Page 92 - Akerman | 2016 Guide to Doing Business in Florida

9.8.5 Comprehensive Plan Process

Because development must be consistent with the comprehensive plan, proposed
development may require changes to the plan to ensure consistency. These changes may
involve amending the future land use designation for the property or changes to other maps or
text within the plan.

Comprehensive plans and most amendments to the plans are reviewed by state and regional
agencies. Under the Community Planning Act, there are now two different “large-scale
amendment” review processes, which consist of a preliminary and final review and a period
during which the amendment may be challenged or appealed. The “expedited state review”
process is used for most amendments and is substantially quicker than the “state coordinated
review” process. Cases that are challenged or appealed by the state or by third parties go into
an administrative hearing process. In the past, resolving these cases has taken months or
years. It is unclear to what extent the procedural and legal changes within the 2011 Act might
affect the ability and timing to resolve challenges. Even when no appeals are filed, it takes
several months to complete a plan amendment, but the expedited state review process
significantly reduces the minimum time frame. The Community Planning Act removed the
previous twice-yearly limitation on large-scale amendments, but some local governments have
retained such limitations, which can cause additional delay while awaiting the next amendment
cycle.

The local government may also allow certain small, low-impact changes in land use
designations (“small-scale amendments”) to be processed at any time. These amendments are
not transmitted for state and regional review.

Because numerous state and regional agencies review changes to the comprehensive plan,
such changes may require negotiation with a variety of agencies to address concerns relative
to impacts on other land uses (including military installations and airports), environmental
resources, transportation facilities, schools and other facilities and resources. Additional
information on reviewing agencies is provided at the end of this section.

9.8.6 Concurrency Requirement
A key component of Florida’s growth management framework is the “concurrency” provision,
which requires that the availability of facilities and services be timed to coincide with the
impacts of development. Concurrency is mandated by the State for the following facilities and
services: wastewater, potable water facilities, water supply, storm water and solid waste. Under
the 2011 Community Planning Act, concurrency became a local option, rather than a state
mandate, for transportation, public school facilities, and parks and recreation. As a result, some
local governments have rescinded in whole or in part their concurrency requirements for these
facilities, but many local governments have thus far retained them. Local plans use a variety of
methods to set level of service (LOS) standards for concurrency purposes and are required to
track the used and remaining capacity through concurrency management systems. As a
practical matter, some local governments have not adopted or have not maintained these
systems, but most of the larger and faster-growing jurisdictions do so.

Concurrency is a critical factor for development interests because if impacts of a proposed
development result in level of service deficiencies, the local government must ensure that the
deficiency is mitigated or deny the development. Mitigation takes many forms, including
payment of fees, construction of facilities and dedication of land. There are specific statutory

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