- December 4, 2025
The Volusia County Council wants state legislators to amend Senate Bill 180.
On Tuesday, Aug. 5, the council unanimously voted to request changes to the bill's language via the county's lobbyist. The bill, which was signed onto law by the governor in late June, prohibits local governments located within 100 miles of a track of a categorized hurricane, or listed in a federal disaster declaration, from implementing more restrictive or "burdensome" land regulations or procedures for one year after a storm makes landfall.
It also rendered these regulations and procedures void, retroactive to Aug. 1, impacting the county's newly increased stormwater regulations.
Volusia County officials said they believe this wasn't the state's intent, and the changes they are requesting seek clarification that the law mainly applies to storm-damaged properties.
"A lot of the statements that we're hearing and the conversation was about this applying to property damaged by hurricanes, and removing the red tape for the rebuilding efforts," Senior Assistant County Attorney Paolo Soria said.
Some of the proposed changes include changing language that preempts local governments from proposing or adopting moratoriums, more restrictive comprehensive plan amendments, land development regulations and reviews to state that these may instead not be enforced — only on hurricane-damaged properties.
Council Chair Jeff Brower thanked the county's legal staff for working on the proposed amendments, saying that he believed the new language better aligned with the Legislature's intent: to help people whose homes were badly destroyed during the recent hurricanes.
"It doesn't prevent that, but it doesn't take away local control of two of the most important things that we deal with here — that's zoning and land use," Brower said.
Residents who spoke at the meeting were also in favor of the amendments. Some were also interested in filing a lawsuit against the state, if needed. Daytona Beach resident Catherine Pante asked the council to direct its staff to partner with Orange County and the city of Deltona, two cities with recent regulations in place aimed at controlling growth, to challenge the new law in court.
Asking for amendments during the next legislative session, Pante said, is a "weak" approach and one that delays a decision to pursue a rural boundary charter amendment in time for the 2026 ballot.
"Let's call SB 180 what it truly is: A calculated move by the Legislature, aided by our local delegation, to strip away local authority and eliminate Home Rule," she said. "It was designed not to be amended, but to serve powerful development interests that now dominate the legislative process."
Volusia County attorney Mike Dyer said that case law exists stating that local governments have a constitutional and statutory duty to enforce laws.
"Just because you don't like a statute doesn't mean that you have the ability to sue," Soria said.
County Councilman Jake Johansson said a lawsuit, describing it as a "knee-jerk reaction," is not how he'd like to approach the issue.
"I still think the best way to move forward is to work collaboratively to try to get these changes in there without stirring the pot," he said. "We've seen a couple counties stir the pot and they're not in a good place right now compared to us, and I want to protect what we have from being preempted in the future as well."
Most of SB 180 is "really good and really necessary," Brower said, agreeing that seeking amendments was the best way to handle it.
"Is it weak? In my opinion, no not at all," Brower said. "It's the way governments are supposed to work together."
