Florida Senate - 2023 CS for SB 718
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Yarborough
578-02925-23 2023718c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to municipal boundaries; reordering
3 and amending s. 171.031, F.S.; defining the term
4 “feasibility study”; amending s. 171.0413, F.S.;
5 specifying the measurement of land during annexation
6 procedures; amending s. 171.042, F.S.; replacing the
7 term “report” with “feasibility study”; amending s.
8 171.051, F.S.; revising contraction procedures when
9 qualified voters desire to be excluded from municipal
10 boundaries; prohibiting contraction under certain
11 circumstances; amending s. 171.204, F.S.; conforming a
12 cross-reference; providing an effective date.
13
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
15
16 Section 1. Section 171.031, Florida Statutes, is reordered
17 and amended to read:
18 171.031 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the following
19 words and terms have the following meanings unless some other
20 meaning is plainly indicated:
21 (1) “Annexation” means the adding of real property to the
22 boundaries of an incorporated municipality, such addition making
23 such real property in every way a part of the municipality.
24 (4)(2) “Contraction” means the reversion of real property
25 within municipal boundaries to an unincorporated status.
26 (7)(3) “Municipality” means a municipality created pursuant
27 to general or special law authorized or recognized pursuant to
28 s. 2 or s. 6, Art. VIII of the State Constitution.
29 (8)(4) “Newspaper of general circulation” means a newspaper
30 printed in the language most commonly spoken in the area within
31 which it circulates, which is readily available for purchase by
32 all inhabitants in its area of circulation, but does not include
33 a newspaper intended primarily for members of a particular
34 professional or occupational group, a newspaper whose primary
35 function is to carry legal notices, or a newspaper that is given
36 away primarily to distribute advertising.
37 (9)(5) “Parties affected” means any persons or firms owning
38 property in, or residing in, either a municipality proposing
39 annexation or contraction or owning property that is proposed
40 for annexation to a municipality or any governmental unit with
41 jurisdiction over such area.
42 (6) “Feasibility study” means an analysis conducted by
43 qualified staff or consultants of the economic, market,
44 technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed
45 annexation or contraction, as applicable.
46 (10) “Qualified voter” means any person registered to vote
47 in accordance with law.
48 (11)(7) “Sufficiency of petition” means the verification of
49 the signatures and addresses of all signers of a petition with
50 the voting list maintained by the county supervisor of elections
51 and certification that the number of valid signatures represents
52 the required percentage of the total number of qualified voters
53 in the area affected by a proposed annexation.
54 (12)(8) “Urban in character” means an area used intensively
55 for residential, urban recreational or conservation parklands,
56 commercial, industrial, institutional, or governmental purposes
57 or an area undergoing development for any of these purposes.
58 (14)(9) “Urban services” means any services offered by a
59 municipality, either directly or by contract, to any of its
60 present residents.
61 (13)(10) “Urban purposes” means that land is used
62 intensively for residential, commercial, industrial,
63 institutional, and governmental purposes, including any parcels
64 of land retained in their natural state or kept free of
65 development as dedicated greenbelt areas.
66 (3)(11) “Contiguous” means that a substantial part of a
67 boundary of the territory sought to be annexed by a municipality
68 is coterminous with a part of the boundary of the municipality.
69 The separation of the territory sought to be annexed from the
70 annexing municipality by a publicly owned county park; a right
71 of-way for a highway, road, railroad, canal, or utility; or a
72 body of water, watercourse, or other minor geographical division
73 of a similar nature, running parallel with and between the
74 territory sought to be annexed and the annexing municipality,
75 may shall not prevent annexation under this act, provided the
76 presence of such a division does not, as a practical matter,
77 prevent the territory sought to be annexed and the annexing
78 municipality from becoming a unified whole with respect to
79 municipal services or prevent their inhabitants from fully
80 associating and trading with each other, socially and
81 economically. However, nothing in this subsection may herein
82 shall be construed to allow local rights-of-way, utility
83 easements, railroad rights-of-way, or like entities to be
84 annexed in a corridor fashion to gain contiguity; and when any
85 provision or provisions of any special law prohibits or laws
86 prohibit the annexation of territory that is separated from the
87 annexing municipality by a body of water or watercourse, then
88 that law shall prevent annexation under this act.
89 (2)(12) “Compactness” means concentration of a piece of
90 property in a single area and precludes any action which would
91 create enclaves, pockets, or finger areas in serpentine
92 patterns. Any annexation proceeding in any county in this the
93 state must shall be designed in such a manner as to ensure that
94 the area will be reasonably compact.
95 (5)(13) “Enclave” means:
96 (a) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is
97 enclosed within and bounded on all sides by a single
98 municipality; or
99 (b) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is
100 enclosed within and bounded by a single municipality and a
101 natural or manmade obstacle that allows the passage of vehicular
102 traffic to that unincorporated area only through the
103 municipality.
104 Section 2. Subsection (5) of section 171.0413, Florida
105 Statutes, is amended to read:
106 171.0413 Annexation procedures.—Any municipality may annex
107 contiguous, compact, unincorporated territory in the following
108 manner:
109 (5) If more than 70 percent of the acres of land in an area
110 proposed to be annexed is owned by individuals, corporations, or
111 legal entities which are not registered electors of such area,
112 such area may shall not be annexed unless the owners of more
113 than 50 percent of the acres of land in such area consent to
114 such annexation. Such consent must shall be obtained by the
115 parties proposing the annexation before prior to the referendum
116 to be held on the annexation.
