Senate Bill 718 (2023) — Municipal boundaries
SB 718
Florida Bills
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 By Senator Yarborough 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 1 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to municipal boundaries; reordering 2 and amending s. 171.031, F.S.; defining the term 3 “feasibility study”; amending s. 171.0413, F.S.; 4 specifying the measurement of land during annexation 5 procedures; removing certain procedures regarding 6 elector votes during annexation procedures; amending 7 s. 171.042, F.S.; replacing the term “report” with 8 “feasibility study”; amending s. 171.051, F.S.; 9 revising contraction procedures when qualified voters 10 desire to be excluded from municipal boundaries; 11 prohibiting contraction under certain circumstances; 12 amending s. 171.204, F.S.; conforming a cross-13 reference; providing an effective date. 14 15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 16 17
Section
Section 171.031, Florida Statutes, is reordered 18 and amended to read: 19 171.031
Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the following 20 words and terms have the following meanings unless some other 21 meaning is plainly indicated: 22 (1) “Annexation” means the adding of real property to the 23 boundaries of an incorporated municipality, such addition making 24 such real property in every way a part of the municipality. 25 (4)(2) “Contraction” means the reversion of real property 26 within municipal boundaries to an unincorporated status. 27 (7)(3) “Municipality” means a municipality created pursuant 28 to general or special law authorized or recognized pursuant to 29
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 2 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. s. 2 or s. 6, Art.
VIII of the State Constitution. 30 (8)(4) “Newspaper of general circulation” means a newspaper 31 printed in the language most commonly spoken in the area within 32 which it circulates, which is readily available for purchase by 33 all inhabitants in its area of circulation, but does not include 34 a newspaper intended primarily for members of a particular 35 professional or occupational group, a newspaper whose primary 36 function is to carry legal notices, or a newspaper that is given 37 away primarily to distribute advertising. 38 (9)(5) “Parties affected” means any persons or firms owning 39 property in, or residing in, either a municipality proposing 40 annexation or contraction or owning property that is proposed 41 for annexation to a municipality or any governmental unit with 42 jurisdiction over such area. 43 (6) “Feasibility study” means an analysis conducted by 44 qualified staff or consultants of the economic, market, 45 technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed 46 annexation or contraction, as applicable. 47 (10) “Qualified voter” means any person registered to vote 48 in accordance with law. 49 (11)(7) “Sufficiency of petition” means the verification of 50 the signatures and addresses of all signers of a petition with 51 the voting list maintained by the county supervisor of elections 52 and certification that the number of valid signatures represents 53 the required percentage of the total number of qualified voters 54 in the area affected by a proposed annexation. 55 (12)(8) “Urban in character” means an area used intensively 56 for residential, urban recreational or conservation parklands, 57 commercial, industrial, institutional, or governmental purposes 58
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 3 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. or an area undergoing development for any of these purposes. 59 (14)(9) “Urban services” means any services offered by a 60 municipality, either directly or by contract, to any of its 61 present residents. 62 (13)(10) “Urban purposes” means that land is used 63 intensively for residential, commercial, industrial, 64 institutional, and governmental purposes, including any parcels 65 of land retained in their natural state or kept free of 66 development as dedicated greenbelt areas. 67 (3)(11) “Contiguous” means that a substantial part of a 68 boundary of the territory sought to be annexed by a municipality 69 is coterminous with a part of the boundary of the municipality. 70 The separation of the territory sought to be annexed from the 71 annexing municipality by a publicly owned county park; a right-72 of-way for a highway, road, railroad, canal, or utility; or a 73 body of water, watercourse, or other minor geographical division 74 of a similar nature, running parallel with and between the 75 territory sought to be annexed and the annexing municipality, 76 may shall not prevent annexation under this act, provided the 77 presence of such a division does not, as a practical matter, 78 prevent the territory sought to be annexed and the annexing 79 municipality from becoming a unified whole with respect to 80 municipal services or prevent their inhabitants from fully 81 associating and trading with each other, socially and 82 economically.
