 days after the state land planning agency notifies the 249
local government that the plan amendment package is complete 250
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according to subparagraph (4)(f)3. (4)(e)3. 251
1. The state land planning agency's challenge to plan 252
amendments adopted under the expedited state review process 253
shall be limited to the comments provided by the reviewing 254
agencies pursuant to subparagraphs (3)(b) 2.-4., upon a 255
determination by the state land planning agency that an 256
important state resource or facility will be adversely impacted 257
by the adopted plan amendment. The state land planning agency's 258
petition must shall state with specificity how the plan 259
amendment will adversely impact the important state resource or 260
facility. The state land planning agency may challenge a plan 261
amendment that has substantially changed from the version on 262
which the agencies provided comments but only upon a 263
determination by the state land planning agency that an 264
important state resource or facility will be adversely impacted. 265
2. If the state land planning agency issues a notice of 266
intent to find the comprehensive plan or plan amendment not in 267
compliance with this act, the no tice of intent shall be 268
forwarded to the Division of Administrative Hearings of the 269
Department of Management Services, which shall conduct a 270
proceeding under ss. 120.569 and 120.57 in the county of and 271
convenient to the affected local jurisdiction. The par ties to 272
the proceeding shall be the state land planning agency, the 273
affected local government, and any affected person who 274
intervenes. A No new issue may not be alleged as a reason to 275
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find a plan or plan amendment not in compliance in an 276
administrative pleading filed more than 21 days after 277
publication of notice unless the party seeking that issue 278
establishes good cause for not alleging the issue within that 279
time period. Good cause does not include excusable neglect. 280
(11) PUBLIC HEARINGS. — 281
(a) The procedure for transmittal of a complete proposed 282
comprehensive plan or plan amendment pursuant to subparagraph 283
(3)(b)1. and paragraph (4)(b) and for adoption of a 284
comprehensive plan or plan amendment pursuant to subparagraphs 285
(3)(c)1. and (4)(f)1. (4)(e)1. shall be by affirmative vote of 286
not less than a majority of the members of the governing body 287
present at the hearing. The adoption of a comprehensive plan or 288
plan amendment shall be by ordinance. For the purposes of 289
transmitting or adopting a comprehensive pla n or plan amendment, 290
the notice requirements in chapters 125 and 166 are superseded 291
by this subsection, except as provided in this part. 292
Section 2. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 163.3187, 293
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 294
163.3187 Process for adoption of small scale comprehensive 295
plan amendment.— 296
(1) A small scale development amendment may be adopted if 297
all of under the following conditions are met: 298
(a) The proposed amendment involves a use of 50 acres or 299
fewer. and: 300
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(b) The proposed amendment does not involve a text change 301
to the goals, policies, and objectives of the local government's 302
comprehensive plan, but only proposes a land use change to the 303
future land use map for a site -specific small scale development 304
activity. However, site-specific text changes that relate 305
directly to, and are adopted simultaneously with, the small 306
scale future land use map amendment are shall be permissible 307
under this section. 308
(c) The property that is the subject of the proposed 309
amendment is not located within an area of critical state 310
concern, unless the project subject to the proposed amendment 311
involves the construction of affordable housing units meeting 312
the criteria of s. 420.0004(3), and is located within an area of 313
critical state concern designated by s. 380.0552 or by the 314
Administration Commission pursuant to s. 380.05(1). 315
(d) The property that is the subject of the proposed 316
amendment is not located in whole or in part within, or within 2 317
miles of, the Everglades Protection Area as defined in s. 318
373.4592(2). 319
(2) Small scale development amendments adopted pursuant to 320
this section require only one public hearing before the 321
governing board, which shall be an adoption hearing as described 322
in s. 163.3184(11). Within 10 days after the adoption of a sma ll 323
scale development amendment, a county whose boundaries include 324
any portion of the Everglades Protection Area designated under 325
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s. 373.4592, and the municipalities within the county, shall 326
transmit a copy of the amendment to the state land planning 327
agency for recordkeeping purposes. 328
Section 3. Subsection (5) of section 420.615, Florida 329
Statutes, is amended to read: 330
420.615 Affordable housing land donation density bonus 331
incentives.— 332
(5) The local government, as part of the approval process, 333
shall adopt a comprehensive plan amendment, pursuant to part II 334
of chapter 163, for the receiving land that incorporates the 335
density bonus. Such amendment shall be adopted in the manner as 336
required for small-scale amendments pursuant to s. 163.3187 and 337
is not subject to the requirements of s. 163.3184(4)(b), (c), or 338
(e) s. 163.3184(4)(b)-(d). 339
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 340