Community Planning Act; definitions.

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(1) “Adaptation action area” or “adaptation area” means a designation in the coastal management element of a local government’s comprehensive plan which identifies one or more areas that experience coastal flooding due to extreme high tides and storm surge, and that are vulnerable to the related impacts of rising sea levels for the purpose of prioritizing funding for infrastructure needs and adaptation planning.

(2) “Administration Commission” means the Governor and the Cabinet, and for purposes of this chapter the commission shall act on a simple majority vote, except that for purposes of imposing the sanctions provided in s. 163.3184(8), affirmative action shall require the approval of the Governor and at least three other members of the commission.

(3) “Affordable housing” has the same meaning as in s. 420.0004(3).

(4) “Agricultural enclave” means an unincorporated, undeveloped parcel that:

(a) Is owned by a single person or entity;

(b) Has been in continuous use for bona fide agricultural purposes, as defined by s. 193.461, for a period of 5 years prior to the date of any comprehensive plan amendment application;

(c) Is surrounded on at least 75 percent of its perimeter by:

  1. 1. Property that has existing industrial, commercial, or residential development; or

  2. 2. Property that the local government has designated, in the local government’s comprehensive plan, zoning map, and future land use map, as land that is to be developed for industrial, commercial, or residential purposes, and at least 75 percent of such property is existing industrial, commercial, or residential development;

(d) Has public services, including water, wastewater, transportation, schools, and recreation facilities, available or such public services are scheduled in the capital improvement element to be provided by the local government or can be provided by an alternative provider of local government infrastructure in order to ensure consistency with applicable concurrency provisions of s. 163.3180; and

(e) Does not exceed 1,280 acres; however, if the property is surrounded by existing or authorized residential development that will result in a density at buildout of at least 1,000 residents per square mile, then the area shall be determined to be urban and the parcel may not exceed 4,480 acres.

(5) “Antiquated subdivision” means a subdivision that was recorded or approved more than 20 years ago and that has substantially failed to be built and the continued buildout of the subdivision in accordance with the subdivision’s zoning and land use purposes would cause an imbalance of land uses and would be detrimental to the local and regional economies and environment, hinder current planning practices, and lead to inefficient and fiscally irresponsible development patterns as determined by the respective jurisdiction in which the subdivision is located.

(6) “Area” or “area of jurisdiction” means the total area qualifying under this act, whether this be all of the lands lying within the limits of an incorporated municipality, lands in and adjacent to incorporated municipalities, all unincorporated lands within a county, or areas comprising combinations of the lands in incorporated municipalities and unincorporated areas of counties.

(7) “Capital improvement” means physical assets constructed or purchased to provide, improve, or replace a public facility and which are typically large scale and high in cost. The cost of a capital improvement is generally nonrecurring and may require multiyear financing. For the purposes of this part, physical assets that have been identified as existing or projected needs in the individual comprehensive plan elements shall be considered capital improvements.

(8) “Coastal area” means the 35 coastal counties and all coastal municipalities within their boundaries.

(9) “Compatibility” means a condition in which land uses or conditions can coexist in relative proximity to each other in a stable fashion over time such that no use or condition is unduly negatively impacted directly or indirectly by another use or condition.

(10) “Comprehensive plan” means a plan that meets the requirements of ss. 163.3177 and 163.3178.

(11) “Deepwater ports” means the ports identified in s. 403.021(9).

(12) “Density” means an objective measurement of the number of people or residential units allowed per unit of land, such as residents or employees per acre.

(13) “Developer” means any person, including a governmental agency, undertaking any development as defined in this act.

(14) “Development” has the same meaning as in s. 380.04.

(15) “Development order” means any order granting, denying, or granting with conditions an application for a development permit.

(16) “Development permit” includes any building permit, zoning permit, subdivision approval, rezoning, certification, special exception, variance, or any other official action of local government having the effect of permitting the development of land.

(17) “Downtown revitalization” means the physical and economic renewal of a central business district of a community as designated by local government, and includes both downtown development and redevelopment.

