Miami Beach urges Florida lawmakers to reject HB 399, citing local control, infrastructure, and environmental risks

Miami Beach officials intensify opposition to a wide-ranging land-use bill moving through Tallahassee

Miami Beach officials are urging state lawmakers in Tallahassee to reject House Bill 399, a sweeping proposal that would reshape how Florida cities and counties review development applications, amend comprehensive plans and regulate certain building types. The bill cleared the Florida House on March 3, 2026, by a 71–38 vote and has moved to the Senate for further consideration.

City leaders argue the measure would reduce municipal discretion over growth decisions that directly affect infrastructure capacity, neighborhood scale and long-term planning—issues that carry particular weight for a barrier-island city managing sea-level rise, stormwater projects and constrained land area.

What HB 399 would change

As approved in the House, HB 399 bundles multiple policy changes into a single land-use package. Key provisions include:

• Lowering the voting threshold for certain comprehensive-plan actions by requiring transmittal and adoption of amendments to the future land-use element to be decided by a simple majority vote of the governing body, even where local rules require a supermajority.
• Setting new parameters on development application fees by requiring that certain permit and order fees reasonably relate to government costs.
• Expanding state-directed standards around “compatibility” reviews for residential uses and requiring local land development regulations to include specified factors and mitigation measures when compatibility is assessed.
• Creating limits on when residential manufactured buildings can be denied building permits on certain lots and directing how housing units on mobile home lots are taxed.
• Requiring local governments to administratively approve applications for minor special exceptions or variances submitted by “large destination resorts,” a provision that has drawn concern from local officials in Miami-Dade over the possibility of resort-style uses being introduced near residential areas.
• Directing a state policy office to conduct a study on the effects of removing Miami-Dade’s Urban Development Boundary or similar growth boundaries, a topic closely watched because the boundary is designed to limit sprawl toward the Everglades.

Local control and planning authority at the center of the dispute

Miami Beach officials describe the legislation as part of a broader push in Tallahassee to preempt local decision-making on development. They contend that land-use decisions—particularly those affecting density, traffic, utilities and neighborhood character—are typically managed most effectively at the municipal level because local governments own and maintain much of the infrastructure that must support new construction.

In recent public remarks about the state’s direction on land-use policy, Miami Beach City Commissioner Alex Fernandez said the Legislature was acting like a local zoning board.

Broader regional implications

While Miami Beach’s concerns focus on an already built-out coastal city, the bill’s effects would extend statewide. Supporters in Tallahassee frame the measure as a tool to accelerate housing supply and standardize rules that vary across jurisdictions. Critics counter that uniform standards can override community-specific planning choices, including voter-approved growth controls and locally tailored compatibility policies.

The Florida Senate is expected to take up related land-use legislation in the days ahead. If enacted, the measure would take effect upon becoming law, triggering immediate changes to how local governments process a wide range of development and planning actions.