However, nothing in this subsection may herein 83 shall be construed to allow local rights-of-way, utility 84 easements, railroad rights-of-way, or like entities to be 85 annexed in a corridor fashion to gain contiguity; and when any 86 provision or provisions of any special law prohibits or laws 87
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 4 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. prohibit the annexation of territory that is separated from the 88 annexing municipality by a body of water or watercourse, then 89 that law shall prevent annexation under this act. 90 (2)(12) “Compactness” means concentration of a piece of 91 property in a single area and precludes any action which would 92 create enclaves, pockets, or finger areas in serpentine 93 patterns.
Any annexation proceeding in any county in this the 94 state must shall be designed in such a manner as to ensure that 95 the area will be reasonably compact. 96 (5)(13) “Enclave” means: 97 (
a) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is 98 enclosed within and bounded on all sides by a single 99 municipality; or 100 (
b) Any unincorporated improved or developed area that is 101 enclosed within and bounded by a single municipality and a 102 natural or manmade obstacle that allows the passage of vehicular 103 traffic to that unincorporated area only through the 104 municipality. 105
Section 2. Subsections (5) and (6) of
section 171.0413, 106 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 107 171.0413 Annexation procedures.—Any municipality may annex 108 contiguous, compact, unincorporated territory in the following 109 manner: 110
(5) If more than 70 percent of the acres of land in an area 111 proposed to be annexed is owned by individuals, corporations, or 112 legal entities which are not registered electors of such area, 113 such area may shall not be annexed unless the owners of more 114 than 50 percent of the acres of land in such area consent to 115 such annexation. Such consent must shall be obtained by the 116
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 5 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. parties proposing the annexation before prior to the referendum 117 to be held on the annexation. 118
(6) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), if the area 119 proposed to be annexed does not have any registered electors on 120 the date the ordinance is finally adopted, a vote of electors of 121 the area proposed to be annexed is not required. In addition to 122 the requirements of subsection (5), the area may not be annexed 123 unless the owners of more than 50 percent of the parcels of land 124 in the area proposed to be annexed consent to the annexation.
If 125 the governing body does not choose to hold a referendum of the 126 annexing municipality pursuant to subsection (2), then the 127 property owner consents required pursuant to subsection (5) 128 shall be obtained by the parties proposing the annexation prior 129 to the final adoption of the ordinance, and the annexation 130 ordinance shall be effective upon becoming a law or as otherwise 131 provided in the ordinance. 132
Section 3. Subsections (1) and (2) of
section 171.042, 133 Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 134 171.042 Prerequisites to annexation.— 135
(1) Before Prior to commencing the annexation procedures 136 under s. 171.0413, the governing body of the municipality shall 137 prepare a feasibility study report setting forth the plans to 138 provide urban services to any area to be annexed, and the 139 feasibility study must report shall include the following: 140 (
a) A map or maps of the municipality and adjacent 141 territory showing the present and proposed municipal boundaries, 142 the present major trunk water mains and sewer interceptors and 143 outfalls, the proposed extensions of such mains and outfalls, as 144 required in paragraph (c), and the general land use pattern in 145
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 6 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. the area to be annexed. 146 (
b) A statement certifying that the area to be annexed 147 meets the criteria in s. 171.043. 148 (
c) A statement setting forth the plans of the municipality 149 for extending to the area to be annexed each major municipal 150 service performed within the municipality at the time of 151 annexation. Specifically, such plans must shall: 152 1. Provide for extending urban services except as otherwise 153 provided in this subsection herein to the area to be annexed on 154 the date of annexation on substantially the same basis and in 155 the same manner as such services are provided within the rest of 156 the municipality before prior to annexation. 157 2.
Provide for the extension of existing municipal water 158 and sewer services into the area to be annexed so that, when 159 such services are provided, property owners in the area to be 160 annexed will be able to secure public water and sewer service 161 according to the policies in effect in such municipality for 162 extending water and sewer lines to individual lots or 163 subdivisions. 164 3.
