A bill to pre-empt South Florida zoning that restricts residential development on contaminated lands, such as brownfields, just cleared the Senate with unanimous approval.

Senators voted 36-0 for the measure (SB 1434) by Miami Republican Sen. Alexis Calatayud — far better support than its repeatedly postponed House analogue (HB 979) by Hialeah Republican Rep. David Borrero has received.

The bill, Calatayud said, “will incentivize the redevelopment of environmentally challenged properties within the state’s urban communities to increase the amount of housing stock available, streamlining their subdivision and zoning processes.”

That’s a largely apt description.

Dubbed the “Infield Redevelopment Act,” SB 1434 in its current form would require local governments to allow residential development on contaminated or brownfield parcels of at least five acres next to residential zoning in counties with more than 1.475 million residents and at least 15 municipalities.

Today, that description applies to two counties: Miami-Dade and Broward.

Under the proposal, local governments would have to permit these qualifying parcels to be developed with housing and must administratively approve their subdivision and development applications.

Density could not exceed the average density of adjacent residential zoning districts or 25 units per acre, whichever is lower, though the development’s intensity must match nearby standards.

SB 1434 also would require buffers of at least 20 feet between new developments and surrounding single-family homes or townhouses and impose additional rules if the land previously contained recreational facilities such as golf courses or tennis courts.

In such cases, developers must show the facilities have been unused for at least a year, pay double park impact fees and give nearby property owners an option to buy the land to preserve it as open space.

SB 1434 and HB 979, which encountered repeated Democratic opposition at their three Committee stops this Session, are largely the same. However, the House version is slightly broader and more pre-emptive, allowing potentially higher-density development and voiding conflicting local laws retroactively.