General Information About Developments of Regional Impact and Florida Quality Developments

Developments of Regional Impact

2018 Legislative Change Eliminates Developments of Regional Impact Review

Effective April 9, 2018, the statutory provisions in Chapter 380, Florida Statutes, related to developments of regional impact (DRI) were amended to eliminate the review process regarding changes to existing DRIs. See Chapter 2018-158, Laws of Florida. This change is in addition to statutory changes in 2015 and 2016 that eliminated the DRI review process for new proposed developments that exceed the DRI thresholds and are not exempt from review. Amendments to development orders for existing DRIs will now be considered by the local governments that issued the development orders, without state and regional review, pursuant to their local development review procedures.

Comprehensive plan amendments for proposed developments that exceed the DRI thresholds and are not otherwise exempt will continue to be reviewed by FloridaCommerce under the state coordinated review process in section 163.3184(4), Florida Statutes, as provided in section 380.06(12), Florida Statutes. See the below section on 2015-2016 Statutory Changes Affecting Developments of Regional Impact. The information on this webpage will be retained until January 1, 2019, as local governments transition the review of existing DRI development orders from the statutory DRI process formerly in section 380.06, Florida Statutes, to their local development review processes.

History of Developments of Regional Impact

The Florida Legislature first visited the subject of growth management and comprehensive planning in 1972 with the adoption of two land use programs:

1. The Areas of Critical State Concern Program, which protects areas of critical state concern through state designation, and
2. The Developments of Regional Impact Program, which provided a process to identify regional impacts from large developments and required appropriate development order provisions to mitigate these impacts.

The rules governing developments of regional impact were set forth in Rule 73C-40, Florida Administrative Code.

FloridaCommerce reviewed developments of regional impact to ensure compliance with state law and to identify the regional and state impacts of large-scale developments. FloridaCommerce also made recommendations to local governments suggesting mitigation conditions, and/or approving or not approving proposed developments. The developer or FloridaCommerce was authorized to appeal local government development orders to the Governor and Cabinet, sitting as the Florida Land and Water Adjudicatory Commission.

Definition of "Development of Regional Impact"

Pursuant to Section 380.06(1), Florida Statutes, a development of regional impact is defined as "any development which, because of its character, magnitude, or location, would have a substantial effect upon the health, safety or welfare of citizens of more than one county."

A development of regional impact was determined, in part, based on the size of the development. Numerical thresholds for different types of development are identified in Section 380.0651, Florida Statutes, and Rule 28-24, Florida Administrative Code. Depending on the size of the project the determination of whether the project was a development of regional impact may have been based on whether the development would significantly impact state and regional resources and facilities. If the project was at 100 percent or between 100 and 120 percent of a numerical threshold, it was presumed that the project must undergo development of regional impact review. However, this presumption could be rebutted. If the project exceeded the applicable threshold(s) by 20 percent or more then the development was required to undergo a development of regional impact review.

2015-2016 Statutory Changes Affecting Developments of Regional Impact

Approval Process

Effective May 14, 2015, a new proposed development otherwise subject to the review requirements of section 380.06, Florida Statutes, shall be approved by a local government pursuant to a comprehensive plan amendment adopted under the state coordinated review process in section 163.3184(4), Florida Statutes, in lieu of proceeding under section 380.06. This provision applies if a comprehensive plan amendment is needed for the proposed development. See section 380.06(30), Florida Statutes; Chapter 2015-30, section 18, Laws of Florida; Chapter 2016-148, section 7, Laws of Florida. When a comprehensive plan amendment is needed, a site specific plan amendment approving the development is required.

Development of Regional Impact Exemption for Dense Urban Land Areas

• Section 380.0651(3), Florida Statutes, exempts from development of regional impact review any project located in a municipality or county that meets the criteria specified in that section for a Dense Urban Land Area (see List of Local Governments Qualifying as Dense Urban Land Areas).

Developments of Regional Impact - Thresholds

• Developments of Regional Impacts Residential Thresholds - Florida Estimates of Population - April 1, 2023
• All other development of regional impact thresholds are located in Section 380.0651(3), Florida Statutes, and Rule 28-24, Florida Administrative Code. Section 380.0651(3), Florida Statutes, supersedes only the statewide guidelines and standards in Rule 28-24, Florida Administrative Code, that address the same development type.

Developments of Regional Impact Historical Data

• Developments of Regional Impact Repository
• Status of Application for Developments of Regional Impact (Excel version)
• Status of Application for Developments of Regional Impact (PDF version)
• Status of Florida Quality Developments
• List of Requests for Binding Letters of Interpretation of Vested Rights
• List of Requests for Binding Letters of Modifications to Vested Rights
• List of Requests for Binding Letters of Interpretation of Development of Regional Impact Status

Developments of Regional Impact Forms

All DRI forms were repealed pursuant to Chapter 2018-158, Laws of Florida, effective April 9, 2018. The following forms are retained temporarily on this webpage for informational purposes only.

• Biennial Status Report Form (FORM DEO-BCP-BIENNIAL REPORT-1)
• Application for Abandonment of a Development of Regional Impact (FORM DEO-BCP-ABANDON DRI-1)
• Application for a Binding Letter of Modification to a Development of Regional Impact with Vested Rights(FORM DEO-BCP-BLIM-1)
• Application for a Binding Letter of Vested Rights for a Development of Regional Impact (FORM DEO-BCP-BLIVR-1)
• Development of Regional Impact Application for Development Approval (FORM DEO-BCP‑ADA‑1)
• Notification of a Proposed Change to a Previously Approved Development of Regional Impact(FORM DEO-BCP-PROPCHANGE-1)

Florida Quality Developments Program (Repealed pursuant to Chapter 2018-158, Laws of Florida)

The Florida Quality Developments (FQD) Program was created to encourage thoughtfully planned developments and to take into consideration the protection of Florida's natural amenities, the cost to local government of providing services to a growing community and the quality of life Floridians desire. Developments that met the Florida Quality Development standards could expect a timely review and were allowed to use the Florida Quality Development certification mark for promotional, informational or advertising purposes. There were 18 developments designated as Florida Quality Developments, the last of which was designated on June 9, 1999. Pursuant to Chapter 2018-158, Laws of Florida, local governments with an FQD in their jurisdiction are required to adopt a development order for the development that will supersede and replace the FQD development order issued by the state land planning agency.

Additional Information

For more information, please contact the planner for the local government in which the development is located.