The Florida Senate

125.66  Ordinances; enactment procedure; emergency ordinances; rezoning or change of land use ordinances or resolutions.--

(1)  In exercising the ordinance-making powers conferred by s. 1, Art. VIII of the State Constitution, counties shall adhere to the procedures prescribed herein.

(2)(a)  The regular enactment procedure shall be as follows: The board of county commissioners at any regular or special meeting may enact or amend any ordinance, except as provided in subsection (4), if notice of intent to consider such ordinance is given at least 10 days prior to said meeting by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A copy of such notice shall be kept available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners. The notice of proposed enactment shall state the date, time, and place of the meeting; the title or titles of proposed ordinances; and the place or places within the county where such proposed ordinances may be inspected by the public. The notice shall also advise that interested parties may appear at the meeting and be heard with respect to the proposed ordinance.

(b)  Certified copies of ordinances or amendments thereto enacted under this regular enactment procedure shall be filed with the Department of State by the clerk of the board of county commissioners within 10 days after enactment by said board and shall take effect upon filing with the Department of State. However, any ordinance may prescribe a later effective date.

(c)  Whenever any ordinance has heretofore been enacted and a separate book of notices of intent was not kept by the clerk of the board of county commissioners, but a copy of the notice of intent was available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the clerk of the board of county commissioners, such ordinance is hereby validated.

(3)  The emergency enactment procedure shall be as follows: The board of county commissioners at any regular or special meeting may enact or amend any ordinance with a waiver of the notice requirements of subsection (2) by a four-fifths vote of the membership of such board, declaring that an emergency exists and that the immediate enactment of said ordinance is necessary. However, no emergency ordinance or resolution shall be enacted which establishes or amends the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land or changes the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category. Emergency enactment procedures for land use plans adopted pursuant to part II of chapter 163 shall be pursuant to that part. Certified copies of ordinances or amendments thereto enacted under this emergency enactment procedure by a county shall be filed with the Department of State by the clerk of the board of county commissioners as soon after enactment by said board as is practicable. An emergency ordinance enacted under this procedure shall be deemed to be filed and shall take effect when a copy has been accepted by the postal authorities of the Government of the United States for special delivery by certified mail to the Department of State.

(4)  Ordinances or resolutions, initiated by other than the county, that change the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land shall be enacted pursuant to subsection (2). Ordinances or resolutions that change the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, or ordinances or resolutions initiated by the county that change the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land shall be enacted pursuant to the following procedure:

(a)  In cases in which the proposed ordinance or resolution changes the actual zoning map designation for a parcel or parcels of land involving less than 10 contiguous acres, the board of county commissioners, in addition to following the general notice requirements of subsection (2), shall direct its clerk to notify by mail each real property owner whose land the governmental agency will redesignate by enactment of the ordinance or resolution and whose address is known by reference to the latest ad valorem tax records. The notice shall state the substance of the proposed ordinance or resolution as it affects that property owner and shall set a time and place for one or more public hearings on such ordinance or resolution. Such notice shall be given at least 30 days prior to the date set for the public hearing, and a copy of such notice shall be kept available for public inspection during the regular business hours of the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners. The board of county commissioners shall hold a public hearing on the proposed ordinance or resolution and may, upon the conclusion of the hearing, immediately adopt the ordinance or resolution.

¹(b)  In cases in which the proposed ordinance or resolution changes the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, or changes the actual zoning map designation of a parcel or parcels of land involving 10 contiguous acres or more, the board of county commissioners shall provide for public notice and hearings as follows:

1.  The board of county commissioners shall hold two advertised public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution. At least one hearing shall be held after 5 p.m. on a weekday, unless the board of county commissioners, by a majority plus one vote, elects to conduct that hearing at another time of day. The first public hearing shall be held at least 7 days after the day that the first advertisement is published. The second hearing shall be held at least 10 days after the first hearing and shall be advertised at least 5 days prior to the public hearing.

