HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 55 Building Design
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, Overdorf
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: SB 284
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Regulatory Reform Subcommittee 12 Y, 5 N, As CS Brackett Anstead
2) Local Administration & Veterans Affairs 12 Y, 6 N Darden Miller
Subcommittee
3) Commerce Committee 18 Y, 5 N, As CS Brackett Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Property development in Florida is governed in part by both the Community Planning Act and the Florida
Building Code. The Community Planning Act governs how local governments create and adopt local
comprehensive plans, implement land development regulations, and issue development orders and permits.
Some local governments have implemented regulations that require new residential dwellings in the
community to have specific building design elements such as exterior paint color, exterior building material,
architectural style of windows and doors, and location of windows and doors.
The bill:
Prohibits local governments from adopting land development regulations that require specific building
design elements for single- and two- family dwellings, unless certain conditions are met.
Provides that local governments may adopt land development regulations requiring certain building
design elements to single- and two-family dwellings when:
o The dwelling is a historic property or located in a historic district;
o The regulations are adopted in order to implement the National Flood Insurance Program;
o The regulations are adopted in accordance and compliance with the procedures for adopting
local amendments to the Florida Building Code;
o The dwelling is located in a community redevelopment area; or
o The dwelling is located in planned unit development or a master planned community created by
a local government ordinance that is enacted on or before July 1, 2021.
Defines the term “building design elements” to mean exterior color, type or style of exterior cladding,
style or material of roof structures or porches, exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation,
location or architectural styling of windows or doors, location and orientation of the garage, and
number, type, and layout of rooms.
Provides that the term “building design elements” does not include setback including the height, bulk,
orientation, location on a zoning lot, or the use of buffering or screening to minimize potential adverse
physical or visual impacts or protect the privacy of neighbors.
Defines “planned unit development” and “master planned community” as an area of land that is planned
and developed as a single entity or in approved stages with uses and structures substantially related to
the character of the entire development, or a self-contained development in which the subdivision and
zoning controls are applied to the project as a whole rather than to individual lots.
The bill has an indeterminate fiscal impact on local governments.
The bill provides for an effective date of July 1, 2021.
This document does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 3/10/2021
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Current Situation
The Community Planning Act
Adopted in 1985, the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation
Act, also known as Florida’s Growth Management Act, was significantly revised in 2011, becoming the
Community Planning Act (Act).1 The Act governs how local governments create and adopt their local
comprehensive plans. The legislative intent is for local governments to manage growth through
comprehensive land use plans that preserve, promote, protect, and improve the public health, safety,
comfort, good order, appearance, convenience, law enforcement and fire prevention, and general
welfare.2
Local comprehensive plans must include principles, guidelines, standards, and strategies for the orderly
and balanced future land development of the area and reflect community commitments to implement
the plan. Plans also are required to identify procedures for monitoring, evaluating, and appraising
implementation of the plan.3 Plans may include optional elements,4 but must include the following
elements:5
Capital improvements;
Future land use plan;
Intergovernmental coordination;
Conservation;
Transportation;
Sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable water, and aquifer recharge;
Recreation and open space;
Housing; and
Coastal management (for coastal local governments).
The comprehensive plan is implemented via land development regulations. Land development
regulations are ordinances regulating any aspect of development including any local government
zoning, rezoning, subdivision, building construction, sign regulations, or any regulation that controls the
development of land.6
Each county and municipality must adopt and enforce land development regulations that are consistent
with and implement their adopted comprehensive plan.7 All local government land development
regulations must be consistent with the local government’s comprehensive plan.8
Some local governments in Florida have adopted land development regulations that place restrictions
on the design of new single- and two- family buildings such as the:
1
Ch. 11-139, Laws of Fla.
2
S. 163.3161(4), F.S.
3
S. 163.3177(1), F.S.
4
Id.
5 Ss. 163.3177(3) & (6), F.S.
6
Ss. 163.3164(26) & 163.3202(1), F.S.
7 S. 163.3202(1), F.S.
8
S. 163.3194(1)(b), F.S.
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External paint color;9
Architectural style of:10
o Windows;
o Doors, including garage doors;
o Front porches; and
o Roofs.
