County commissioners mull response to Florida’s planning-restriction law

Senate Bill 180, which became effective in June and restricts local governments' ability to adopt stricter land-use and development regulations.

Fabrizio Gowdy

Gadsden County News Service

At its regularly scheduled Oct. 7 board meeting, the Gadsden County Commission discussed how to respond to SB 180, which became effective in June and restricts local governments' ability to adopt stricter land-use and development regulations.

Initially conceived with the goal of facilitating faster rebuilding after hurricanes, SB 180 restricts local governments’ ability to enact land-use or development regulation and gives citizens the right to sue counties over new zoning regulations they deem restrictive. It centralizes planning authority at the state level, limiting local control over growth, flood protection, and rebuilding efforts, which has led critics to argue it undermines home rule.

Interim County Attorney Louis Jean-Baptiste Jr. informed the board that two other counties were in litigation with the state over the bill, and encouraged commissioners to begin strategizing how Gadsden County would respond. He requested board direction on the issue, suggesting the board could pass a resolution in favor of SB 180 or opposed to it.

“It’s not something you need to vote on tonight necessarily, I did want to bring it to your attention because similar counties are deciding this issue across the state.” said Baptiste.

In response to Baptiste, Commissioner Brenda Holt stressed the importance of developing the corridor between I-10 and Walmart on SR-267 and called for a workshop on the issue “right away.”

“Companies are not going to come if you’re going to stop them at every stop, they’re not going to come here if they can only inch,” said Holt.

Meanwhile, Board Chair Eric Hinson expressed his disapproval of SB 180, arguing it takes away too much control from the board of county commissioners.

“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t want the county to tell us anything,’ but when you don’t have rules, it’s like in the household, if you don’t have rules, that kid is going to do what they want to do,” said Hinson. However, Commissioner Shawn Wood cautioned his colleagues that fighting the legislature and the state on the issue of development could make Gadsden County a target of costly litigation.

“Sometimes when you go against the grain, they pick your county to be the one to fight because we don’t have the resources some of the larger counties have—if we go out there on a limb, we have one attorney,” said Wood.

According to Baptiste, the development and zoning battles will likely not be as heated in Gadsden County as they have been in more developed counties around the state.

In other business, the board approved:

Six interlocal agreements for animal control services, including responsibilities, compensation, and terms of service. Agreements were approved for every incorporated city in Gadsden County—Havana, Quincy, Chattahoochee, Greensboro, Gretna, and Midway. An agreement with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide access to the Justice Information System (JIS) for enhanced law enforcement and public safety operations. An application for funding through the Florida Driver Education Safety Trust Fund to support traffic safety education programs for youth in Gadsden County. An agreement with the Apalachee Regional Planning Council to provide GIS mapping services that support Gadsden County’s planning and emergency management effort.

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