City Council Seeking Clarity From the State of Florida Regarding Senate Bill 250
Senate Bill 250 was signed by the Governor in June 2023 with its’ intent to assist hurricane relief efforts. However, a certain provision suggests that any and all land use regulations passed since the hurricane be voided. Without clarification from the State this could very well preempt local ordinances in the City of Naples and others that support resident values and have little to do with the Bills’ intention.
Our City as well as many across the State are faced with a lack of clarity in the Bill’s language which puts local officials in a position of interpreting an ambiguous law and determining what ordinances should be fairly kept in place.
In the case of the City of Naples this Senate Bill may reverse five ordinances passed after consideration in public forums , full compliance with proper processes, and vetted for over a year prior to the hurricane:
One of those ordinances was a procedural change to our Site Plan Approval Process to provide more transparency for residents on pending commercial development.
Resident and HOA officer Donna Dabney made public comment at a recent Council Meeting to point out that the ordinance had nothing to do with single family housing hurricane relief efforts. She reported that a 2008 City Council amended procedural rules with regard to the commercial site plan approval process that removed the right of citizens to have significant input on major developments.
Dabney reminded that in 2020 the majority of the current sitting Council sought to re-engage the residents and in March of 2023 they amended procedures to return to engage the public and receive resident input on significant commercial development.
See a video clip of support for this ordinance by Donna Dabney HERE: Naples Council 08162023 Public Comment
On Wednesday, August 16th the City Council took the position that a description by the Senate of the “intent” of the Bill is inadequate and that the City of Naples is entitled to further clarification in order to properly respond to the States’ action, possibly by court action.
The following motion passed 4:3
Councilman McCabe: I make a motion that we maintain the laws that we have on our books. Suspend enforcement of them and ask the state for or file suit against the state to explain this bill in its entirety and the implications and intent with which it was done, because it is not clear.
In Favor: McCabe, Heitmann, Hutchison and Petrunoff. Opposed: Christman, Perry, Blankenship.
The issue was item #12B on the Wednesday August 16th Meeting. Access the full City Council Meeting video and supportive documents HERE https://naples.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=14&clip_id=4568
It has been previously reported that Senate Bill 250 specifically threatens Home Rule and removes power from local municipal governments. It therefore dismisses the voters who elected those officials. The City has been aligned with the Florida Leagues of Cities Position on Home Rule:
For a better understanding of Home Rule read More: HERE
Several recent actions by the State have threatened Home Rule, but for now, the City hopes to gain clarity of Senate Bill 250 language in order to help Council respond to the law appropriately.