Exterior building material;11 and
Location of windows and garage doors.12
Some local governments may be adopting ordinances related to building design elements because the
local government is adopting the principles of “new urbanism.” New urbanism is a land development
policy that attempts to solve issues created by urban sprawl, such as traffic jams, ugliness, and lifeless
downtowns, by establishing compact, mixed-use, and pedestrian friendly communities. The principles
of new urbanism can be achieved through creating mixed-use areas with residential areas located
within walking distance of commercial areas located in a town center, creating parks and civic spaces
located near the town center, and building narrow streets with sidewalks and trees to promote
walking.13
New urbanism also includes creating communities and neighborhoods that have a certain style of
architecture and design and, thus, are more pleasant to live in and walk through. Local governments
can accomplish this by requiring buildings, including single- and two- family buildings, within their
jurisdictions to have specific building design elements.14
Opponents of the adoption of the building design element ordinances argue that these types of building
design elements increase housing costs and prevent homeowners from choosing their own preferences
or styles.15 Local governments argue that the building design element ordinances ensure that poorly
designed buildings do not lower the value of surrounding properties. Prohibiting such ordinances, they
say, will prevent them from developing a plan for their own community.16
The Florida Building Code
The Florida Building Code (Building Code) is the statewide building code for all construction in the
state. The main purpose of the Building Code is to regulate new construction or proposed modifications
to existing structures in order to give the occupants the highest level of safety and the least amount of
9
Osceola County Land Development Code, § Ch. 3, Article 3.2.2.; Code of the City of Orlando, § Ch. 58, Part 3, Section 58.517;
Orange County Code, § Chapter 38, Article VIII, Division 8.
10
Osceola County Land Development Code, § Ch. 3, Article 3.2.2.; Code of the City of Orlando, § Ch. 58, Part 3, Section 58.517;
City of Winter Park Code of Ordinances, § Ch. 58, Art. 3, Section 58-67; Orange County Code, § Chapter 38, Article VIII, Division 8.
11
Orange County Code, § Chapter 38, Article VIII, Division 8; City of Winter Park Code of Ordinances, § Ch. 58, Art. 3, Section 58-
67
12
Code of the City of Orlando, § Ch. 58, Part 3, Section 58.517.
13
Doris S. Goldstein, New Urbanism: Recreating Florida by Rewriting the Rules, Florida Bar Journal, April 2006, at 63; Michigan
Land Institute, 10 Principles of New Urbanism, http://www.mlui.org/mlui/news-views/articles-from-1995-to-
2012.html?archive_id=678#.Xhd62ehKiUk (last visited Jan. 29, 2021); Congress for the New Urbanism, What is New Urbanism?,
https://www.cnu.org/resources/what-new-urbanism (last visited Jan. 29, 2021).
14
Id.
15
Michael Bezruki, Governor Signs Arkansas Housing Affordability Bill Into Law, National Home Association of Home Builders,
March 15, 2019, http://nahbnow.com/2019/03/governor-signs-arkansas-housing-affordability-bill-into-law/ (last visited Jan. 29,
2021); Doug Thompson, Restrictions on home building barred in Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette, March 17, 2019,
https://www.nwaonline.com/news/2019/mar/17/restrictions-on-home-building-barred-in/ (last visited Jan. 29, 2021).
16
Daniel Herriges, Building Design Requirements Are Sometimes Bad for Cities. But Abolishing Them All Is Worse, Strong Towns,
April 11, 2019 https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2019/4/11/design-standards-are-an-important-tool-for-cities-dont-do-away-with-
them (last visited Jan. 29, 2021); Elaina Sauber, Housing design bill worries Franklin officials, Tennessean, April 18, 2017
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/williamson/2017/04/18/housing-design-bill-worries-franklin-officials/100561994/ (last
visited Jan. 29, 2021).