117 Section 3. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 171.042,
118 Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
119 171.042 Prerequisites to annexation.—
120 (1) Before Prior to commencing the annexation procedures
121 under s. 171.0413, the governing body of the municipality shall
122 prepare a feasibility study report setting forth the plans to
123 provide urban services to any area to be annexed, and the
124 feasibility study must report shall include the following:
125 (a) A map or maps of the municipality and adjacent
126 territory showing the present and proposed municipal boundaries,
127 the present major trunk water mains and sewer interceptors and
128 outfalls, the proposed extensions of such mains and outfalls, as
129 required in paragraph (c), and the general land use pattern in
130 the area to be annexed.
131 (b) A statement certifying that the area to be annexed
132 meets the criteria in s. 171.043.
133 (c) A statement setting forth the plans of the municipality
134 for extending to the area to be annexed each major municipal
135 service performed within the municipality at the time of
136 annexation. Specifically, such plans must shall:
137 1. Provide for extending urban services except as otherwise
138 provided in this subsection herein to the area to be annexed on
139 the date of annexation on substantially the same basis and in
140 the same manner as such services are provided within the rest of
141 the municipality before prior to annexation.
142 2. Provide for the extension of existing municipal water
143 and sewer services into the area to be annexed so that, when
144 such services are provided, property owners in the area to be
145 annexed will be able to secure public water and sewer service
146 according to the policies in effect in such municipality for
147 extending water and sewer lines to individual lots or
148 subdivisions.
149 3. If extension of major trunk water mains and sewer mains
150 into the area to be annexed is necessary, set forth a proposed
151 timetable for construction of such mains as soon as possible
152 following the effective date of annexation.
153 4. Set forth the method under which the municipality plans
154 to finance extension of services into the area to be annexed.
155 (2) Not fewer than 15 days before prior to commencing the
156 annexation procedures under s. 171.0413, the governing body of
157 the municipality shall file a copy of the feasibility study
158 report required by this section with the board of county
159 commissioners of the county in which wherein the municipality is
160 located. Failure to timely file the feasibility study report as
161 required in this subsection may be the basis for a cause of
162 action to invalidate invalidating the annexation.
163 Section 4. Subsections (2) and (4) of section 171.051,
164 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (11) is added to
165 that section, to read:
166 171.051 Contraction procedures.—Any municipality may
167 initiate the contraction of municipal boundaries in the
168 following manner:
169 (2) A petition of 15 percent of the qualified voters in an
170 area desiring to be excluded from the municipal boundaries,
171 filed with the clerk of the municipal governing body, may
172 propose such an ordinance. The municipality to which such
173 petition is directed shall immediately undertake a feasibility
174 study of the feasibility of such proposal and the governing body
175 shall, within 6 months, evaluate the feasibility study of such
176 proposal and either initiate proceedings under subsection (1) by
177 introducing a contraction ordinance or reject the petition as a
178 legislative decision, specifically stating the facts upon which
179 the rejection is based.
180 (4) If, at the meeting held for the such purpose of
181 considering the contraction ordinance introduced by the
182 governing body, a petition is filed and signed by at least 15
183 percent of the qualified voters resident in the area proposed
184 for contraction requesting a referendum on the question, the
185 governing body shall, upon verification, paid for by the
186 municipality, of the sufficiency of the petition, and before
187 passing such ordinance, submit the question of contraction to a
188 vote of the qualified voters of the area proposed for
189 contraction, or the governing body may vote not to contract the
190 municipal boundaries.
191 (11) If more than 70 percent of the acres of land in an
192 area proposed to be contracted is owned by individuals,
193 corporations, or legal entities that are not registered electors
194 of such area, such area may not be contracted unless the owners
195 of more than 50 percent of the acres of land in such area
196 consent to such contraction.
197 Section 5. Section 171.204, Florida Statutes, is amended to
198 read:
199 171.204 Prerequisites to annexation under this part.—The
200 interlocal service boundary agreement may describe the character
201 of land that may be annexed under this part and may provide that
202 the restrictions on the character of land that may be annexed
203 pursuant to part I are not restrictions on land that may be
204 annexed pursuant to this part. As determined in the interlocal
205 service boundary agreement, any character of land may be
206 annexed, including, but not limited to, an annexation of land
207 not contiguous to the boundaries of the annexing municipality,
208 an annexation that creates an enclave, or an annexation where
209 the annexed area is not reasonably compact; however, such area
210 must be “urban in character” as defined in s. 171.031 s.
211 171.031(8). The interlocal service boundary agreement may not
212 allow for annexation of land within a municipality that is not a
213 party to the agreement or of land that is within another county.
214 Before annexation of land that is not contiguous to the
215 boundaries of the annexing municipality, an annexation that
216 creates an enclave, or an annexation of land that is not
217 currently served by water or sewer utilities, one of the
218 following options must be followed:
219 (1) The municipality shall transmit a comprehensive plan
220 amendment that proposes specific amendments relating to the
221 property anticipated for annexation to the Department of
222 Economic Opportunity for review under chapter 163. After
223 considering the department’s review, the municipality may
224 approve the annexation and comprehensive plan amendment
225 concurrently. The local government must adopt the annexation and
226 the comprehensive plan amendment as separate and distinct
227 actions but may take such actions at a single public hearing; or
228 (2) A municipality and county shall enter into a joint
229 planning agreement under s. 163.3171, which is adopted into the
230 municipal comprehensive plan. The joint planning agreement must
231 identify the geographic areas anticipated for annexation, the
232 future land uses that the municipality would seek to establish,
233 necessary public facilities and services, including
234 transportation and school facilities and how they will be
235 provided, and natural resources, including surface water and
236 groundwater resources, and how they will be protected. An
237 amendment to the future land use map of a comprehensive plan
238 which is consistent with the joint planning agreement must be
239 considered a small scale amendment.
240 Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.