125.66 Ordinances; enactment procedure; emergency ordinances; rezoning or change of land use ordinances or resolutions.—
(1) In exercising the ordinance-making powers conferred by s. 1, Art. VIII of the State Constitution, counties shall adhere to the procedures prescribed herein.
(2)(a) The regular enactment procedure is as follows: The board of county commissioners at any regular or special meeting may enact or amend any ordinance, except as provided in subsection (5), if notice of intent to consider such ordinance is given at least 10 days before such meeting by publication as provided in chapter 50. A copy of such notice must be kept available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners. The notice of proposed enactment must state the date, time, and place of the meeting; the title or titles of proposed ordinances; and the place or places within the county where such proposed ordinances may be inspected by the public. The notice must also advise that interested parties may appear at the meeting and be heard with respect to the proposed ordinance.
(b) Certified copies of ordinances or amendments thereto enacted under this regular enactment procedure shall be filed with the Department of State by the clerk of the board of county commissioners within 10 days after enactment by said board and shall take effect upon filing with the Department of State. However, any ordinance may prescribe a later effective date. In lieu of delivery of the certified copies of the enacted ordinances or amendments by first-class mail, the clerk of the board of county commissioners shall transmit the enacted ordinances or amendments to the department by e-mail. The department shall confirm by e-mail the receipt and effective date of the ordinances or amendments with the clerk of the board of county commissioners.
(c) Whenever any ordinance has heretofore been enacted and a separate book of notices of intent was not kept by the clerk of the board of county commissioners, but a copy of the notice of intent was available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the clerk of the board of county commissioners, such ordinance is hereby validated.
(3)(a) Before the enactment of a proposed ordinance, the board of county commissioners shall prepare or cause to be prepared a business impact estimate in accordance with this subsection. The business impact estimate must be posted on the county’s website no later than the date the notice of proposed enactment is published pursuant to paragraph (2)(a) and must include all of the following:
1. A summary of the proposed ordinance, including a statement of the public purpose to be served by the proposed ordinance, such as serving the public health, safety, morals, and welfare of the county.
2. An estimate of the direct economic impact of the proposed ordinance on private, for-profit businesses in the county, including the following, if any:
a. An estimate of direct compliance costs that businesses may reasonably incur if the ordinance is enacted.
b. Identification of any new charge or fee on businesses subject to the proposed ordinance or for which businesses will be financially responsible.
c. An estimate of the county’s regulatory costs, including an estimate of revenues from any new charges or fees that will be imposed on businesses to cover such costs.
3. A good faith estimate of the number of businesses likely to be impacted by the ordinance.
4. Any additional information the board determines may be useful.
(b) This subsection may not be construed to require a county to procure an accountant or other financial consultant to prepare the business impact estimate required by this subsection.
(c) This subsection does not apply to:
1. Ordinances required for compliance with federal or state law or regulation;
2. Ordinances relating to the issuance or refinancing of debt;
3. Ordinances relating to the adoption of budgets or budget amendments, including revenue sources necessary to fund the budget;
4. Ordinances required to implement a contract or an agreement, including, but not limited to, any federal, state, local, or private grant, or other financial assistance accepted by a county government;
5. Emergency ordinances;
6. Ordinances relating to procurement; or
7. Ordinances enacted to implement the following:
a. Development orders and development permits, as those terms are defined in s. 163.3164, and development agreements, as authorized by the Florida Local Government Development Agreement Act under ss. 163.3220-163.3243;
b. Comprehensive plan amendments and land development regulation amendments initiated by an application by a private party other than the county;
d. Section 553.73, relating to the Florida Building Code; or
e. Section 633.202, relating to the Florida Fire Prevention Code.
(4) The emergency enactment procedure shall be as follows: The board of county commissioners at any regular or special meeting may enact or amend any ordinance with a waiver of the notice requirements of subsection (2) by a four-fifths vote of the membership of such board, declaring that an emergency exists and that the immediate enactment of said ordinance is necessary. However, no emergency ordinance or resolution shall be enacted which establishes or amends the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land or changes the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category. Emergency enactment procedures for land use plans adopted pursuant to part II of chapter 163 shall be pursuant to that part. Certified copies of ordinances or amendments thereto enacted under this emergency enactment procedure by a county shall be filed with the Department of State by the clerk of the board of county commissioners as soon after enactment by said board as is practicable. An emergency ordinance enacted under this procedure shall be transmitted by the clerk of the board of county commissioners by e-mail to the Department of State. It shall be deemed to be filed and shall take effect when a copy has been accepted and confirmed by the department by e-mail.
