One City Commissioner Voted “Under Protest” to Amend City Code to Permit Model Homes and Establish a Preliminary Plat Approval Process. Here’s Why.
by James Coulter
While Winter Haven city commissioners voted unanimously to revise the city code to better reflect a new state law, one commissioner cast his vote reluctantly “under protest.”
At their regular meeting on Mon. Sep. 23, Winter Haven City Commissioners voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that would amend the city code to permit model homes and establish a preliminary plat approval process.
The ordinance would approve a process, according to the agenda item, “to allow model homes to be constructed on up to fifty percent of the lots in a subdivision before approval of a final plat.”
Furthermore, the ordinance would also “reintroduce the preliminary plat to the subdivision approval process.”
These amendments to the city code were required due to the adoption of Senate Bill (SB) 812, which was passed by the Florida Legislature, signed into law by the Governor, and will become effective October 1, 2024. SB 812 requires certain counties with over 75,000 residents — except Monroe County — and municipalities with 10,000 or more residents to create a program to expedite the issuance of residential building permits.
As such, the city is required to update and amend its city code to reflect the new state law. According to the agenda item, these changes include:
• Revising Section 21-83 to allow for model homes to be constructed on up to 50 percent of the building lots upon meeting certain requirements.
• Adding more detailed standards to Section 21-83 relating to temporary sales offices in residential subdivisions.
• Establishes requirements for the preliminary plat and for City Commission review and approval of the preliminary plat in Article VII, Section 21-394.
• Provides for a one-year period to submit for review of site plans setting forth the subdivision’s required infrastructure. Should a site plan not be submitted within one year of preliminary plat approval, the preliminary plat will become null and void.
• Updates Article VI, Section 21-315, to provide for concurrency at the preliminary plat approval stage as appropriate.
• Makes general updates to Article VI, to address outdated language regarding concurrency and adopted Level of Service standards.
However, while the city commissioners voted unanimously to approve this ordinance, Commissioner Bradley T. Dantzler cast his vote “under protest.”
“I’m going to vote for this because I know it is a state mandate, but this aggravates me,” he said. “I don’t like it. There’s nothing about this that I like. And I want to get it on the record that this commissioner doesn’t like it.”
“This is something that Tallahassee has forced us to do, and I feel that they are setting us up for problems,” he continued. “I know we have to pass it because we have to do this, but that’s all.”
“Commissioner Dantzler, I feel that you speak for all of us,” Mayor Pro Tiem Nathanial Birdsong replied.
