DELTONA, Fla. — The city of Deltona is the first in the state to withdraw from the SB180 lawsuit.
Twenty-seven cities and counties are suing the state over the new law, which is meant to improve emergency response during hurricanes but also threatens building bans.
On June 30th, Deltona leaders approved a building ban to tackle infrastructure and flooding problems. However, the same day, SB180 became effective, which means the city’s ordinance is no longer enforceable.
Afterward, Deltona and the city of Edgewater teamed up to oppose Florida’s new law, and other cities and counties across the state quickly followed suit.
Four months later, Deltona is dialing back.
“I just have some really big concerns about how much penance are we going to have to pay and what are these people going to lose out on in terms of stormwater projects, medical services, sewer projects,” said Commissioner Chris Nabicht during a city commission meeting.
Commissioners’ concerns about possible retaliation resulted in the majority of them voting to withdraw from the lawsuit.
Some residents see the move as a relief, while others worry the city might be backing down too soon.
“Lawsuits are complicated and by losing funding for other areas that really need it and the state’s got that little power over you to say if you sue us, then we are taking this,” said JC Kless.
“Fight ‘em. We live here and shouldn’t have to deal with this. Put them somewhere where there’s nothing there yet,” said Lucie Shortt.
Cities pay $10,000 to join the lawsuit and they won’t get that money back if they withdraw.
Volusia County leaders plan to lobby for amendments to the law on behalf of several cities in Tallahassee in January.
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