{"id":246211,"date":"2026-04-25T12:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/246211\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:57:09","slug":"florida-state-senator-wants-to-rewrite-growth-management-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/246211\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida state senator wants to rewrite growth management laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix<\/a><\/p>\n

Ocala Republican Sen. Stan McClain, a homebuilder who has filed dozens of bills dealing with development and housing during his decade in the Florida Legislature, wants to rewrite Chapter 163 of Florida law, the backbone of the state\u2019s growth management system.<\/p>\n

Speaking Wednesday during an all-day discussion of Florida\u2019s housing situation organized by the Florida Policy Project<\/a>, McClain said the statute retains references to a state land planning agency that no longer exists after then-Gov. Rick Scott and the GOP-controlled Legislature eliminated the Department of Community Affairs in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I\u2019d like to do over the next couple of years is try to build consensus around what are things that can be administratively approved,\u201d he said. He would prefer to incentivize local governments to \u201cdo the right thing\u201d and allow more mixed-used developments, rather than \u201ccontinue to preempt, preempt, preempt every year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if that\u2019s healthy for the Legislature or if it\u2019s healthy for local governments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

McClain joked during one part of the conversation that he\u2019s become \u201csomewhat of a \u2018Darth Vader\u2019\u201d to local governments because \u201cthey think all I do is run around trying to preempt them, which I do.\u201d He quickly added that he does work closely on policy with both the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties.<\/p>\n

The need for review<\/p>\n

His remarks show that he is ready to take on the responsibility of reviewing the state\u2019s land-use regulations after he was encouraged to do so by Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, towards the end of the recent legislative session.<\/p>\n

Passidomo strongly opposed McClain\u2019s\u00a0\u201cBlue Ribbon\u201d projects bill<\/a>, one of the most contentious land development proposals of the 2026 session, which failed due to Republican opposition.<\/p>\n

While speaking against the bill, Passidomo noted how over the past decade the Legislature has been pressured to push preemption bills to appease developers because of accusations that local governments have thrown up too many roadblocks to economic development. The entire process needs to be reviewed, she said, and suggested McClain was the ideal lawmaker to lead that discussion.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt just seems that every year I\u2019m having to go and fix a problem and a challenge that somebody\u2019s having in their community, and so it\u2019s just a piece at a time, piece at a time. And so I would really like to focus in the next couple of years,\u201d McClain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some people that are optimistic, who think that we can get it done this next session. I\u2019m not that optimistic. I think there will be a lot more work that needs to be done, but at least I think that we can get a framework started. What does it look like to rewrite 163? How does that affect local governments? What are some of the things that we can do from an administrative approval perspective?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018A complex issue\u2019<\/p>\n

Environmental organizations offered mixed responses upon learning of McClain\u2019s comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cMcClain\u2019s pro-growth legislative proposals this year in particular have already undermined growth management \u2014 now it sounds like he\u2019s going in for the kill,\u201d said Gil Smart, policy director for Friends of the Everglades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere already is a \u2018consensus\u2019 around administrative approval \u2014 that it\u2019s a terrible and anti-democratic idea. It cuts local citizens out of the decision-making process in their own hometowns by stipulating that if a proposal meets a laundry list of requirements it can (and sometimes must) be approved with no public hearings, no local input,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cSen. McClain is right, though, in saying that there really isn\u2019t a state planning agency anymore, but we see that as a terrible thing for intelligent growth in Florida.\u00a0Unchecked sprawl is eating up wild Florida and harming our waterways. Unfortunately, it just sounds like things are poised to get worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Florida continues to grow, it\u2019s important we\u2019re planning in a way that supports communities and protects the resources they depend on,\u201d said Beth Alvi, Audubon Florida\u2019s senior director for policy. \u201cFlorida voters are definitely eager to see Florida address the impacts of development on our water supply, wildlife habitat, and quality of life \u2014 we look forward to the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do need to look at our growth management laws,\u201d said Kim Dinkins, policy and planning director with 1000 Friends of Florida. \u201cThe key is there has to be consensus to make sure that all the necessary stakeholders are at the table, and to ensure that local governments will still maintain the voice to grow their communities the way that they want to.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Phoenix reached out to both the Florida Association of Counties and Florida League of Cities. The League did not immediately respond.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate Sen. McClain\u2019s willingness to take a broader view of growth management and his recognition that it is better to thoughtfully fix issues than continue making piecemeal changes,\u201d said Cragin Mosteller, deputy executive editor for the Florida Association of Counties.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a complex issue that warrants a comprehensive review, one that balances the needs of local communities and property developers while reflecting the priorities of Florida\u2019s residents. We welcome the opportunity to work with Sen. McClain on thoughtful, long-term policy solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Florida Phoenix<\/a> is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com<\/a>. Banner photo:\u00a0A housing development being built in Florida (iStock image).<\/p>\n

Sign up for The Invading Sea newsletter by visiting here<\/a>. To support The Invading Sea, click here<\/a> to make a donation. If you are interested in submitting an opinion piece to The Invading Sea, email Editor Nathan Crabbe<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Ocala Republican Sen. Stan McClain, a homebuilder who has filed dozens of bills…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246212,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[108284,108285,108286,107267,28,30,100,29,59695,829,108287,30903],"class_list":{"0":"post-246211","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-administrative-approval","9":"tag-blue-ribbon-bills","10":"tag-chapter-163","11":"tag-department-of-community-affairs","12":"tag-florida","13":"tag-florida-headlines","14":"tag-florida-legislature","15":"tag-florida-news","16":"tag-growth-management","17":"tag-local-governments","18":"tag-preemption-laws","19":"tag-stan-mcclain"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246211\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}