HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/CS/HB 1297 Affordable Housing in Counties Designated as Areas of Critical State
Concern
SPONSOR(S): State Affairs Committee, Ways & Means Committee, Local Administration, Federal Affairs &
Special Districts Subcommittee, Mooney
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 1456
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Local Administration, Federal Affairs & Special 14 Y, 0 N, As CS Burgess Darden
Districts Subcommittee
2) Ways & Means Committee 21 Y, 0 N, As CS Berg Aldridge
3) State Affairs Committee 21 Y, 0 N, As CS Burgess Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
The Governor and Cabinet, acting as the Administration Commission, are authorized to designate certain
areas within the state that contain resources of statewide significance as areas of critical state concern. In
1975, the Florida Keys were designated as an area of critical state concern. The designation includes the
municipalities of Key West, Islamorada, Marathon, Layton and Key Colony Beach, and unincorporated Monroe
County. State, regional, and local governments in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern (Florida Keys
Area) are required to coordinate development plans and carry out programs and activities in accordance with
development principles.
The bill:
Provides that the authorization for a local government to approve a development that would otherwise
be precluded by state or local law or regulation does not apply in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State
Concern.
Expands the local option affordable housing exemption in s. 196.1979, F.S., to include a full exemption
for a single-family residential unit or a residential duplex if the property is used to provide affordable
housing in the Florida Keys Area and certain other conditions are met.
Revises eligibility for the local option affordable housing ad valorem tax exemption to allow Monroe
County and municipalities in the Florida Keys Area to exempt properties even if they are not within a
multifamily project containing 50 or more units, at least 20 percent of which provide affordable housing.
Revises hurricane evacuation clearance time for mobile home residents and the City of Key West Area
of Critical State Concern.
Authorizes land authorities to require compliance with income limitations on land conveyed for
affordable housing by memorializing the original land authority funding or donation in a recordable
perpetual deed restriction.
For five years, exempts Monroe County and eligible municipalities in the Florida Keys Area from a
requirement to only aid very low-income and low-income persons with funding from the local housing
assistance trust fund.
Provides for a one-time use in Monroe County of its accumulated surplus from tourist development and
tourist impact taxes collected through September 30, 2024, to provide affordable housing for
employees of tourism-related businesses.
The Revenue Estimating Conference has not estimated the impact of the bill, but staff estimates that the
recurring negative local revenue impact on Monroe County from the provision allowing new and expanded
local exemptions could be significant. However, these impacts apply at the option of the local government so
staff estimates that the revenue impact to local governments will be recurring negative indeterminate. The bill
does not impact state revenues.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
Areas of Critical State Concern
The Governor and Cabinet, acting as the Administration Commission,1 are authorized to designate
certain areas within the state that contain resources of statewide significance as areas of critical state
concern.2 An area of critical state concern may be designated for an area:
Containing, or having a significant impact upon, environmental or natural resources of regional
or statewide importance, including state or federal parks, forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness
areas, aquatic preserves, major rivers and estuaries, state environmentally endangered lands,
Outstanding Florida Waters, and aquifer recharge areas, the uncontrolled private or public
development of which would cause substantial deterioration of such resources;3
Containing, or having a significant impact upon, historical or archaeological resources, sites, or
statutorily defined historical or archaeological districts, the private or public development of
which would cause substantial deterioration or complete loss of such resources, sites, or
districts;4 or
Having a significant impact upon, or being significantly impacted by, an existing or proposed
major public facility or other area of major public investment, including highways, ports, airports,
energy facilities, and water management projects.5
The designated areas of critical state concern in the state are the Big Cypress Area, 6 the Green
Swamp Area,7 the Florida Keys Area, the City of Key West Area,8 and the Apalachicola Bay Area.9
Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern
In 1975, the Florida Keys Area was designated as an area of critical state concern, including
unincorporated Monroe County and its municipalities, including Islamorada, Marathon, Layton and Key
Colony Beach.10 In 1984, the City of Key West was also designated as an area of critical state
concern.11 The designation is intended to:
Establish a land use management system that protects the natural environment of the Florida
Keys, conserves and promotes the community character of the Florida Keys, promotes orderly
and balanced growth in accordance with the capacity of available and planned public facilities
and services, and promotes and supports a diverse and sound economic base.
