Bill Text: FL S0812 | 2024 | Regular Session | Engrossed

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Expedited Approval of Residential Building Permits

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (? 3-1)

Status: (Passed) 2024-05-30 - Chapter No. 2024-210 [S0812 Detail]

Download: Florida-2024-S0812-Engrossed.html

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       CS for CS for CS for SB 812                First Engrossed (ntc)
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
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    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to expedited approval of residential
    3         building permits; creating s. 177.073, F.S.; providing
    4         definitions; requiring certain governing bodies, by a
    5         date certain, to each create a program to expedite the
    6         process for issuing residential building permits
    7         before a final plat is recorded; requiring the
    8         expedited process to include a certain application;
    9         prohibiting the application or local government final
   10         approval from altering or restricting the number of
   11         building permits requested under certain
   12         circumstances; requiring certain governing bodies to
   13         update their program in a specified manner; providing
   14         applicability; requiring a governing body to create
   15         certain processes for purposes of the program;
   16         authorizing applicants to use a private provider to
   17         expedite the process for certain building permits;
   18         requiring a governing body to establish a registry of
   19         qualified contractors for a specified purpose;
   20         prohibiting such qualified contractors hired to review
   21         an application from having a conflict of interest with
   22         the applicant; defining the term “conflict of
   23         interest”; authorizing a governing body to issue
   24         addresses and temporary parcel identification numbers
   25         for specified purposes; requiring a governing body to
   26         issue a specified number or percentage of building
   27         permits requested in an application when certain
   28         conditions are met; setting forth certain conditions
   29         for applicants who apply to the program; providing
   30         that an applicant has a vested right in an approved
   31         preliminary plat when certain conditions are met;
   32         prohibiting a governing body from making substantive
   33         changes to a preliminary plat without written consent;
   34         requiring an applicant to indemnify and hold harmless
   35         certain entities and persons; providing an exception;
   36         providing an effective date.
   37          
   38  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   39  
   40         Section 1. Section 177.073, Florida Statutes, is created to
   41  read:
   42         177.073 Expedited approval of residential building permits
   43  before a final plat is recorded.—
   44         (1) As used in this section, the term:
   45         (a) “Applicant” means a homebuilder or developer who files
   46  an application with the local governing body to identify the
   47  percentage of planned homes, or the number of building permits,
   48  that the local governing body must issue for a residential
   49  subdivision or planned community.
   50         (b) “Final plat” means the final tracing, map, or site plan
   51  presented by the subdivider to a governing body for final
   52  approval, and, upon approval by the appropriate governing body,
   53  is submitted to the clerk of the circuit court for recording.
   54         (c) “Local building official” has the same meaning as in s.
   55  553.791(1).
   56         (d) “Plans” means any building plans, construction plans,
   57  engineering plans, or site plans, or their functional
   58  equivalent, submitted by an applicant for a building permit.
   59         (e) “Preliminary plat” means a map or delineated
   60  representation of the subdivision of lands that is a complete
   61  and exact representation of the residential subdivision or
   62  planned community and contains any additional information needed
   63  to be in compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
   64         (f) “Qualified contractor” includes, but is not limited to,
   65  an engineer or engineering firm licensed under chapter 471; a
   66  surveyor or mapper or a surveyor’s or mapper’s firm licensed
   67  under chapter 472; an architect or architecture firm licensed
   68  under part I of chapter 481; a landscape architect or landscape
   69  architecture firm registered under part II of chapter 481; or
   70  any other qualified professional who is certified in urban
   71  planning or environmental management.
   72         (2)(a) By October 1, 2024, the governing body of a county
   73  that has 75,000 residents or more and any governing body of a
   74  municipality that has 10,000 residents or more and 25 acres or
   75  more of contiguous land that the local government has designated
   76  in the local government’s comprehensive plan and future land use
   77  map as land that is agricultural or to be developed for
   78  residential purposes shall create a program to expedite the
   79  process for issuing building permits for residential
   80  subdivisions or planned communities in accordance with the
   81  Florida Building Code and this section before a final plat is
   82  recorded with the clerk of the circuit court. The expedited
   83  process must include an application for an applicant to identify
   84  the percentage of planned homes, not to exceed 50 percent of the
   85  residential subdivision or planned community, or the number of
   86  building permits that the governing body must issue for the
   87  residential subdivision or planned community. The application or
   88  the local government’s final approval may not alter or restrict
   89  the applicant from receiving the number of building permits
   90  requested, so long as the request does not exceed 50 percent of
   91  the planned homes of the residential subdivision or planned
   92  community or the number of building permits. This paragraph does
   93  not:
   94         1. Restrict the governing body from issuing more than 50
   95  percent of the building permits for the residential subdivision
   96  or planned community.
   97         2. Apply to a county subject to s. 380.0552.
   98         (b) A governing body that had a program in place before
   99  July 1, 2023, to expedite the building permit process, need only
  100  update their program to approve an applicant’s written
  101  application to issue up to 50 percent of the building permits
  102  for the residential subdivision or planned community in order to
  103  comply with this section. This paragraph does not restrict a
  104  governing body from issuing more than 50 percent of the building
  105  permits for the residential subdivision or planned community.
  106         (c) By December 31, 2027, the governing body of a county
  107  that has 75,000 residents or more and any governing body of a
  108  municipality that has 10,000 residents or more and 25 acres or