2.  The required advertisements shall be no less than 2 columns wide by 10 inches long in a standard size or a tabloid size newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be placed in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the county and of general interest and readership in the community pursuant to chapter 50, not one of limited subject matter. It is the legislative intent that, whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper that is published at least 5 days a week unless the only newspaper in the community is published less than 5 days a week. The advertisement shall be in substantially the following form:

The  (name of local governmental unit)  proposes to adopt the following by ordinance or resolution: (title of ordinance or resolution) .

A public hearing on the ordinance or resolution will be held on  (date and time)  at  (meeting place) .


Except for amendments which change the actual list of permitted, conditional, or prohibited uses within a zoning category, the advertisement shall contain a geographic location map which clearly indicates the area within the local government covered by the proposed ordinance or resolution. The map shall include major street names as a means of identification of the general area.

3.  In lieu of publishing the advertisements set out in this paragraph, the board of county commissioners may mail a notice to each person owning real property within the area covered by the ordinance or resolution. Such notice shall clearly explain the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall notify the person of the time, place, and location of both public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution.

(5)  Five years after the adoption of any ordinance or resolution adopted after the effective date of this act, no cause of action shall be commenced as to the validity of an ordinance or resolution based on the failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section. After 5 years, substantial compliance with the provisions contained in this section shall be a defense to an action to invalidate an ordinance or resolution for failure to comply with the provisions contained in this section. Without limitation, the common law doctrines of laches and waiver are valid defenses to any action challenging the validity of an ordinance or resolution based on failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section. Standing to initiate a challenge to the adoption of an ordinance or resolution based on a failure to strictly adhere to the provisions contained in this section shall be limited to a person who was entitled to actual or constructive notice at the time the ordinance or resolution was adopted. Nothing herein shall be construed to affect the standing requirements under part II of chapter 163.

(6)  The notice procedures required by this section are established as minimum notice procedures.

History.--s. 1, ch. 69-32; ss. 10, 35, ch. 69-106; s. 1, ch. 70-422; s. 1, ch. 76-155; s. 1, ch. 77-331; s. 1, ch. 89-267; s. 1, ch. 90-152; s. 1, ch. 95-198; s. 2, ch. 95-310.

¹Note.--As amended by s. 2, ch. 95-310. This version is published as the last expression of legislative will (see Journal of the Senate 1995, p. 1061, and Journal of the House of Representatives 1995, p. 1129). Paragraph (b) was also amended by s. 1, ch. 95-198, and that version reads:

(b)  In cases in which the proposed rezoning involves 5 percent or more of the total land area of the county, the board of county commissioners shall provide for public notice and hearings as follows:

1.  The board of county commissioners shall hold two advertised public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution. Both hearings shall be held after 5 p.m. on a weekday, unless the board of county commissioners, by a majority plus one vote, elects to conduct one or both of these hearings at another time of day. The first public hearing shall be held approximately 7 days after the day that the first advertisement is published. The second hearing shall be held approximately 2 weeks after the first hearing and shall be advertised approximately 5 days prior to the public hearing. The day, time, and place at which the second public hearing will be held shall be announced at the first public hearing.

2.  The required advertisements shall be no less than one-quarter page in a standard size or a tabloid size newspaper, and the headline in the advertisement shall be in a type no smaller than 18 point. The advertisement shall not be placed in that portion of the newspaper where legal notices and classified advertisements appear. The advertisement shall be published in a newspaper of general paid circulation in the county and of general interest and readership in the community pursuant to chapter 50, not one of limited subject matter. It is the legislative intent that, whenever possible, the advertisement shall appear in a newspaper that is published at least 5 days a week unless the only newspaper in the community is published less than 5 days a week. The advertisement shall be in the following form:

3.  In lieu of publishing the advertisements set out in this paragraph, the board of county commissioners may mail a notice to each person owning real property within the area covered by the ordinance or resolution. Such notice shall clearly explain the proposed ordinance or resolution and shall notify the person of the time, place, and location of both public hearings on the proposed ordinance or resolution.