A bill overriding local zoning authority to allow housing on idle Southeast Florida golf courses drew little public attention during Florida’s legislative session.
When the Infill Redevelopment Act passed, warnings over problems it could cause bubbled up, but only in limited circles. It passed in March without a single “nay” vote in the Senate and overwhelmingly cleared the House.
The bill landed on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk this week, and now what were isolated warnings have flared up into threats of lawsuits as homeowners fear their million-dollar views of golf course greens and fairways will disappear.
“You’re going to see a lot of angry voters,” Steve Geller, a Broward County commissioner and former state senator, told The Builder’s Daily.
The bill is the latest in a series of state laws that have made Florida a national example for stripping local governments of zoning authority in the name of housing affordability – a pattern that has sparked lawsuits and resistance from counties and municipalities statewide.
A narrow law impacting three counties
Sponsored by Miami state Sen. Alexis Calatayud, the bill explicitly bars local governments from adopting or enforcing any ordinance, regulation or law that “restricts, prohibits, or otherwise limits” residential development on qualifying parcels. A staff-level administrative approval is all the law demands.
Qualifying land must be a minimum of five acres of environmentally impacted land in a county with a population exceeding 1.475 million and at least 15 municipalities. Those thresholds limit the law’s reach to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
The bill’s most detailed section addresses former recreational facilities – specifically naming golf courses, tennis courts, swimming pools and clubhouses. Developers seeking to build on such sites must prove that the facilities have been idle for at least 12 consecutive months, pay double the applicable parks and recreation impact fees, and notify adjacent property owners by certified mail.
Those neighbors have 90 days to purchase the land at a price capped by law before the developer can proceed.
Critics warn the peril may outweigh the promise. Insurance defense attorney John Riordan of Kelley Kronenberg in West Palm Beach told the Insurance Journal the legislation “is likely to generate several categories of litigation, including insurance coverage disputes, construction defect/toxic exposure claims, mass tort litigation, and government preemption challenges.”
Calatayud has argued the bill does not remove existing environmental cleanup requirements and only removes zoning barriers that have driven up costs for developers and homebuyers.
A pattern of pushback
DeSantis signed the Live Local Act in 2023 to fund workforce housing and streamline development as a housing crisis emerged from the state’s nation-leading population growth during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But the state has also become a litmus test for local government pushback. Hillsborough County sued the state in March, arguing Live Local is unconstitutional because it undermines local land-use control and violates due process.
Developers have sued municipalities that rejected Live Local projects. In late March, a Broward County judge ruled in favor of Hollywood’s decision to reject a proposed 17-story beachfront tower under Live Local rules.
Keith Poliakoff, the developer’s attorney, told The Builder’s Daily that the developer filed a notice of appeal but is awaiting a decision on a motion to reconsider.
To counter local government resistance, state lawmakers have tweaked Live Local three times. The 4.0 version passed earlier this year.
Defining the affordability challenge
“The Legislature finds that this state’s urban areas lack sufficient land for the development of additional residential uses, which has led to a shortage of supply,” the bill states.
The Atlantic Ocean borders Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach to the east and the Everglades and state wildlife management areas to the west, with their northern and southern edges largely built out. To build needed housing, that means building up, Geller said.
Idle golf courses are among the last large, undeveloped parcels left in those counties. Palm Beach County touts itself as Florida’s Golf Capital, with more than 150 courses. Broward and Miami-Dade have roughly 40 or more each.
Florida golf courses typically cover about 170 acres for an 18-hole course, according to a 2021 report by smart growth advocacy organization 1000 Friends of Florida. At that size, the bill puts more than 50,000 acres in play for possible redevelopment.
Golf courses would have to cease operating to unlock any of that land. Golf was a dying sport before the pandemic, causing financial trouble for courses nationwide. Many closed. The sport gained renewed interest during the pandemic, but how long that lasts remains an open question, Geller said.
“We do have an affordable housing crisis in Southeast Florida,” Geller said. “We are typically battling with Orlando over who is the most unaffordable in the nation.”
But he said the answer to the affordability crisis isn’t to take away local government control.