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Planning board backs local rules to implement state recovery-residence law (SB 954) requiring certification and permitting
Summary
The board recommended an ordinance to implement Florida’s new recovery-residence rules, requiring FAR certification, updated occupancy/occupancy-care permits, a reasonable-accommodation process and a nine-month compliance period for existing homes; staff said the city set a 10-resident maximum and 1,000-foot spacing rules.
The Planning and Land Development Regulation Board voted Nov. 19 to recommend an ordinance to bring local land-development code language into alignment with a recently enacted Florida statute governing recovery residences.
Mr. Wood introduced the item and Jackie Gonzalez, Community Development Division, outlined the state-driven changes. Gonzalez said the state made FAR (Florida Alliance of Recovery Residences) certification mandatory effective July 1, 2025, and gave local governments until Jan. 1, 2026, to establish implementing regulations. ‘‘In January of 2025, federal and state laws created some type of regulations… In 2013 NAR and FAR… In January of 2025, the certification was no longer being voluntary. It's now mandatory under the new statute that was approved July 1st,’’ Gonzalez said.
Staff described several local code responses: adding a new Article titled Certified Recovery Residences to Chapter 17 (Community Development); adding recovery-residence uses to the dimensional-use table for certain multifamily zones (MFR2 for more than 11 to 20 people); aligning community residential homes and recovery residences so they comply with the statute; establishing occupancy-care-home permitting and business-tax requirements; and a reasonable-accommodation pathway to comply with ADA and Fair Housing obligations.
Gonzalez said the city proposed to set a local maximum of 10 residents for a recovery residence (the statute referenced a 10–20 person range); to require FAR certification and occupancy-related documentation; and to provide a nine-month grace period for existing nonconforming homes that must apply for certification. Applicants that file within the nine months have 60 days to submit full certification documentation; homes that fail to meet the requirements may have to close. Gonzalez said 1,000-foot spacing between community residential homes is retained in the draft but that the order of precedence for which property remains is based on the reasonable-accommodation application date.
Board members asked about monitoring, enforcement and eviction. Staff said code enforcement will manage compliance and that eviction is ultimately a court process; for level-three and -four facilities that receive state funding, Gonzalez said the state’s funding rules can require relocation of clients if certification is revoked.
Public comment for this item was none. The board moved to recommend the ordinance; roll-call votes recorded Decker, Hilton/Helton, Ferguson and Chair Shank in favor, and the motion carried.
Next steps: staff will forward the recommendation to city council for consideration and continue to refine the implementing language in consultation with legal staff and stakeholders.
