Broward planning committee will pause select BrowardNext policies amid legal uncertainty over Senate Bill 180

The Broward County Planning Council steering committee voted unanimously to move forward with a phased update to the BrowardNext land‑use plan while placing policies staff judges "likely more restrictive or burdensome" under Senate Bill 180 into a separate, preserved document for future action.

Planning council staff told the committee that recent state reviews under Senate Bill 180 have led to letters declaring whole plan transmittals ‘‘null and void’’ in other jurisdictions and that the statute’s undefined standard — "more restrictive or burdensome" — has been applied inconsistently. To avoid having the county’s entire transmittal rejected, staff recommended transmitting only limited changes now, and publishing the held items as a separate document (staff proposed calling it "Prepared for Progress") with narratives and ready materials so the county can resume full action if the legal environment changes.

Miss Blake Boy, planning council staff, said the staff recommendation grew out of examples from elsewhere in Florida where newly adopted or transmitted plan language was found objectionable under SB 180. "There will be no comprehensive plan amendments or code changes that are considered more restrictive or burdensome," she told the committee, summarizing how the state has been enforcing the law. She and other staff said…