MANATEE COUNTY – Manatee County is joining a soon to be filed lawsuit that will challenge the new state law created by the Florida Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis’s adoption and enactment of Senate Bill 180 earlier this year.
On Sept. 2, county commissioners voted 6-1 in fav or of joining legal challenge at an initial cost of $10,000, which additional costs anticipated if a judge’s order is issued and then appealed.
Originally intended to prevent city and county governments from making it more difficult for property owners to repair, rehabilitate and rebuild their hurricane-damaged structures, the far-reaching state law prohibits city and county governments from adopting land use regulations that are more restrictive or cumbersome than those that existed on Aug. 1, 2024.
The new law’s potential implications recently caused county commissioners to delay voting on returning the county’s wetland setback requirements to the more stringent requirements that were in place before the previous county commission weakened them in a manner more favorable to developers.
A memo included in the Sept. 2 county commission meeting packet says, “SB180 is overbroad and overreaching. It has been used by developers to put a choke hold on Manatee County and on home rule. Manatee County looks to challenge SB180 in the court of law in order to remove the section that prevents Manatee County from taking necessary steps to mitigate flooding and damage. The section should only apply to property damaged in an emergency caused by the emergency.”
When providing public input before the commissioners discussed joining the lawsuit, county resident Dalton Nelson said the new law undermines home rule authority and strips local gov ernments of the flexibility needed to respond to overdevelopment, flooding, infrastructure planning, environmental protections and other challenges.
“To the make matters worse, Mr. DeSantis has gone so far as to threaten removing commissioners who do not fall in line with these laws. That is not democracy. That is intimidation. When commissioners govern out of fear of removal instead of in the best interests of the residents the entire system of local government is weakened,” Nelson said.
County resident Anthony Shulo said the new law fails to make distinctions between disaster recovery and future land use decisions, which he said are two very different scenarios: “Without official clarification, the door is already open misapplication and misinterpretation – something that should concern every resident of this county.”
County resident Glen Gibellina noted every state legislator in the Manatee County Legislative Delegation voted in favor of the new law, including Sen. Jim Boyd and state representatives Will Robinson Jr. and Bill Conerly.
District 3 commissioner Tal Siddique doesn’t oppose all the provisions set forth in SB 180 but he said it contains some “bad language” and some developers are already actively looking to litigate in court the definitions of “more restrictive” and “burdensome.”
“That’s operating in bad faith,” Siddique said.
“This notion that we’re restricting homeowners from rebuilding is just ridiculous. It’s false. I welcome us joining this lawsuit. I think it’s the only way to make our voices heard,” Siddique said. “I’ve yet to receive one call from any builder about how we can make it easier to let property owners rebuild their homes – and I represent the most hurricane-damaged part of the county (Anna Maria Island).”
Commissioner Carol Ann Felts said, “It’s not easy to convince someone that they’ve made a mistake by hitting them over the head. This is just part of the American way. We have a law that is made, we abide by that law and then we legally find ways to change that law if they don’t work or us. This is how our democratic republic works. I don’t want the lawsuit being seen as antagonistic. It’s just not a good law.”
Mike Rahn was the only commissioner who opposed joining the lawsuit at this time.
“Why do we need to join now?” he said. “We took a breather on moving forward with the wetland rollback and repealing (land use policy) 2.1.2.8. We’re poking a pretty big bear here. We’ve already felt appropriations get withdrawn or vetoed.”
Rahn said the lawsuit could take 3-4 years to resolve and he prefers to instead work with state legislature in hopes of amending the law during the state legislators’ 2026 legislative session.
“I’d rather build consensus with other counties and say this is what we want, rather than slapping a lawsuit on the state of Florida. There will be retribution, I’m telling you. We’re feeling it now over 2.1.2.8. and the wetlands,” he said.
Related coverage:
Holmes Beach officials discuss SB 180
