Land Use Law in Florida

W. Thomas Hawkins is a Lecturer in the University of Florida’s Department of Urban and Regional Planning and is Program Director of the university's online Master of Urban and Regional Planning. In addition to teaching courses in land use law, planning administration and ethics, and development review for the department, Thomas has taught land use law for the Levin College of Law and for Florida State University. Prior to joining the department, he was Policy & Planning Director of 1000 Friends of Florida—the state’s leading advocate for planning and growth management in the public interest—where he addressed land use and transportation policy. Thomas also served two terms as a Gainesville City Commissioner. He has a law degree from the Emory University School of Law, a Master of Science in Real Estate from the Hough Graduate School of Business at the University of Florida, is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and a member of the Florida Bar.

1 Introduction Part I How Governments Regulate Land Use 2 Nuisance 3 Local Government Land Use Powers 4 Substantive Due Process 5 Quasi-Judicial Decision-Making 6 Florida’s Planning Statutes 7 Judicial Treatment of Comprehensive Plans 8 Local Variation 9 Specific Quasi-Judicial Decisions Part II Challenging Land Use Decisions 10 Administrative Hearing 11 Writ Of Certiorari 12 Consistency Challenge 13 Declaratory Judgement Part III Property Rights 14 Eminent Domain 15 Per Se Regulatory Takings 16 Ad Hoc Balancing Test for Regulatory Takings 17 Florida Law Protections for Property Rights Part IV Infrastructure 18 Exactions 19 Taxes, Assessments, and Fees 20 Tax Increment Financing 21 Concurrency 22 Development Agreements 23 Plats and Restrictive Covenants Part V Additional U.S. Constitutional Issues 24 Equal Protection 25 Speech 26 Religion