In January, the newly elected Manatee County Commission unanimously voted to reinstate wetland and FDAB provisions of the comprehensive land use plan that had been amended by the prior developer-controlled BOCC in October of 2023 (significantly reducing protections for wetlands and rural areas).
Unfortunately, this vote, which addresses a primary campaign concern of the voters, is under threat of litigation by local developer organizations and potential punitive action by the state of Florida, which could result in the suspension of one or more seated county commissioners from office. This pressure cooker environment is directly tied to the legislative shenanigan’s during the late hours of this year’s legislative session where a bill dealing specifically with emergencies related to hurricanes was amended to include a section that, as a practical matter, guts local government’s home rule as it relates to land use, zoning, the comprehensive land use plan and other development related issues.
To further solidify potential developer control of the local planning process, the effective date of these absurdly restrictive provisions was made retroactive to August 1, 2024, pushed out to expire on October 1, 2027. To understand why SB 180 emergency recovery legislation was used to neuter local cities and counties' ability to manage their land use decisions, we can look back to ground zero in Manatee County, where citizens' efforts to stem overdevelopment first began.
In last August‘s Manatee County Republican primary, the developers and/or their PAC-funded candidates were handed a crushing defeat. Despite outspending their opponents by a margin of 10 to 1, the four developer-funded candidates were kicked to the curb. The development community was most unhappy with these results and appears, from post-election actions, to have set about trying to ensure that it does not happen in future elections and obstructing the new BOCC from carrying out the will of the voters.
In my opinion, the language added to the SB180 Emergency Bill is an attempt by the development community to regain control in Manatee County and to prevent Manatee’s election success from being replicated in Florida’s other 66 counties and their cities. What can we, the voters, working with our BOCC, do to avoid returning to an era of runaway development? We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the mindset of ‘you can’t beat city hall’ or ‘big money always wins.’
It doesn’t require a deep analysis of SB180 and its added developer-friendly language to conclude that it likely runs afoul of the Florida Constitution Article 3 section 6, which reads “every law shall embrace but one subject and matter properly connected therewith, and the subject shall be briefly expressed in the title.” The intent of defining what must be contained in the title is to provide lawmakers and the public with reasonable notice about the content of the legislation. In legislative parlance, this is aimed at preventing “logrolling,” where unrelated matters are combined in a single bill, often tucking small, more controversial elements into a larger bill that is seen as essential to pass.
SB 180 is also in contradiction with the provisions of Florida Statutes, Chapter 163, which is the defining law on local government planning in Florida and provides details on growth policy, county and municipal planning, and land development regulations. Many Florida cities and counties are challenging the constitutionality and validity of SB 180. Manatee County should join that challenge, which, hopefully, would result in SB 180 returning to its original intent of addressing post-hurricane disaster recovery
One final consideration, as it relates to SB180 and actions against the county and citizenry that have occurred and are still ongoing, is to consider the protections offered under the “obstruction of rights” provision protected by the United States Constitution and defined through federal law, specifically 18 USC 242 and 42 USC 1985.
We should not allow citizen votes and participation in local elections and planning processes to be undermined by “special interests” and legislative end-arounds in the final hours of a legislative session. If we don’t protect these rights, we risk losing them.
Larry Arnold is a long-time resident of Manatee County with over 30 years of experience in senior management for Florida cities and counties.
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rayfusco68
We can also vote out the current GOP House and Senate representatives when they come up for election, either in their primaries, if they have one, or in the general election. This will demonstrate the will of the people to be correctly represented.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 Report this
David Daniels
Great peace Larry. I agree 100% and the legal points you make would have been made if Manatee would have done the right thing and stood up, and then were sued by developers. Now we won’t know because nobody is showing the backbone to do the right thing. I have heard talk but have not seen any reporting that any city or county has filed a lawsuit. Someone has to be harmed first. So if a county thinks this law is too vague or too broad so that it does not apply to nee development, then pass your ordinance. Then, a developer can submit they have been harmed and has grounds that a court can adjudicate. And I disagree with Kruse that a court would automatically grant an injunction that would stay the ordinance. To be awarded an injunction, the requesting party must show that it is likely they will succeed on the merits of the case overall, it is just as likely that a court might issue a stay on sb180 that would apply to other counties. We could have shown real leadership here if we had any courage.
Wednesday, August 20, 2025 Report this