Florida Florida Statutes
§ 163.3213 — Administrative review of land development regulations
FS § 163.3213Ch. 163
Statute text
View on source(1)It is the intent of the Legislature that substantially affected persons have the right to maintain administrative actions which assure that land development regulations implement and are consistent with the local comprehensive plan.
(2)As used in this section:(a) “Substantially affected person” means a substantially affected person as provided pursuant to chapter 120.
(b)“Land development regulation” means an ordinance enacted by a local governing body for the regulation of any aspect of development, including a subdivision, building construction, landscaping, tree protection, or sign regulation or any other regulation concerning the development of land. This term shall include a general zoning code, but shall not include a zoning map, an action which results in zoning or rezoning of land, or any building construction standard adopted pursuant to and in compliance with the provisions of chapter 553.
(3)After the deadline specified in s. 163.3202 for each local government to adopt land development regulations, a substantially affected person, within 12 months after final adoption of the land development regulation, may challenge a land development regulation on the basis that it is inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan. As a condition precedent to the institution of a proceeding pursuant to subsection (4), such affected person shall file a petition with the local government whose land development regulation is the subject of the petition outlining the facts on which the petition is based and the reasons that the substantially affected person considers the land development regulation to be inconsistent with the local comprehensive plan. The local government receiving the petition shall have 30 days after the receipt of the petition to respond. Thereafter, the substantially affected person may petition the state land planning agency not later than 30 days after the local government has responded or at the expiration of the 30-day period which the local government has to respond. The local government and the petitioning, substantially affected person may by agreement extend the 30-day time period within which the local government has to respond. The petition to the state land planning agency shall contain the facts and reasons outlined in the prior petition to the local government.
(4)The state land planning agency shall notify the local government of its receipt of a petition and shall give the local government and the petitioning, substantially affected person an opportunity to present written or oral testimony on the issue and shall conduct any investigations of the matter that it deems necessary. These proceedings shall be informal and shall not include any hearings pursuant to s. 120.57(1). Not later than 60 days nor earlier than 30 days after receiving the petition, the state land planning agency shall issue its written decision on the issue of whether the land development regulation is consistent with the local comprehensive plan, giving the grounds for its decision. The state land planning agency shall send a copy of its decision to the local government and the petitioning, substantially affected person. (5)(a) If the state land planning agency determines that the regulation is consistent with the local comprehensive plan, the substantially affected person who filed the original petition with the local government may, within 21 days, request a hearing from the Division of Administrative Hearings, and an administrative law judge shall hold a hearing in the affected jurisdiction no earlier than 30 days after the state land planning agency renders its decision pursuant to subsection (4). The parties to a hearing held pursuant to this paragraph shall be the petitioning, substantially affected person, any intervenor, the state land planning agency, and the local government. The adoption of a land development regulation by a local government is legislative in nature and shall not be found to be inconsistent with the local plan if it is fairly debatable that it is consistent with the plan. The hearing shall be held pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1), except that the order of the administrative law judge shall be a final order and shall be appealable pursuant to s. 120.68.
…
Legislative history
s. 18, ch. 85-55; s. 901, ch. 95-147; s. 10, ch. 2002-296; s. 7, ch. 2019-165; s. 4, ch. 2023-115; s. 10, ch. 2023-309.