  109  more of contiguous land that the local government has designated
  110  in the local government’s comprehensive plan and future land use
  111  map as land that is agricultural or to be developed for
  112  residential purposes shall update their programs to expedite the
  113  process for issuing building permits for residential
  114  subdivisions or planned communities in accordance with the
  115  Florida Building Code and this section before a final plat is
  116  recorded with the clerk of the circuit court. The expedited
  117  process must include an application for an applicant to identify
  118  the percentage of planned homes, not to exceed 75 percent of the
  119  residential subdivision or planned community, or the number of
  120  building permits that the governing body must issue for the
  121  residential subdivision or planned community. This paragraph
  122  does not:
  123         1. Restrict the governing body from issuing more than 75
  124  percent of the building permits for the residential subdivision
  125  or planned community.
  126         2. Apply to a county subject to s. 380.0552.
  127         (3) A governing body shall create:
  128         (a) A two-step application process for the adoption of a
  129  preliminary plat, inclusive of any plans, in order to expedite
  130  the issuance of building permits under this section. The
  131  application must allow an applicant to identify the percentage
  132  of planned homes or the number of building permits that the
  133  governing body must issue for the residential subdivision or
  134  planned community.
  135         (b) A master building permit process consistent with s.
  136  553.794 for applicants seeking multiple building permits for
  137  residential subdivisions or planned communities. For purposes of
  138  this paragraph, a master building permit is valid for 3
  139  consecutive years after its issuance or until the adoption of a
  140  new Florida Building Code, whichever is earlier. After a new
  141  Florida Building Code is adopted, the applicant may apply for a
  142  new master building permit, which, upon approval, is valid for 3
  143  consecutive years.
  144         (4)(a) An applicant may use a private provider pursuant to
  145  s. 553.791 to expedite the application process for building
  146  permits after a preliminary plat is approved under this section.
  147         (b) A governing body shall establish a registry of at least
  148  three qualified contractors whom the governing body may use to
  149  supplement staff resources in ways determined by the governing
  150  body for processing and expediting the review of an application
  151  for a preliminary plat or any plans related to such application.
  152  A qualified contractor on the registry who is hired pursuant to
  153  this section to review an application, or any part thereof, for
  154  a preliminary plat, or any part thereof, may not have a conflict
  155  of interest with the applicant. For purposes of this paragraph,
  156  the term “conflict of interest” has the same meaning as in s.
  157  112.312.
  158         (5) A governing body may work with appropriate local
  159  government agencies to issue an address and a temporary parcel
  160  identification number for lot lines and lot sizes based on the
  161  metes and bounds of the plat contained in the application.
  162         (6) The governing body must issue the number or percentage
  163  of building permits requested by an applicant in accordance with
  164  the Florida Building Code and this section, provided the
  165  residential buildings or structures are unoccupied and all of
  166  the following conditions are met:
  167         (a) The governing body has approved a preliminary plat for
  168  each residential subdivision or planned community.
  169         (b) The applicant provides proof to the governing body that
  170  the applicant has provided a copy of the approved preliminary
  171  plat, along with the approved plans, to the relevant electric,
  172  gas, water, and wastewater utilities.
  173         (c) The applicant holds a valid performance bond for up to
  174  130 percent of the necessary improvements, as defined in s.
  175  177.031(9), that have not been completed upon submission of the
  176  application under this section. For purposes of a master planned
  177  community as defined in s. 163.3202(5)(b), a valid performance
  178  bond is required on a phase-by-phase basis.
  179         (7)(a) An applicant may contract to sell, but may not
  180  transfer ownership of, a residential structure or building
  181  located in the residential subdivision or planned community
  182  until the final plat is approved by the governing body and
  183  recorded in the public records by the clerk of the circuit
  184  court.
  185         (b) An applicant may not obtain a temporary or final
  186  certificate of occupancy for each residential structure or
  187  building for which a building permit is issued until the final
  188  plat is approved by the governing body and recorded in the
  189  public records by the clerk of the circuit court.
  190         (8) For purposes of this section, an applicant has a vested
  191  right in a preliminary plat that has been approved by a
  192  governing body if all of the following conditions are met:
  193         (a) The applicant relies in good faith on the approved
  194  preliminary plat or any amendments thereto.
  195         (b) The applicant incurs obligations and expenses,
  196  commences construction of the residential subdivision or planned
  197  community, and is continuing in good faith with the development
  198  of the property.
  199         (9) Upon the establishment of an applicant’s vested rights
  200  in accordance with subsection (8), a governing body may not make
  201  substantive changes to the preliminary plat without the
  202  applicant’s written consent.
  203         (10) An applicant must indemnify and hold harmless the
  204  local government, its governing body, its employees, and its
  205  agents from liability or damages resulting from the issuance of
  206  a building permit or the construction, reconstruction, or
  207  improvement or repair of a residential building or structure,
  208  including any associated utilities, located in the residential
  209  subdivision or planned community. Additionally, an applicant
  210  must indemnify and hold harmless the local government, its
  211  governing body, its employees, and its agents from liability or
  212  disputes resulting from the issuance of a certificate of
  213  occupancy for a residential building or structure that is
  214  constructed, reconstructed, improved, or repaired before the
  215  approval and recordation of the final plat of the qualified
  216  project. This indemnification includes, but is not limited to,
  217  any liability and damage resulting from wind, fire, flood,
  218  construction defects, bodily injury, and any actions, issues, or
  219  disputes arising out of a contract or other agreement between
  220  the developer and a utility operating in the residential
  221  subdivision or planned community. However, this indemnification
  222  does not extend to governmental actions that infringe on the
  223  applicant’s vested rights.
  224         Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.