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City attorney briefs council on 2025 legislative changes that could limit post‑hurricane local rules and affect land‑use authority
Summary
The city attorney told the Pinellas Park City Council on May 8 that 2025 state legislation and a pending special session could bar local governments from adopting moratoria or more restrictive land‑use measures for one year after a hurricane, require published permitting guides and limit cumulative substantial‑improvement rules.
The Pinellas Park City Council received an advisory briefing on May 8 from the city attorney about state legislative activity that could change how local governments regulate post‑storm reconstruction and other land‑use matters.
The city attorney said the 2025 regular session was extended by resolution and a special session was scheduled to reconvene; at the time of the briefing the special session had 16 enumerated bills under consideration. He flagged several items of direct municipal interest: a bill on recovery residences that would require municipalities to adopt a process for approvals; measures affecting accessory dwelling units; and proposals on sovereign immunity and property‑tax relief that were debated during session.
He spent particular time on Senate Bill 180 (enrolled form), which would restrict certain local actions following a hurricane. Under the enrolled language described to council, an "impacted local government" (counties in a federal disaster declaration and municipalities inside those counties) may not, for one year after landfall, adopt a moratorium on construction, reconstruction or redevelopment or adopt a more restrictive or burdensome amendment to a comprehensive plan or land development regulation that would apply to hurricane‑damaged property. The city attorney said the statute also limits local governments' ability to impose more restrictive review procedures for site plans, permits or development orders during that period, with narrow exceptions for applications initiated by private parties or prior state approvals.
The enrolled bill would also permit private parties to sue if they believe a local government adopted a prohibited restriction; a prevailing plaintiff could recover attorney's fees, and a court could enjoin the local regulation while the question is litigated. The attorney said the Legislature directed OPPAGA to study the rebuilding process and make recommendations to remove impediments to reconstruction.
Other provisions described to council would: (1) prohibit local governments participating in the National Flood Insurance Program from adopting cumulative "look‑back" periods for substantial improvement calculations (a practice some jurisdictions use to aggregate repair work over multiple years), and (2) require each county and municipality to publish an annual hurricane and tropical storm recovery permitting guide (by May 1 each year) describing what repairs require permits and how post‑storm permitting will be expedited. The bill also directs counties to provide online options for processing substantial damage/improvement letters by May 1, 2026, and to make best efforts to open post‑landfall permitting offices.
The city attorney cautioned that the bills described were in enrolled or evolving form and that final language will determine whether the city must change ordinances or administrative procedures. He said staff will continue to monitor outcomes and will return with recommended ordinance updates if the governor signs bills into law.
