Deltona City Commission Votes to Leave Lawsuit Challenging SB 180

The Deltona City Commission on Monday voted to withdraw their city from a lawsuit challenging a pro-development state law in Florida. SB 180, passed by the Florida legislature in March, removes the ability of local governments to enact development moratoriums within their jurisdictions. Previously, Deltona had been part of a lawsuit by dozens of local governments in Florida challenging the law. Among those entities is the City of Edgewater, which is now the only government within Volusia County to remain a part of the suit. The vote to withdraw from the lawsuit was a close one: four of seven votes formed the majority, the minimum needed to pass the motion. That majority was formed by Mayor Santiago Avila Jr, Vice Mayor Davison Heriot, and commissioners Emma Santiago and Chris Nabicht. Dissenting were commissioners Maritza Avila-Vazquez, Dori Howington, and Stephen Colwell. In August the Deltona City Commission voted by a 4-3 margin to join in on the lawsuit. Mayor Avila, Vice Mayor Heriot, and Commissioner Santiago were the dissenting three in that vote. The majority were commissioners Avila-Vazquez, Howington, and former Commissioner Nick Lulli. The resignation of Lulli a week after the vote opened the door for Nabicht to flip the Commission’s stance on the matter. In his reasoning for flipping the City Commission against continuing their challenge of the state government, Commissioner Nabicht stated he worried about political retribution from Gov. Ron DeSantis. When the state’s budget is sent to his desk, DeSantis has the power to veto funding requests for certain cities at his discretion. Gov. DeSantis has at times in his tenure used funding vetoes as a political bargaining chip. Orange and Manatee counties have joined the efforts to overturn the law. Other cities part of the resistance against SB 180 include Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Naples, and Pompano Beach among others. Senate Bill 180 was filed in the legislature by Florida Senator Nick DiCeglie, a Republican from St. Petersburg. Advocates of the legislation argue that it allows communities to rebuild without obstacles after destructive hurricanes. Recent destructive storms to impact the state include 2017’s Irma, 2018’s Michael, 2022’s Ian, 2023’s Idalia, and 2024’s Helene and Milton. Opponents of the law argue that it’s an erosion of local governments’ ability to govern their areas as they see fit. The governments’ lawsuit, along with a second suit filed by the group 1000 Friends of Florida, argue that SB 180 violates the Florida Constitution.