How Multifamily Housing Gets Approved in Orlando Under the Live Local Act

Florida's Live Local Act requires a municipality to authorize multifamily and mixed-use residential use in any area zoned commercial, industrial or mixed use, where at least 40 percent of units are affordable for 30 years or more (Fla. Stat. 166.04151(7)). The City of Orlando administers a qualifying project through its own Land Development Code, without the rezoning, variance or comprehensive plan amendment the height, density and floor area the statute grants would otherwise need.

What the statute requires

Density cannot fall below the highest currently allowed, or allowed on 1 July 2023, on a commercial or mixed-use parcel nearby; floor area ratio must reach at least 150 percent of the highest currently allowed; height must reach the highest currently allowed for a commercial or residential building within one mile, or three stories, whichever is higher, subject to exceptions near a historic district or a single-family area; and at least 40 percent of units stay affordable for 30 years or more (Fla. Stat. 166.04151(7), 420.0004).

Orlando's administrative review

Ordinance 23-1586 amended Orlando's Land Development Code to add the eligibility standards for a Live Local project, an administrative review and site plan approval path, the multifamily design standards that apply, and the restrictive covenant that records the affordability commitment. A qualifying project is administratively approved, without a Municipal Planning Board hearing or a City Council vote, where it meets every other Land Development Code standard and the Growth Management Plan.

What still follows Orlando's standard process

A project outside the statute's reach, or one needing an approval the statute does not cover, follows Orlando's ordinary multifamily route: staff review, then, for a rezoning or a Planned Development, a Municipal Planning Board recommendation and a City Council decision (Land Development Code, Chapter 65).

Questions

Does a Live Local project in Orlando need a public hearing?

No, where it meets every Land Development Code standard other than the height, density and floor area ratio the statute sets; Fla. Stat. 166.04151(7) requires administrative approval without further action by the governing body.

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