Provide affordable housing in close proximity to places of employment in the Florida Keys .
Protect the constitutional rights of property owners to own, use, and dispose of their real
property.
1 See ss. 380.031(1) and 14.202, F.S.
2
S. 380.05, F.S.
3 S. 380.05(2)(a), F.S.
4
S. 380.05(2)(b), F.S.
5 S. 380.05(2)(c), F.S.
6 S. 380.055, F.S.
7
S. 380.0551, F.S.
8 S. 380.0552, F.S.
9 S. 380.0555, F.S.
10 S. 380.0552, F.S.; 2020 Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern Annual Report available at
https://floridajobs.org/docs/default-source/2015-community-development/community-planning/2015-cmty-plan-
acsc/2020keysacscannualreport.pdf?s fvrsn=51c 94eb0_2 (last visited Feb. 5, 2024).
11The City of Key West challenged the designation as a critical area and after litigation in 1984 was given its own area of cri tical state
concern designation. See 2020 Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern Annual Report available at
https://floridajobs.org/docs/default-source/2015-community-development/community-planning/2015-cmty-plan-
acsc/2020keysacscannualreport.pdf?s fvrsn=51c 94eb0_2 (last visited Feb. 5, 2024).
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Promote coordination and efficiency among governmental agencies that have permitting
jurisdiction over land use activities in the Florida Keys.
Promote an appropriate land acquisition and protection strategy for environmentally sensitive
lands within the Florida Keys.
Protect and improve the nearshore water quality of the Florida Keys through the construction
and operation of wastewater management facilities, as applicable.
Ensure that the population of the Florida Keys can be safely evacuated. 12
State, regional, and local governments in the Florida Keys Area of Critical State Concern are required
to coordinate development plans and conduct programs and activities consistent with principles for
guiding development that:
Strengthen local government capabilities for managing land use and development so that local
government is able to achieve these objectives without continuing the area of critical state
concern designation.
Protect shoreline and marine resources, including mangroves, coral reef formations, seagrass
beds, wetlands, fish and wildlife, and their habitat.
Protect upland resources, tropical biological communities, freshwater wetlands, native tropical
vegetation (e.g., hardwood hammocks and pinelands), dune ridges and beaches, wildlife, and
their habitat.
Ensure the maximum well-being of the Florida Keys and its citizens through sound economic
development.
Limit the adverse impacts of development on the quality of water throughout the Florida Keys .
Enhance natural scenic resources, promote the aesthetic benefits of the natural environment,
and ensure that development is compatible with the unique historic character of the Florida
Keys.
Protect the historical heritage of the Florida Keys.
Protect the value, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and amortized life of existing and proposed
major public investments, including:
o The Florida Keys Aqueduct and water supply facilities.
o Sewage collection, treatment, and disposal facilities.
o Solid waste treatment, collection, and disposal facilities.
o Key West Naval Air Station and other military facilities.
o Transportation facilities.
o Federal parks, wildlife refuges, and marine sanctuaries.
o State parks, recreation facilities, aquatic preserves, and other publicly owned properties .
o City electric service and the Florida Keys Electric Co-op.
o Other utilities, as appropriate.
Protect and improve water quality by providing for the construction, operation, maintenance, and
replacement of stormwater management facilities; central sewage collection; treatment and
disposal facilities; and the installation and proper operation and maintenance of onsite sewage
treatment and disposal systems.
Ensure the improvement of nearshore water quality by requiring the construction and operation
of wastewater management facilities, as applicable, and by directing growth to areas served by
central wastewater treatment facilities through permit allocation systems.
Limit the adverse impacts of public investments on the environmental resources of the Florida
Keys.
Make available adequate, affordable housing for all sectors of the population of the Florida
Keys.
Provide adequate alternatives for the protection of public safety and welfare in the event of a
natural or manmade disaster and for a post-disaster reconstruction plan.
Protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of the Florida Keys and maintaining
the Florida Keys as a unique Florida resource.13
12 S. 380.0552(2)(a)-(j), F.S.
13 S. 380.0552(7), F.S.
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A land development regulation or element of a local comprehensive plan in the Florida Keys Area may
be enacted, amended, or rescinded by a local government, but the enactment, amendment, or
rescission becomes effective only upon approval by the Department of Commerce (Commerce).14
Amendments to local comprehensive plans must also be reviewed for compliance with the following:
Construction schedules and detailed capital financing plans for wastewater management
improvements in the annually adopted capital improvements element, and standards for the
construction of wastewater treatment and disposal facilities or collection systems that meet or
exceed criteria for wastewater treatment and disposal facilities or onsite sewage treatment and
disposal systems.
Goals, objectives, and policies to protect public safety and welfare in the event of a natural
disaster by maintaining a hurricane evacuation clearance time for permanent residents of no
more than 24 hours. The hurricane evacuation clearance time must be determined by a
hurricane evacuation study conducted in accordance with a professionally accepted
methodology and approved by Commerce.15
In 2011, the Administration Commission directed Commerce and the Division of Emergency
Management to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Monroe County, the Village of
Islamorada, and the cities of Marathon, Key West, Key Colony Beach, and Layton regarding hurricane
evacuation modeling.16 The MOU is the basis for an analysis of the maximum build-out capacity of the
Florida Keys while maintaining the ability of the permanent population to evacuate within 24 hours. 17
Land Authorities
Current law authorizes each county in which one or more designated areas of critical state concern are
located to create a land authority by ordinance.18 The Legislature authorized the creation of land
authorities to equitably address the challenges of implementing comprehensive land use plans
developed pursuant to the area of critical state concern program, which can be complicated by the
environmental sensitivity of such areas.19 Monroe County is the only county in the state that has
established a land authority pursuant to this statutory authority.20
Land authorities are intended to provide stable funding, be flexible enough to address plan
implementation innovatively, and act as intermediaries between individual landowners and the
governmental entities regulating land use.21 The governing body of the land authority is the governing
board of the county.22
The powers of land authorities are statutorily enumerated and include, among other powers, the
powers to sue and be sued; to make and execute contracts and other instruments; to comm ission
studies and analyses of county land planning needs within areas of critical state concern; to acquire
and dispose of real and personal property under specified conditions; to contribute tourist impact tax
revenues to certain authorized government and state agency recipients for specified purposes under
certain conditions; to borrow money through the issuance of bonds and to buy, hold, cancel, or resell
such bonds; and to do any and all things otherwise necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes
of the land authority.23
14
S. 380.552(9)(a), F.S.
15 S. 380.0552(9)(a)1. and 2., F.S.
16 Dept. of Commerce, Florida Keys Hurricane Evacuation Modeling Report, available at http://www.floridajobs.org/community-
planning-and-development/programs/community-planning-table-of-c ontents/areas-of-critical-state-concern/city-of-key-
west-and-the-florida-keys/florida-keys-hurricane-evacuation (last visited Feb. 5, 2024).
17 Id.
18 S. 380.0663(1), F.S.
19 S. 380.0661(1), F.S.
20 See Monroe County, Monroe County Land Authority, https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/272/Land-Authority (last visited Feb. 5,
2024).
21 S. 380.0661(2), F.S.
22 S. 380.0663(1), F.S.
23 S. 380.0666, F.S.
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Monroe County Land Authority
The Monroe County Comprehensive Plan Land Authority, known as the Monroe County Land Authority
(Authority), has a core mission of acquiring property for conservation use.24 The Authority provides
funding for affordable housing projects, prevention or satisfaction of private property acquisition, and
maintains the conservation land stewardship program in Monroe County within the Florida Keys and
Key West Areas of Critical State Concern.25
The Authority was established to assist in the implementation of land use plans and to serve as an
intermediary between landowners and government agencies that regulate land use. The Authority is a
component of Monroe County government created in 1986 and governed by the Monroe County Board
of County Commissioners.26
Affordable Housing
Affordable housing is defined in terms of household income. Resident eligibility for Florida’s state and
federally funded housing programs is governed by area median income (AMI) or statewide median
family income,27 published annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
Development.28 The following are standard house