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Lake Placid planner proposes temporary‑shelter permit with 3‑month checks, 36‑month cap
Summary
Town planner representative Dana Riddell recommended ordinance 20‑26‑004 to allow temporary shelters after declared emergencies under Florida law while imposing local conditions: required utility connections, a three‑month initial compliance window with documentation if delayed, six‑month reviews and a 36‑month overall limit; the agency voted to recommend the ordinance to council.
Dana Riddell, the town planner representative with Stonehenge Land Development Consultants, told the Lake Placid Local Planning Agency on July 6 that state law requires local governments to allow temporary shelters and RVs after a declared emergency and that staff has drafted ordinance 20‑26‑004 (hearing LPTC.26004) to add local implementation conditions.
"We can't necessarily tell someone no," Riddell said, "but we can revoke the permit if they're not showing a good faith effort to actually repair their home or to comply with the rules and regulations if they don't actually connect it to water and electricity." She said the draft brings Florida statute 166.0335 into local code while setting enforceable conditions.
Under the staff proposal, applicants must show key conditions for use; where an immediate inspection report or other documentation is not reasonably feasible, permit holders would have three months from issuance to satisfy those conditions or provide written justification and an anticipated timeline. Riddell said the town would then review temporary‑shelter permits every six months and could extend permits in six‑month increments up to a total of 36 months, or revoke a permit for noncompliance.
Riddell described the rules as intended to balance the statutory requirement to allow temporary shelters after emergencies with public‑health and safety safeguards: required connections to water and electric utilities, and reviews to ensure occupants and structures do not present health or safety threats. She said staff borrowed language from Highlands County and adjusted it to Lake Placid's needs.
After brief questions about fees and proof of uninhabitable dwellings, a committee member moved to recommend that the town council approve ordinance 20‑26‑004 "with the changes as recommended by staff." The agency polled and recorded affirmative votes from Gary Freeman, Alex Ramos and Dustin Woods; the motion passed to forward the recommendation to council.
The Local Planning Agency's recommendation will be transmitted to the Town Council, which will make the final decision on ordinance 20‑26‑004.
