CS/HB 439 (McClain) and SB 1604 (Ingoglia):

As amended, CS/HB 439 in its current form revises and amends a variety of elements impacting local government comprehensive planning as well as methodologies in data usage and planning period timeframes. The bills include local governments must comply with Special Magistrate decisions where land use decisions were challenged by petitioners who were previously denied. Several key terms are redefined such as Density, Intensity, Urban Service Area and Urban Sprawl. The bill requires the use of the State Office of Economic and Demographic Research as the sole source of data for Comprehensive Planning. The bill removes the consideration of Levels of Service as a basis for denying a petition. Planned Unit Developments are removed from this section of Florida Statutes pertaining to architectural/design standards. The bills also prohibit the formation of new Design Review Boards unless established before January 1, 2020. The bills have a retroactive date of January 1, 2022. SB 1604 includes many of the same provisions of CS/HB 439 but does not include the Special Magistrate mandate, and data source requirements are different to allow for local data input into comprehensive plans. (Chapman)