Proposed legislation currently awaiting the governor’s signature could effectively derail the Orange Code and Vision 2050 plans Orange County has been working on since 2017, according to some community stakeholders. The county’s goal with both the pending Orange Code and Vision 2050 is to launch a more sustainable, strategic approach to long-term growth management.
Senate Bill 180, a broad emergency management bill supported almost unanimously by state lawmakers, would block local governments from making “more restrictive or burdensome” changes to their comprehensive plans or land development codes.
The smart growth planning advocacy group 1000 Friends of Florida flagged concerns about SB 180 in a recent email blast, describing the proposed law as a “sneak attack on local planning powers,” with provisions that would undermine the bill’s overall purpose of promoting disaster recovery.
The bill specifically targets Florida counties that were listed in last year’s federal disaster declarations for three hurricanes that hit the state: Debby, Helene and Milton. But every county in the state was included in at least one of those 2024 designations, making the bill’s prohibitions applicable statewide, according to 1000 Friends of Florida.
Policy and Planning Director Kimberleigh Dinkins said the bill’s language blocking development rules that are “more restrictive or burdensome” — a term which isn’t clearly defined — ties the hands of local governments, and their residents.
“It makes it difficult for Florida's citizens to help establish the way that they want their communities to grow,” Dinkins said.
SB 180 would make permanent a provision of existing legislation blocking certain local governments from proposing any building moratoriums or more stringent development rules, following either Hurricane Ian or Nicole. That provision, which applies to ten specific Florida counties close to where one of those storms made landfall, is set to expire at the end of next month — but SB 180 would renew it, and expand the provision’s reach statewide.
“A lot of times, a local government can evaluate the impact that a storm has on their community, and make adjustments to their land development code to make themselves more resilient,” Dinkins said. “Under this scenario, they wouldn't be able to do that.”
Additionally, one part of SB 180 could potentially hike up flood insurance rates for some Floridians, Dinkins said.
Many local governments in Central Florida participate in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Community Rating System, a voluntary incentive program which rewards counties and municipalities demonstrating their floodplain management practices go above and beyond the minimum federal requirements. As local governments receive more CRS points for those floodplain management efforts, residents see more discounts on flood insurance.
One way a local government can get CRS points is by requiring that cumulative flooding damage to a home be considered when building back after a flood. That means if 25% of a home was damaged in one storm — but suffered 27% damage three years prior, in a different storm — both percentages matter, not just the more recent one. In this example, the home in question would be considered 52% damaged, requiring it to be rebuilt to new floodplain regulations.
But SB 180 blocks local governments from adopting or enforcing any ordinance that includes such a “cumulative substantial improvement period.”
“It's removing one of the tools in the toolbox to increase resiliency,” Dinkins said. “It basically is saying: okay, you have more opportunities to build back in a way that’s resulting in flooding.”
Dinkins said SB 180 “absolutely” could derail Orange County’s pending new comprehensive plan, Vision 2050, and corresponding land development code, the Orange Code, which together aim to “shape a smarter, more sustainable future” for the county. Both are currently slated for final approval June 3.
RELATED: Orange County moves one step closer to growth planning overhaul
“Anywhere that it could be demonstrated that the Orange Code is more restrictive than what they're doing today, it could be challenged,” Dinkins said.
In an email, Orange County Senior Public Information Officer Amanda Dukes said that the county is tracking the bill’s progress, but typically does not speculate on the impact of legislation that has not yet become law. At Tuesday’s commission meeting, said Dukes, the county’s director of legislative affairs will provide an overview of this year’s legislative session — including, potentially, SB 180.
While the bill includes some policies that would help Floridians prepare for and recover from emergencies, Dinkins said, it also threatens to stop local community planning in its tracks — at least until October 2027, according to the bill. The bill would also apply retroactively, to any local policies deemed “more restrictive or burdensome” that were enacted as of August 1, 2024.
“It’s easy to point out the part of the bill that helps Floridians rebuild after a storm,” Dinkins said. “It’s less popular to say, yeah, and by the way, it’s gonna stop any sort of strategic land use planning over the next three years, statewide.”
