Land Use Lowdown: “Development-Focused Legislative Update from This Year’s Florida Regular Session”

About this episode

The episode discusses key development-related outcomes from Florida’s 2026 Regular Legislative Session, focusing on community planning, local control issues, and changes to development permitting.

Welcome to the Land Use Lowdown, the new podcast from the Greenspoon Marder land use team where we will share updates and trends on land‑use policy, development, and litigation shaping our region. In this episode of Land Use Lowdown, Greenspoon Marder Land Use attorney's Matthew Scott and Elizabeth Somerstein break down the key development-related outcomes from Florida’s 2026 Regular Legislative Session, which concluded Sine Die in mid‑March. While lawmakers will return for a special session to address the state budget, potential redistricting, and property tax proposals, this episode focuses on what did and did not pass during the regular session. The discussion opens with major community planning and local control issues, including continued controversy surrounding SB 180, the 2025 law limiting local land‑use regulations following hurricane declarations, ongoing litigation, and failed legislative attempts to narrow its scope. The hosts also highlight significant changes to development permitting and review standards under HB 399/SB 208, including new fee structures, more objective compatibility criteria, administrative approvals for certain large destination resorts, and limits…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matthew Scott, Liz Somerstein

Topics covered

• land use policy
• development
• legislation
• Florida
• housing
• growth management

Keywords

• SB 180
• HB 399
• SB 208
• HB 1389
• affordable housing

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: the Land Use Lowdown, Land Use Lowdown

Places: Florida, South Florida’s

More episodes of Land Use Lowdown

• Land Use Lowdown: "How Public Relations Plays a Role in Land Use Decisions" · March 31, 2026 · 22 min
• Land Use Lowdown 3: "Beyond the Live Local Act - Emerging Land Use Trends in South Florida" · March 14, 2026 · 8 min
• Land Use Lowdown 2: "Legal Challenges and Local Pushback – Navigating the Tension" · February 12, 2026 · 12 min
• Land Use Lowdown: "Understanding the Live Local Act – What It Means for South Florida" · January 15, 2026 · 17 min