On March 11, 2016, this year’s Legislative Session came to a conclusion. From a land use perspective, Florida’s CS/CS/HB 1361 (the “Bill”) proposes several important amendments. The Bill was approved by the Governor on Friday, March 25, 2016 and will become effective on July 1, 2016. A copy can be viewed here.
What You Need to KnowContinue Reading Governor Scott Signs HB 1361 into Law
The First District Court of Appeal’s recent holding in Howard v. Murray, No. 1D14-1996, 2015 WL 6847833 (Fla. 1st DCA Nov. 9, 2015), serves as a cautionary tale for those purchasers taking title to a parcel of real property that has been previously approved as a part of a development of regional impact (DRI).
The Facts
In Howard, the original developer of the 2300 acre Sandestin DRI went bankrupt and the DRI was then fragmented. The initial DRI development order was also amended to allot 550,000 square feet of commercial development rights to a 48.1 acre parcel, 16 acres of which were later sold. The deed’s language granting legal title to the 16 acre parcel made no mention of development rights.Continue Reading DRI Development Rights Do Not Automatically Pass with the Conveyance of Title
As defined in Section 380.06, Florida Statutes, a development of regional impact (“DRI”) is “any development which, because of its character, magnitude, or location, would have a substantial effect upon the health, safety, or welfare of citizens of more than one county.”
A Brief History of DRIs in Florida
Since the DRI program’s inception in 1972, it has been chipped away by the enactment of numerous legislative exemptions. In 2009, the Legislature enacted an exemption for Dense Urban Land Areas (“DULAs”), which exempted projects from DRI review in eight counties and 243 cities. In 2015, the Florida Legislature attempted to reduce duplicative and burdensome regulation by eliminating the requirement that new developments be reviewed pursuant to the DRI process by only subjecting such proposed developments to the requirements of the State Coordinated Review Process.Continue Reading New Legislation on the Horizon for DRIs in Florida
The Florida Legislature recently adopted House Bill 7207 which drastically changes the landscape of Florida’s Growth Management procedures. The bill itself comprises 349 pages (the majority of which deals with matters unrelated to growth management) and the drastic changes it proposes are too numerous to cover in a blog entry. A sampling of some of