(18) “Floodprone areas” means areas inundated during a 100-year flood event or areas identified by the National Flood Insurance Program as an A Zone on flood insurance rate maps or flood hazard boundary maps.

(19) “Goal” means the long-term end toward which programs or activities are ultimately directed.

(20) “Governing body” means the board of county commissioners of a county, the commission or council of an incorporated municipality, or any other chief governing body of a unit of local government, however designated, or the combination of such bodies where joint utilization of this act is accomplished as provided herein.

(21) “Governmental agency” means:

(a) The United States or any department, commission, agency, or other instrumentality thereof.

(b) This state or any department, commission, agency, or other instrumentality thereof.

(c) Any local government, as defined in this section, or any department, commission, agency, or other instrumentality thereof.

(d) Any school board or other special district, authority, or governmental entity.

(22) “Intensity” means an objective measurement of the extent to which land may be developed or used, including the consumption or use of the space above, on, or below ground; the measurement of the use of or demand on natural resources; and the measurement of the use of or demand on facilities and services.

(23) “Internal trip capture” means trips generated by a mixed-use project that travel from one onsite land use to another onsite land use without using the external road network.

(24) “Land” means the earth, water, and air, above, below, or on the surface, and includes any improvements or structures customarily regarded as land.

(25) “Land development regulation commission” means a commission designated by a local government to develop and recommend, to the local governing body, land development regulations which implement the adopted comprehensive plan and to review land development regulations, or amendments thereto, for consistency with the adopted plan and report to the governing body regarding its findings. The responsibilities of the land development regulation commission may be performed by the local planning agency.

(26) “Land development regulations” means ordinances enacted by governing bodies for the regulation of any aspect of development and includes any local government zoning, rezoning, subdivision, building construction, or sign regulations or any other regulations controlling the development of land, except that this definition does not apply in s. 163.3213.

(27) “Land use” means the development that has occurred on the land, the development that is proposed by a developer on the land, or the use that is permitted or permissible on the land under an adopted comprehensive plan or element or portion thereof, land development regulations, or a land development code, as the context may indicate.

(28) “Level of service” means an indicator of the extent or degree of service provided by, or proposed to be provided by, a facility based on and related to the operational characteristics of the facility. Level of service shall indicate the capacity per unit of demand for each public facility.

(29) “Local government” means any county or municipality.

(30) “Local planning agency” means the agency designated to prepare the comprehensive plan or plan amendments required by this act.

(31) “Master development plan” or “master plan,” for the purposes of this act and 26 U.S.C. s. 118, means a planning document that integrates plans, orders, agreements, designs, and studies to guide development as defined in this section and may include, as appropriate, authorized land uses, authorized amounts of horizontal and vertical development, and public facilities, including local and regional water storage for water quality and water supply. The term includes, but is not limited to, a plan for a development under this chapter or chapter 380, a basin management action plan pursuant to s. 403.067(7), a regional water supply plan pursuant to s. 373.709, a watershed protection plan pursuant to s. 373.4595, and a spring protection plan developed pursuant to s. 373.807.

(32) “Newspaper of general circulation” means a newspaper published at least on a weekly basis and printed in the language most commonly spoken in the area within which it circulates, but does not include a newspaper intended primarily for members of a particular professional or occupational group, a newspaper whose primary function is to carry legal notices, or a newspaper that is given away primarily to distribute advertising.

(33) “New town” means an urban activity center and community designated on the future land use map of sufficient size, population, and land use composition to support a variety of economic and social activities consistent with an urban area designation. New towns shall include basic economic activities; all major land use categories, with the possible exception of agricultural and industrial; and a centrally provided full range of public facilities and services that demonstrate internal trip capture. A new town shall be based on a master development plan.

(34) “Objective” means a specific, measurable, intermediate end that is achievable and marks progress toward a goal.

(35) “Parcel of land” means any quantity of land capable of being described with such definiteness that its locations and boundaries may be established, which is designated by its owner or developer as land to be used, or developed as, a unit or which has been used or developed as a unit.

(36) “Person” means an individual, corporation, governmental agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal entity.

