ADU dispute could set back Florida Live Local Act expansion

"Since passing the Live Local Act in 2023, Florida has been a leader in a widening national charge toward zoning reform and new supply incentives to improve housing affordability. The movement has intensified during the post-COVID-19 pandemic, as Gen Z adults at the leading edge of the cohort try to form new households. Rents and home prices shot up as people and jobs flocked to the state, driving housing demand beyond supply."

"Local zoning provisions for accessory dwelling units and their use as short-term rental units in single-family neighborhoods surfaced as a chokepoint that could scuttle any new Live Local updates this session in Tallahassee. It's going to get a little spicy here in the next couple of weeks, Kody Glazer, Florida Housing Coalition's chief legal and policy officer, told The Builder's Daily."

"Live Local 4.0 would refine land-use mandates and tax exemptions and add transit-oriented and rural tiers. It would also tighten rules on height, density, parking and ADUs to steer more workforce housing into job centers and transit access points."

Florida's Live Local Act, passed in 2023, established the state as a national leader in zoning reform and housing supply incentives to address affordability challenges. The legislation uses state-level preemption to unlock commercial land, streamline approvals, and expand workforce housing. With over 180 projects in the pipeline and six having broken ground, the state now pursues Live Local 4.0 amendments to refine land-use mandates, add transit-oriented and rural tiers, and tighten rules on height, density, parking, and accessory dwelling units. However, local governments have contested state mandates, and current legislative negotiations center on contentious provisions regarding ADU zoning and short-term rental use in single-family neighborhoods, threatening passage of updates before the session deadline.

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