Lee County commissioners transmit zoning text amendments tied to Florida House Bill 1379 to state for review

Lee County commissioners voted Feb. 19 to transmit county-initiated comprehensive-plan text amendments (CPA2024-00007) to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for review, a step that county staff says is needed to align local planning rules with Florida House Bill 1379.

The amendments would add policies and a table that identify clusters of more than 50 residential lots (built or unbuilt) of one acre or smaller served by more than one on-site sewage treatment and disposal system per acre, require an annual feasibility determination for providing sanitary sewer service within 10 years, and encourage advanced wastewater treatment in Basin Management Action Plan (BMAP) areas. Brandon Dunn, manager of the Planning section in the Department of Community Development, presented the changes to the board and said staff joined the proposed text to state law.

Why it matters: House Bill 1379 (passed May 3, 2023, effective July 1, 2023) changed statutory requirements for counties with watersheds subject to BMAPs. Lee County staff said the amendments are intended to keep the county’s comprehensive plan consistent with state law and to produce a table (Attachment 1 / Table 6) identifying unserved clusters that the county must update annually and submit to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).

What commissioners approved: The board approved transmittal to the state for agency comment. The motion to transmit was moved and seconded during the hearing and carried with no objections recorded. Staff emphasized that transmittal is not a…