Proposed state legislation would hinder local government's authority

Manatee County voters made it clear at the ballot box in 2024 that they want to curtail out-of-control development.

County commissioners in 2025 have made moves to bring back the previous wetland buffers and to pursue "extraordinary circumstances" that would allow them to increase impact fees. They currently are working to repeal Ordinance 2.1.2.8 to essentially stop major developments of higher density past the Future Development Area Boundary.

But commissioners could be facing legislative hurdles if proposed bills move forward in the state legislature.

As the last scheduled day of the legislative session approaches May 2, Manatee County residents will be keeping their eye on a handful of bills that could impact gains they have made through the local election process.

Manatee County Commission Chair George Kruse called Senate Bill 1118 and House Bill 1209 “the worst bills of the 2025 session.” 

If passed, the bills would negate Kruse’s efforts to repeal Ordinance 2.1.2.8.

Each bill is 38 to 40 pages of language that would essentially take away the Manatee County Commission’s role to decide if a large parcel of land can be developed east of the FDAB if 50% of the parcel is adjacent to developed land, which was the premise of Ordinance 2.1.2.8.

The county ordinance allows for development if the parcel borders a property with existing utilities, but a major difference between the ordinance and the proposed bill is that in the ordinance, commissioners are allowed to use their discretion. 

Kruse called the ordinance subjective, not a guarantee of approval.

HB 1209 states that it would delete “a certain presumption of urban sprawl; requiring that an authorized development be treated as a conforming use; prohibiting a local government from enacting or enforcing certain regulations or laws.” 

SB 1118 sets expedited timelines for approvals and allows land owners to seek administrative approval instead of requesting a comprehensive plan amendment from the commission, which is the current requirement to rezone a property that isn't considered consistent with the future land use map. 

Commissioner Tal Siddique said the bill could be a reaction to the 2024 election cycle, which saw significant shifts on boards across the state in favor of either more controlled or sustainable development.

“I see this as the state legislature recognizing that there is, at a macro economic level, a need for development and economic growth,” he said. “In my opinion, the state is looking to ensure that there is some development and growth happening because home building is a big economic driver.” 

He noted that the two bills address the issue more forcefully than many municipalities might like. He personally favors home rule, which gives local government more autonomy. 

Another highly debated issue in Manatee County has been its collection of impact fees. Kruse and some residents led a charge to claim extraordinary circumstances to collect additional fees from developers in August 2024. 

In 2021, HB 337 set limits on how much a county can increase its impact fees on new developments. The maximum is 50% over four years unless extraordinary circumstances are claimed. 

In 2024, Kruse argued that it wasn’t a difficult process and cited examples of other counties that had successfully been granted their requests to increase impact fees. 

Now, SB 482 and HB 665 aim to define what constitutes extraordinary circumstances. 

Kruse said the first iteration of the bill set an impossible population increase standard to meet in order to claim extraordinary circumstances. 

During the commissioners' annual trip to Tallahassee to discuss their legislative priorities in March, Kruse asked for a list of Florida counties that have ever achieved such a required population spike that would have led to extraordinary circumstances for impact fees. 

There were none. 

Kruse said he could not have been the only person to question the metric because it has since been replaced with a “laundry list of different criteria.” 

Kruse hasn’t had time to sit down with staff to discuss which criteria Manatee County will or will not qualify for in its request for extraordinary circumstances, and he said it’s too late to travel back up to Tallahassee. 

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” he said, “And we just have to live with the consequences.” 

Other legislative action

Bill Conerly served on the Manatee County Planning Commission for 12 years before being elected to represent District 72 in the Florida House of Representatives in 2024 after Tommy Gregory took on the role of president at the State College of Florida. 

He said it can be difficult to solve problems statewide when the needs of a dense population like Miami differ so greatly from the needs of rural communities.

Conerly is a civil engineer by trade and the vice president of Kimley-Horne and Associates, an engineering and design firm. 

As a representative, he sits on six committees and subcommittees and is sponsoring and co-sponsoring several bills. 

“The fact that I’m an engineer, I’m starting to get a lot of these things that are more technical,” he said. “I think people are more comfortable with me being able to understand and explain it than the typical House member.” 

One example of a technical bill introduced by Conerly is House Bill 691, Spring Restoration. 

The bill addresses two issues — the high nutrient discharge of reclaimed water and the minimum flow and levels allowable in the Ichetucknee River and Santa Fe River. 

Both rivers are fed by springs, which are fed by the aquifer. 

It’s a complicated plan that involves creating a massive wetland that could be up to 1,800 acres, where wastewater could be treated biologically after it’s treated in a plant. 

The water would then be pumped 40 miles to a rapid infiltration basin, where the water would flow through the ground into the aquifer. 

The end result would be cleaner water and a constantly replenished aquifer. 

Conerly said the project would be funded by the utility providers that are pulling from the aquifer, and the system would offset their groundwater withdrawals.

Courtesy image

On the issue of stormwater, Conerly is working on how to navigate flood resiliency. 

“I have a desire to figure out a way to compel modeling for flood resiliency across the entire state,” he said. “Right now, we’re not taking advantage of the technology we have.”

He pointed to better data in defining a 100-year storm, which is a storm that has a 1% chance of occurring every year. He said the data is better now than when the rules were written, so they need to be reevaluated. 

Conerly noted that looking at an individual county doesn’t work because watersheds cover multiple counties. 

Using the Peace River Basin as an example, he said what happens in Winter Haven impacts Polk, Hardee and Charlotte counties. 

“We need to look at trying to expand the knowledge base with regard to storm flooding,” Conerly said. “I’m trying to get a study in place to do that.”