A look at Senate Bill 360 from a county perspective.

• Author: Monaco, Vivien J.
• Position: Florida

The first thing that counties, along with other local governments and various interest groups, have to consider in dealing with Senate Bill 360 is the meaning of the law. The legal interpretation or statutory construction of its provisions will affect a county's response to and implementation of the legislation. Only eight of Florida's 67 counties meet the definition of "dense urban land area" (DULA), (1) and two of those (Broward and Miami-Dade) are exempt from the legislatively designated transportation concurrency exception areas (TCEAs). (2) The non-DULA counties' responses to the legislation will depend, in part, on how the municipalities within those counties react to Senate Bill 360 and the provisions relating to legislatively designated TCEAs.

Another provision of the law that has generated significant discussion throughout the state is the automatic twoyear extension of certain permits. (3) Some lawyers believe that the sentence, "[t]his extension includes any local, government-issued development order or building permit," means that the two-year extension applies only to local government-issued development orders or building permits associated with permits described in the previous sentence (permits issued by the Department of Environmental Protection or a water management district). Others think that the two-year extension applies to all local government-issued development orders or building permits. Additionally, some attorneys believe that "development orders" mean local government development orders for developments of regional impact (DRIs) under [section] 380.06(15), while others argue that the more expansive definition of development orders in [section][section] 163.3164(7) and 380.031(3) applies. The interpretation will govern which permits are extended by the authorizing local government.

One way of dealing with this ambiguity might be for a county (or municipality) to authorize two-year extensions of any development orders it might issue by ordinance under the local government's home rule authority. At least one county has considered this approach.

The meaning of the provision in SB 360 that designates TCEAs in DULA counties and municipalities (4) has also been the subject of some disagreement and confusion throughout the state. Florida's Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has taken a strong position on the interpretation of the legislatively designated TCEAs in SB 360. (5) Under DCA's interpretation, local...