Expedited Approval of Residential Building Permits
HB 665 by Rep . McClain / SB 812 by Sen . Ingoglia
PASSED / Vote Count : House-89-25 ; Senate-40-0
CS / CS / CS SB 812 requires counties with 75,000 residents or more and cities with 10,000 residents or more with 25 acres of contiguous land to create a process to expedite building permit issuance based on a preliminary plat and to issue the number of percentage of building permits requested by the applicant by October 1 , 2024 . Local governments must update their expedited building permit program with certain increased percentages by December 31 , 2027 .
The application to expedite the building permit issuance or the local government ’ s final approval may not restrict the applicant from receiving the number of permits requested as long as the request does not exceed 50 percent of the homes in the subdivision or planned community or the number of building permits . Any local government with an existing expedited building permit process must update their program to approve an applicant ’ s written request to approve up to 50 percent of the building permits for the subdivision or planned community . Nothing in the bill restricts a governing body from issuing more than 50 percent of the building permits .
An applicant may sell , but not transfer ownership of , a residential structure or building located in the preliminary plat , before the final plat is approved by the local government . Additionally , SB 812 requires all local governments to create a master building permit program . Moreover , the bill provides that an applicant for a building permit may not obtain a temporary or final certificate of occupancy for each home until the final plat is approved by the local government and recorded in the public records .
SB 812 authorizes an applicant to use a private provider to expedite the application process after a preliminary plat is approved and requires local governments to establish a registry of “ qualified contractors ” accessible to the local government for processing and expediting applications for preliminary plats . Lastly , the bill provides that vested rights may be formed in a preliminary plat under certain circumstances .
Local Regulation of Nonconforming or Unsafe Structures
HB 1647 by Rep . Roach / SB 1526 by Sen . Avila
PASSED / Vote Count : House-80-32 ; Senate-28-12
This bill will prohibit local governments from preventing or restricting demolition of buildings and structures within certain flood zones unless there is a public safety issue . Local governments are also not allowed to restrict or mandate certain design elements for the replacement structure or impose additional public hearings or land regulations . However , this does include historic monuments , single family homes , or structures or buildings on barrier islands with less than 10,000 people and with less than 6 city blocks that are designated in certain flood zone areas .
8 DITCHMEN • MARCH 2024