Florida’s Growth Policy and Community Planning Act (CPA)

The legal framework for land use in Florida is found in Chapter 163 of the Florida Statutes, known as the Community Planning Act (CPA). This act establishes that while the state has an oversight role, the primary authority for land use planning rests with local governments. A central concept in this law is "concurrency," which generally means that the necessary infrastructure (roads, water, sewer) must be in place at the same time a new development is built. Historically, the state strictly mandated concurrency for almost all public services. However, under the current Community Planning Act, the state-mandated concurrency requirement has been relaxed. Specifically, the state no longer requires local governments to enforce concurrency for transportation, schools, and parks. While local governments may choose to enforce concurrency for these items if they wish, they are no longer forced to do so by the state. The agency responsible for overseeing these planning activities and ensuring compliance with the law is the Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO).