Okeechobee County has joined a growing number of communities across the state that are fighting back against the power-brokers in Tallahassee.
On Tuesday the board of commissioners voted to join a lawsuit filed against the state's passage of Senate Bill 180. The bill stops governments from enacting stricter land-use laws — even in the name of resiliency — following a natural disaster.
“If you don't start fighting for home rule and start fighting for yourselves and fighting for your constituents, then we don't need to be here in these seats,” Commissioner Terry Burroughs said pitching the idea to his fellow commissioners join the legal fight.
It did take much arm-twisting. The board voted unanimously to join the fight.
Last June, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the pro-development, anti-land-use-regulation bill into law. Okeechobee County and other municipalities are hoping a judge can stop the law from taking effect and give governments back their ability to govern and make decisions based on local impacts.
Under the banner of hurricane recovery, SB 180 suggests it is to help Florida communities build back following a disaster. But last-minute additions to the bill not only stop local governments from enacting stricter land-use laws post storm, it rolls back previously enacted land-use laws.
Critics like the commission say Senate Bill 180 is the largest incursion into local home rule authority since the passage of the Florida Constitution in 1968
“The [developers] have found out, all they have to do is throw money around in Tallahassee and they will get what they want," Burroughs said. "This is a perfect example, and now we're having to fight it in the courts.
"...This is a land developer's bill, it's a land developer's haven.”
Okeechobee is the third county to join the suit. The others are Manatee and Orange. Cities across the state have also joined though only one in Southwest Florida which is Naples.
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