A bill introduced in the Florida Legislature last month would force citizens who file lawsuits opposing local government land-use amendments, including zoning for new housing projects, to pay the local government’s legal fees if the public agency prevails.
HB 359, authored by state Rep. Wyman Duggan (R-Jacksonville), sponsored the legislation, which some Florida environmentalists feel would serve to hamstring people’s ability to fight against development of fragile lands around the state.
Under the provisions of the bill, “the prevailing party in a challenge to a (comprehensive) plan or plan amendment is entitled to recover attorney fees and costs,” the text of the bill says, “... awarding attorney fees and costs, including reasonable appellate attorney fees and costs, to the prevailing party in a challenge to the compliance of a small-scale development amendment.”
Duggan did not respond to a request for comment about the bill, but Gill Smart, policy director for Friends of the Everglades, said that if passed, the proposal would give developers greater leverage in land-use litigation.
“This stacks the deck even more in favor of developers,” Smart told the Florida Record in an email. “The end result will be more development, more sprawl in areas that would have been off-limits without changes to local comp plans.”
Putting citizens on the hook for defendants’ legal fees when they lose serves to dissuade the public’s involvement in such debates over housing and development, he said.
“HB 359 is a bill that will facilitate more sprawl in Florida by attempting to intimidate citizens who might otherwise stand in the way,” Smart said. “If passed, citizens who challenge local comprehensive plans or comp plan amendments – often passed to facilitate more development – would be on the hook for the other side's legal fees and court costs if they lose. That could be a significant burden for the average citizen – and that's likely the point, to scare them away from filing a challenge.”
If approved by lawmakers and the governor, the bill would take effect on July 1 of this year.