If extension of major trunk water mains and sewer mains 165 into the area to be annexed is necessary, set forth a proposed 166 timetable for construction of such mains as soon as possible 167 following the effective date of annexation. 168 4. Set forth the method under which the municipality plans 169 to finance extension of services into the area to be annexed. 170
(2) Not fewer than 15 days before prior to commencing the 171 annexation procedures under s. 171.0413, the governing body of 172 the municipality shall file a copy of the feasibility study 173 report required by this
section with the board of county 174
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 7 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. commissioners of the county in which wherein the municipality is 175 located. Failure to timely file the feasibility study report as 176 required in this subsection may be the basis for a cause of 177 action to invalidate invalidating the annexation. 178
Section 4. Subsections (2) and (4) of
section 171.051, 179 Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsection (11) is added to 180 that section, to read: 181 171.051 Contraction procedures.—Any municipality may 182 initiate the contraction of municipal boundaries in the 183 following manner: 184
(2) A petition of 15 percent of the qualified voters in an 185 area desiring to be excluded from the municipal boundaries, 186 filed with the clerk of the municipal governing body, may 187 propose such an ordinance. The municipality to which such 188 petition is directed shall immediately undertake a feasibility 189 study of the feasibility of such proposal and the governing body 190 shall, within 6 months, evaluate the feasibility study of such 191 proposal and either initiate proceedings under subsection (1) by 192 introducing a contraction ordinance or reject the petition as a 193 legislative decision, specifically stating the facts upon which 194 the rejection is based. 195
(4) If, at the meeting held for the such purpose of 196 considering the contraction ordinance introduced by the 197 governing body, a petition is filed and signed by at least 15 198 percent of the qualified voters resident in the area proposed 199 for contraction requesting a referendum on the question, the 200 governing body shall, upon verification, paid for by the 201 municipality, of the sufficiency of the petition, and before 202 passing such ordinance, submit the question of contraction to a 203
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 8 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. vote of the qualified voters of the area proposed for 204 contraction, or the governing body may vote not to contract the 205 municipal boundaries. 206
(11) If more than 70 percent of the acres of land in an 207 area proposed to be contracted is owned by individuals, 208 corporations, or legal entities that are not registered electors 209 of such area, such area may not be contracted unless the owners 210 of more than 50 percent of the acres of land in such area 211 consent to such contraction. 212
Section
Section 171.204, Florida Statutes, is amended to 213 read: 214 171.204 Prerequisites to annexation under this part.—The 215 interlocal service boundary agreement may describe the character 216 of land that may be annexed under this part and may provide that 217 the restrictions on the character of land that may be annexed 218 pursuant to
part I are not restrictions on land that may be 219 annexed pursuant to this part. As determined in the interlocal 220 service boundary agreement, any character of land may be 221 annexed, including, but not limited to, an annexation of land 222 not contiguous to the boundaries of the annexing municipality, 223 an annexation that creates an enclave, or an annexation where 224 the annexed area is not reasonably compact; however, such area 225 must be “urban in character” as defined in s. 171.031 s. 226 171.031(8).
The interlocal service boundary agreement may not 227 allow for annexation of land within a municipality that is not a 228 party to the agreement or of land that is within another county. 229 Before annexation of land that is not contiguous to the 230 boundaries of the annexing municipality, an annexation that 231 creates an enclave, or an annexation of land that is not 232
Florida Senate - 2023 SB 718 4-01249-23 2023718__ Page 9 of 9 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. currently served by water or sewer utilities, one of the 233 following options must be followed: 234
(1) The municipality shall transmit a comprehensive plan 235 amendment that proposes specific amendments relating to the 236 property anticipated for annexation to the Department of 237 Economic Opportunity for review under
chapter 163. After 238 considering the department’s review, the municipality may 239 approve the annexation and comprehensive plan amendment 240 concurrently. The local government must adopt the annexation and 241 the comprehensive plan amendment as separate and distinct 242 actions but may take such actions at a single public hearing; or 243
(2) A municipality and county shall enter into a joint 244 planning agreement under s. 163.3171, which is adopted into the 245 municipal comprehensive plan. The joint planning agreement must 246 identify the geographic areas anticipated for annexation, the 247 future land uses that the municipality would seek to establish, 248 necessary public facilities and services, including 249 transportation and school facilities and how they will be 250 provided, and natural resources, including surface water and 251 groundwater resources, and how they will be protected.
An 252 amendment to the future land use map of a comprehensive plan 253 which is consistent with the joint planning agreement must be 254 considered a small scale amendment. 255