(5) Ordinances or resolutions, initiated by other than the county, that change the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land shall be enacted pursuant to subsection (2). Ordinances or resolutions that change the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, or ordinances or resolutions initiated by the county that change the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land shall be enacted pursuant to the following procedure:
(a) In cases in which the proposed ordinance or resolution changes the actual zoning map designation for a parcel or parcels of land involving less than 10 contiguous acres, the board of county commissioners, in addition to following the general notice requirements of subsection (2), shall direct its clerk to notify by mail each real property owner whose land the governmental agency will redesignate by enactment of the ordinance or resolution and whose address is known by reference to the latest ad valorem tax records. The notice shall state the substance of the proposed ordinance or resolution as it affects that property owner and shall set a time and place for one or more public hearings on such ordinance or resolution. Such notice shall be given at least 30 days prior to the date set for the public hearing, and a copy of such notice shall be kept available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or resolution and may, upon the conclusion of the hearing, immediately adopt the ordinance or resolution.
(b) In cases in which the proposed ordinance or resolution changes the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, or changes the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land involving 10 contiguous acres or more, the board of county commissioners shall provide for public notice and hearings as follows:
1. The board of county commissioners shall hold two advertised public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution. At least one hearing shall be held after 5 p.m. on a weekday, unless the board of county commissioners, by a majority plus one vote, elects to conduct that hearing at another time of day. The first public hearing shall be held at least 7 days after the day that the first advertisement is published. The second hearing shall be held at least 10 days after the first hearing and shall be advertised at least 5 days prior to the public hearing.
2. If published in the print edition of a newspaper, the required advertisements shall be no less than 2 columns wide by 10 inches long in a standard size or a tabloid size newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be placed in a newspaper in the county and of general interest and readership in the community pursuant to chapter 50. It is the legislative intent that, whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper that is published at least weekly unless the only newspaper in the community is published less than weekly. The advertisement shall be in substantially the following form:
NOTICE OF (TYPE OF) CHANGE
The (name of local governmental unit) proposes to adopt the following by ordinance or resolution: (title of ordinance or resolution) .
A public hearing on the ordinance or resolution will be held on (date and time) at (meeting place) .
Except for amendments which change the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, the advertisement shall contain a geographic location map which clearly indicates the area within the local government covered by the proposed ordinance or resolution. The map shall include major street names as a means of identification of the general area. If published in the print edition of the newspaper, the map must be part of any online notice made pursuant to s. 50.0211.
3. In lieu of publishing the advertisements set out in this paragraph, the board of county commissioners may mail a notice to each person owning real property within the area covered by the ordinance or resolution. Such notice shall clearly explain the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall notify the person of the time, place, and location of both public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution.
(6) Five years after the adoption of any ordinance or resolution adopted after the effective date of this act, no cause of action shall be commenced as to the validity of an ordinance or resolution based on the failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section. After 5 years, substantial compliance with the provisions contained in this section shall be a defense to an action to invalidate an ordinance or resolution for failure to comply with the provisions contained in this section. Without limitation, the common law doctrines of laches and waiver are valid defenses to any action challenging the validity of an ordinance or resolution based on failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section. Standing to initiate a challenge to the adoption of an ordinance or resolution based on a failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section shall be limited to a person who was entitled to actual or constructive notice at the time the ordinance or resolution was adopted. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect the standing requirements under part II of chapter 163.
(7) The notice procedures required by this section are established as minimum notice procedures.
(8) Consideration of the proposed county ordinance or county resolution at a properly noticed meeting may be continued to a subsequent meeting if, at the scheduled meeting, the date, time, and place of the subsequent meeting is publicly stated. No further publication, mailing, or posted notice as required under this section is required, except that the continued consideration must be listed in an agenda or similar communication produced for the subsequent meeting. This subsection is remedial in nature, is intended to clarify existing law, and shall apply retroactively.
History.—s. 1, ch. 69-32; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 70-422; s. 1, ch. 76-155; s. 1, ch. 77-331; s. 1, ch. 89-267; s. 1, ch. 90-152; s. 1, ch. 95-198; s. 2, ch. 95-310; s. 4, ch. 2012-212; s. 3, ch. 2013-192; s. 13, ch. 2021-17; ss. 2, 3, ch. 2023-309; s. 2, ch. 2024-145.