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defects.17 The Florida Building Commission (Commission), housed within the Department of Business
and Professional Regulation, implements the Building Code. The Commission reviews the International
Code Council’s I-Codes and the National Electric Code every three years and determines if the Building
Code needs updating.18
The Legislature has provided local governments with the power to inspect all buildings, structures, and
facilities within their jurisdiction to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare.19
Every local government must enforce the Building Code and issue building permits.20 A person, firm, or
corporation may not construct, erect, alter, repair, secure, or demolish any building without first
obtaining a permit from the local government enforcing agency or from such persons as may be
directed, by resolution or regulation, to issue such permit, upon the payment of reasonable fees as set
forth in a schedule of fees adopted by the enforcing agency.21
Local governments may adopt amendments to the Building Code every six months that are more
stringent than the Building Code requirements but those amendments are limited to the local
government’s jurisdiction. Amendments by local governments expire upon the adoption of the newest
edition of the Building Code, requiring the local government to repeat the amendment process every
three years in order to maintain a local amendment to the Building Code.22
States That Prohibit Local Government Regulations For Building Design Elements
North Carolina and Arkansas prohibit local governments from adopting regulations that require specific
building design elements for single- and two- family dwellings unless certain conditions exist.23
Tennessee and Georgia have considered bills to enact laws similar to North Carolina and Arkansas;
however, the bills did not pass.24
Adopted in 2015, North Carolina’s law prohibits cities and counties from adopting regulations that
require “building design elements” for single- and two- family dwellings. The North Carolina law also
prohibits such regulations from being applied to any zoning district or conditional district unless
voluntarily consented to by the owners of all the properties subject to the proposed regulation.25
The North Carolina law defines “building design elements” to include the:26
Exterior building color;
Type or style of exterior cladding27 material;
Style or materials of roof structures or porches;
Exterior nonstructural architectural ornamentation;
Location or architectural styling of windows and doors, including garage doors;
17
Florida Building Commission, Advanced Florida Building Code Principals,
http://www.floridabuilding.org/Upload/Courses_trp/421-2-MATERIAL-Adv%20FL%20Bldg%20Code%20-
%20Course%20PDF%20version%207.0.pdf (last visited Feb. 9, 2021).
18
S. 553.73(7), F.S.
19
S. 553.72, F.S.
20
Ss. 125.01(1)(bb), 125.56(1), & 553.80(1), F.S.
21
See Ss. 125.56(4)(a) & 553.79(1), F.S.
22
S. 553.73(4), F.S.
23 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-702; Ark. Code Ann. § 14-17-212 & 14-56-204.
24 Georgia General Assembly, 2019-2020 Regular Session - HB 302, http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-
US/display/20192020/HB/302 (last visited Feb. 1, 2021); Tennessee General Assembly, 2017-2018 Session – HB 476
http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0476&ga=110 (last visited Feb. 1, 2021).
25
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-702; R. Erika Churchill, Staff Attorney for the North Carolina General Assembly, Analysis of S.L. 2015-86,
https://dashboard.ncleg.net/api/Services/BillSummary/2015/S25-SMST-147(sl) (last visited Feb. 1, 2021); General Assembly of North
Carolina, Session Law 2015-86 Senate Bill 25, June 9, 2015 https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2015/Bills/Senate/PDF/S25v3.pdf (last
visited Feb. 1, 2021).
26 N.C. Gen. Stat. § 160D-702.
27 The Florida Building Code and the North Carolina Building Code both define “cladding” as the material that covers the exterior
surface of a building, and is directly affected by wind load. S. 202 of the Florida Building Code (Residential), Seventh Edition; S. 202
of the 2018 North Carolina Building Code (Residential).
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Number and types of rooms; and
Interior layout of rooms.
The law defines the phrase as not including:28
A single- and two- family dwelling’s:
o Height;
o Bulk;
o Orientation; and
o Location of a structure on a zoning lot.
The use of buffering or screening to minimize visual impacts or impact of light and noise; and
Regulations governing permitted uses of land.
The North Carolina law allows cities and counties to adopt and enforce regulations that require “building
design elements” for single- and two- family dwellings if:29
The dwelling is located in an area designated as a local historic district;
The dwelling is located in area designated as a historic district on the National Register of
Historic Places;30
The dwelling is individually designated as a local, state, or national historic landmark;
The regulations are directly and substantially related to the requirements of North Carolina’s
Building Code;
The regulations are applied to manufactured housing in a manner consistent with state and
federal law; or
The regulations are adopted as a condition for participation in the National Flood Insurance
Program.31
The prohibition against local regulations relating to building design elements does not affect the validity
or enforceability of private covenants or other contractual agreements relating to building design
elements between property owners.32
In 2019, Arkansas passed a similar law that also prohibited cities and counties from adopting
regulations that require “building design elements” for single-family dwellings. The law defines “building
design elements” in the same manner as the North Carolina law, except Arkansas also includes
minimum square footage in its definition and the location and design of a dwelling’s garage.33
In addition to the exceptions provided in the North Carolina law, Arkansas also allows cities and
counties to