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City of Alachua joins statewide planning lawsuit on the premise that locals know best (even when they disagree)

The City of Alachua will contribute a flat fee of $10,000 to the lawsuit and $5,000 in the case of an appeal. (Rose Schnabel/WUFT News)
The City of Alachua will contribute a flat fee of $10,000 to the lawsuit and $5,000 in the case of an appeal. (Rose Schnabel/WUFT News)

Alachua City Commissioners often clash on how to plan for the city’s growth but, in a recent vote, unanimously agreed that those decisions should remain local.

The city joined a statewide challenge to the "Emergencies" law signed by Governor Ron DeSantis earlier this year, alleging it freezes municipal planning power and invites developer challenges.

A south Florida law firm aims to file the lawsuit mid-September. Alachua is the eighth local government to join so far, according to Jamie Cole, one of the firm’s partners.

When emergencies strike

The “Emergencies” bill, sponsored by Sen. Nick DiCeglie, R-St. Petersburg, garnered near-unanimous approval from the Florida Legislature. Sen. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, was the sole objector.

Legislators applauded its efforts to help homeowners and businesses rebuild.

“Many of us had districts that were devastated over the past summer by storms that were unimaginable,” said Rep. Will Robinson Jr., R-Bradenton, just before the bill passed the House. “This bill is meant to help those folks in the future that are going through their darkest hours."

The law went into effect July 1, 2025.

“I think that the increased coordination with local governments and the Department of Emergency Management is a great step in the right direction,” said Kim Dinkins, Policy and Planning Director for 1000 Friends of Florida, a smart-growth advocacy organization that opposes the law.

Her group takes issue primarily with two sections of the law that restrict local governments from making changes to their development guidelines after a hurricane that are “more restrictive or burdensome” than what existed prior to the storm.

The restrictions apply to every county within a 100 mile distance of the hurricane’s path and every municipality within those counties for a year following landfall.

“Every county and every city in Florida can't do any land development regulations that hinder or burden development from August 1st, 2024 to October 1, 2027,” Cole said, the extended timing legislators’ attempt to compensate for last year’s above-average hurricane season.

If they do, he said, any person can challenge the change, giving local governments two weeks to withdraw it.

To Dinkins, that’s “very, very concerning from an environmental standpoint.”

Municipalities that enact stricter wetland protections, enhanced wastewater treatment regulations or other measures to cope with hurricane impacts may open themselves to lawsuits, she said.

The Florida Department of Commerce notified Orange County in July that it considered the County’s comprehensive plan for 2050, adopted in June, “null and void” under the new law.

Manatee County Commissioners postponed a vote on restrictions for development near wetlands last week, citing concerns of suspension from office or other legal challenge.

The City of Alachua weighed potential state impacts in its decision to join the lawsuit on Monday.

Commissioner Dayna Williams said, while she generally supports home rule, “we need to be very strategic about these kinds of decisions,” given the city has received funding and support from the Florida Legislature.

Commissioner Jacob Fletcher responded he wouldn’t cede “the rights of the residents of Alachua to developers in the hopes of additional state funding.”

A unanimous decision

 Richard Grosso, former legal director of 1000 Friends of Florida, prepared an analysis of the law on behalf of the organization.

Asked who stands to gain from the changes to local planning, Grosso responded "developers."

Developers could allege that nearly any new standard that affects their proposal is more burdensome or restrictive.

That could be especially impactful in the City of Alachua as new leadership and resident voices urge smart growth.

A series of development proposals near an entrance to the Floridan Aquifer last year set off a chain reaction of resignations, petitions and discussions about where and how to build within city limits.

Those conversations haven’t led to substantial changes in the city’s codes yet, but the commission got its first preview of the law’s potential local impacts on Monday night.

Commissioners voted 3-1 with Commissioner Jennifer Ringersen absent, to amend the city’s land use regulations to encourage mixed residential and commercial “infill” in areas that are already developed.

Fletcher, who voted against the amendment, asked City Attorney Marian Rush if the new law would prevent the commission from decreasing the number of units per acre of this mixed-use designation in the future.

“There is a strong possibility that it could block you,” Rush responded.

Grosso said it’s unsurprising that the commissioners agreed unanimously to challenge the new law despite differing stances on how to manage the city’s growth.

“ We've seen, um, local governments and officials from every corner of the state, every, uh, political leaning, really take umbrage at this because of the attack on home rule,” he said.

“Whether a local government has been perceived as development friendly or smart growth friendly in the past, you know, local elected officials are elected because they're closest to the people and they know their communities best,” he said. “And they are rightfully offended.”

1000 Friends of Florida hopes the Florida Legislature will repeal specific sections of the law in its 2026 session, according to Dinkins.

The lawsuit from Cole’s firm targets those sections, too, he said, but “some of the challenges that we'll be bringing do attack the entire bill.”

The Florida Phoenix reported that the Senate and House sponsors of the bill said they’d be open to improving the law in the next legislative session.

Rose covers the agriculture, water and climate change beat in North Central Florida. She can be reached by calling 352-294-6389 or emailing rschnabel@ufl.edu. Read more about her position here.

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