DeSantis Expands Live Local Act with Latest Tweak

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill amending the Live Local Act workforce housing law, further expanding the state’s authority over local municipalities.

Florida House Bill 1389 does a few things to Live Local, which became law three years ago. Sen. Alexis Calatayud and Rep. Mike Redondo, both Republicans representing Miami-Dade County, sponsored the bill, which the Legislature approved in March.

Live Local is meant to incentivize developers to set aside a portion of their residential units (40 percent or more) to households earning up to 120 percent of the area median income. Local governments are required to administratively approve these projects so long as they meet the criteria. The incentives include height and density bonuses, tax and parking breaks.

HB 1389 expands the law to:

Include land owned by a county, municipality or school district; as well as land that’s more than 3 acres and owned by a religious institution that has had a house of public worship for at least 10 years before the proposed development, regardless of the underlying zoning, so long as at least 40 percent of the residential units in a proposed multifamily project are designated as workforce housing for a period of at least 30 years.
Require that Live Local projects on land owned by local governments or school districts are within the geographic boundaries of the respective county, municipality or school district. The land owner in those applications (the county, municipality or school district) must also be a party to the application. The latter also applies to applications for projects on land owned by religious institutions. In those cases, the house of worship must continue to operate after a Live Local project is completed.
Ban counties from restricting height through other means, like creating setbacks or stepbacks that are more restrictive.
Clarify that farms aren’t considered a commercial or industrial property.
State that the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability will look into the efficacy of using mezzanine or second-position debt to stimulate the construction of owner-occupied affordable housing. The state agency will submit a report by the end of 2027 to the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives.

The latest tweak also expands the definition of a “person” under the fair housing section of the law. A person also includes agencies, government entities and other legal or commercial entities. If the court finds that a person, which now includes local governments, has engaged in a discriminatory housing practice, the court has to issue an order banning that practice and providing relief to the plaintiff. This is meant to discourage cities and other local governments from challenging applications by developers.

Last week, the Miami City Commission unanimously approved a measure that directs the city attorneys to explore challenging the Live Local Act, including through legal action. At last week’s commission meeting, Miami Director of Planning David Snow said Live Local undercuts the city’s Miami 21 zoning code, which was adopted in 2009 and requires that projects over 200,000 square feet go before one of two city boards. Live Local overrides that, Snow said.

The administrative approval process that Live Local offers has become a point of controversy for cities across the state, including others in South Florida.