During the 2021 Florida Legislative Session, Governor DeSantis signed House Bill 59 into law. House Bill 59 created Section 163.3177(6)(i)1, Florida Statutes, which requires all local governments to adopt a private property rights element as part of its comprehensive plan. The City must adopt the new private property rights element as part of its comprehensive plan prior to the adoption of any other comprehensive plan amendment.
In that respect, the state law allows a local government to adopt four standard statements related to private property rights in order to be compliant with the law. These four standard statements relate to the City’s perspective in its decision-making in regard to planning and development decisions and they are as follows:
- The right of a property owner to physically possess and control his or her interests in the property, including easements, leases, or mineral rights.
- The right of a property owner to use, maintain, develop, and improve his or her property for personal use or for the use of any other person, subject to state law and local ordinances.
- The right of the property owner to privacy and to exclude others from the property to protect the owner’s possessions and property.
- The right of a property owner to dispose of his or her property through sale or gift.
To maintain consistency with state law, the proposed new Private Property Rights Element simply adopts the language provided in state law.
The City’s Land Development Review Board reviewed this matter at their meeting on November 18, 2021 and recommended approval.