In Manatee County, developers can now build closer to mangroves than ever. In New Smyrna Beach, the city\u2019s new flood protections could be overturned. In Orange County, a decade\u2019s worth of planning for a new zoning code is dead in the water.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all thanks to a few crucial words \u2014 \u201crestrictive and burdensome\u201d \u2014 inserted in a bill initially introduced to help Florida communities recover from devastating hurricanes. Instead, counties and cities across Florida have faced a wave of lawsuits from developers \u2014 citing that key phrase \u2014 with demands to build cheaper or denser or to push into land considered flood-prone or closer to protected natural area like mangroves.<\/p>\n
A growing number of municipalities and smart growth advocates argue the resulting new law has flipped the power over new development regulations from local governments to the companies doing the building.<\/p>\n