You Might Be In a position to Lengthen Your Allow Expiration Dates Resulting from Hurricane Idalia – Right here’s How

Expiration Dates Resulting from Hurricane Idalia – Right here’s How. As Hurricane Idalia heads for Florida’s Gulf Coast, some property house owners, builders, development trade professionals, and different constructing permit- and authorization-holders could also be eligible for extensions to protect their growth and development rights. A Florida regulation permits sure qualifying permits and authorizations to be prolonged past their present expiration dates as soon as the Governor points a state of emergency stemming from pure causes. Governor DeSantis declared a 60-day state of emergency for a number of Florida counties in gentle of “Make investments 93L,” now referred to as Tropical Storm Idalia, on August 26, 2023 (see Govt Order No. 23-175 Amending Govt Order Nos. 23-171, 23-172, and 23-174).  The Governor prolonged the state of emergency by one other 60-days on October 24, 2023, pursuant to Govt Order No. 23-212.

Whether or not or not this extension is out there to you depends upon your explicit circumstances. Whereas the next offers an outline of this allow extension regulation, together with what kinds of permits and authorizations are lined and the way lengthy your extension might probably be, Katie Berkey, Esq., AICP at Becker can advise you on whether or not and the way this regulation can apply to your state of affairs.

Qualifying for the Extension

The regulation at problem ‑‑Part 252.363(1)(a), Florida Statutes (2023), as amended by Part 4, Chapter 2023-304, Legal guidelines of Florida (SB 250, which applies retroactively to September 28, 2022) — offers that sure qualifying permits and authorizations are eligible for an extension as soon as a state of emergency for a pure emergency is issued by the Governor for the size of time the state of emergency is in impact, plus an extra 24 months. A written request for the extension should be submitted to the authorizing governmental company inside 90 days after the state of emergency has expired (§ 252.363(1)(b), Florida Statutes). Six kinds of permits and authorizations qualify for an extension beneath these circumstances:

1. The expiration of a growth order issued by an area authorities, which incorporates all kinds of native authorities approvals that allow growth actions
2. The expiration of a constructing allow
3. The expiration of a allow issued by the Division of Environmental Safety or a water administration district for administration and storage of floor waters pursuant to Half IV of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes
4. Consumptive water use permits issued by the Division of Environmental Safety or a water administration district pursuant to Half II of Chapter 373, Florida Statutes, for land topic to a growth settlement beneath Sections 163.3220-163.3243, Florida Statutes, wherein the permittee and the developer are the identical or a associated entity
5. The buildout date of a Improvement of Regional Affect
6. The expiration of a growth allow or growth settlement approved by the Florida Statutes, together with these approved beneath the Florida Native Authorities Settlement Act beneath Part 163.3221, Florida Statutes, or issued by an area authorities or different governmental company

Notifying the Authorities That You Are Invoking Your Proper to an Extension

You do not want to use to a authorities company to get permission to increase qualifying permits and authorizations. Fairly, the extension happens as a matter of regulation so long as you provide a written notification of your intent to train your proper beneath the statute to the suitable authorities physique. There may be even a chance that extensions might lengthen for so long as 4 years beneath the precise circumstances. This will happen the place states of emergency are declared one after one other in the identical counties, one thing that may be a typical incidence in Florida as a result of state’s climate volatility.

How Becker Can Assist

For those who maintain permits or different authorizations in Florida and would love help in reviewing and evaluating attainable alternatives for extension to protect your growth rights, please contact Katie Berkey, Esq., AICP.

Katie Berkey, Esq., AICP, is a Board Licensed Specialist in Metropolis, County and Native Authorities Regulation and a licensed Skilled Planner by the American Institute of Licensed Planners; she can also be a shareholder with Becker & Poliakoff. Katie represents shoppers in zoning, land use and planning issues. She serves on the board of administrators for Maintain Lee County Lovely, is a member of the City Land Institute (ULI) of Southwest Florida Administration Committee and ULI’s Girls’s Management Initiative steering committee and serves on the Moms Esquire Breastfeeding Lodging Committee. If you wish to know extra about what choices could also be out there on your present or future growth in gentle of the “Stay Native Act,” please don’t hesitate to contact Katie.

Hurricane Idalia