(37) “Policy” means the way in which programs and activities are conducted to achieve an identified goal.

(38) “Projects that promote public transportation” means projects that directly affect the provisions of public transit, including transit terminals, transit lines and routes, separate lanes for the exclusive use of public transit services, transit stops (shelters and stations), office buildings or projects that include fixed-rail or transit terminals as part of the building, and projects which are transit oriented and designed to complement reasonably proximate planned or existing public facilities.

(39) “Public facilities” means major capital improvements, including transportation, sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable water, educational, parks and recreational facilities.

(40) “Public notice” means notice as required by s. 125.66(2) for a county or by s. 166.041(3)(a) for a municipality. The public notice procedures required in this part are established as minimum public notice procedures.

(41) “Regional planning agency” means the council created pursuant to chapter 186.

(42) “Seasonal population” means part-time inhabitants who use, or may be expected to use, public facilities or services, but are not residents and includes tourists, migrant farmworkers, and other short-term and long-term visitors.

(43) “Sector plan” means the process authorized by s. 163.3245 in which one or more local governments engage in long-term planning for a large area and address regional issues through adoption of detailed specific area plans within the planning area as a means of fostering innovative planning and development strategies, furthering the purposes of this part and part I of chapter 380, reducing overlapping data and analysis requirements, protecting regionally significant resources and facilities, and addressing extrajurisdictional impacts. The term includes an optional sector plan that was adopted before June 2, 2011.

(44) “State land planning agency” means the Department of Economic Opportunity.

(45) “Structure” has the same meaning as in s. 380.031(19).

(46) “Suitability” means the degree to which the existing characteristics and limitations of land and water are compatible with a proposed use or development.

(47) “Transit-oriented development” means a project or projects, in areas identified in a local government comprehensive plan, that is or will be served by existing or planned transit service. These designated areas shall be compact, moderate to high density developments, of mixed-use character, interconnected with other land uses, bicycle and pedestrian friendly, and designed to support frequent transit service operating through, collectively or separately, rail, fixed guideway, streetcar, or bus systems on dedicated facilities or available roadway connections.

(48) “Transportation corridor management” means the coordination of the planning of designated future transportation corridors with land use planning within and adjacent to the corridor to promote orderly growth, to meet the concurrency requirements of this chapter, and to maintain the integrity of the corridor for transportation purposes.

(49) “Urban infill” means the development of vacant parcels in otherwise built-up areas where public facilities such as sewer systems, roads, schools, and recreation areas are already in place and the average residential density is at least five dwelling units per acre, the average nonresidential intensity is at least a floor area ratio of 1.0 and vacant, developable land does not constitute more than 10 percent of the area.

(50) “Urban redevelopment” means demolition and reconstruction or substantial renovation of existing buildings or infrastructure within urban infill areas, existing urban service areas, or community redevelopment areas created pursuant to part III.

(51) “Urban service area” means areas identified in the comprehensive plan where public facilities and services, including, but not limited to, central water and sewer capacity and roads, are already in place or are identified in the capital improvements element. The term includes any areas identified in the comprehensive plan as urban service areas, regardless of local government limitation.

(52) “Urban sprawl” means a development pattern characterized by low density, automobile-dependent development with either a single use or multiple uses that are not functionally related, requiring the extension of public facilities and services in an inefficient manner, and failing to provide a clear separation between urban and rural uses.

History.—s. 3, ch. 75-257; s. 49, ch. 79-190; s. 10, ch. 81-167; s. 10, ch. 83-55; s. 2, ch. 85-55; s. 3, ch. 92-129; s. 2, ch. 93-206; s. 2, ch. 95-257; s. 22, ch. 95-280; s. 7, ch. 95-310; s. 2, ch. 98-176; s. 2, ch. 99-378; s. 1, ch. 2005-290; s. 3, ch. 2006-255; s. 1, ch. 2007-204; s. 2, ch. 2009-96; s. 2, ch. 2011-14; ss. 6, 80, ch. 2011-139; s. 59, ch. 2011-142; s. 21, ch. 2018-158; s. 30, ch. 2019-3.


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