As Orange County contends with a lawsuit over its voter-approved rural boundaries, its neighbor to the south could face a similar legal battle — but over very different turf.

Developers and homebuilders in Osceola County are weighing a challenge to the county’s sky-high “mobility fees” under Senate Bill 180, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. That’s the sweeping state hurricane recovery law that is being interpreted to void any new land use regulations more restrictive or burdensome” for development.

Both Osceola and St. Cloud declared “extraordinary circumstances” last September when they approved development fees that more than doubled the rate for new homes and many commercial uses, with the money to be spent on transportation improvements.

Osceola County’s mobility and school impact fees are now the highest in the state. And if the 2024 fee increases are nullified, it could cost the city and county millions of dollars earmarked for transportation improvements.

But they’re not the only jurisdictions in Central Florida that could be vulnerable to a legal challenge of their impact fees under SB 180. Earlier this year, Tavares and Haines City also raised their municipal and transportation impact charges.

And just this week, the City of Apopka began the process to raise its municipal impact fees by about 64% for single-family homes and 31% for apartments even though City Attorney Cliff Shepard warned council members that SB180 could invalidate such an ordinance. The city must hold two public workshops on the new rates before voting.

Shepard estimated that the city’s higher fees have at best a 50-50 shot of winning a legal argument against the legislation. “That’s an impact. It’s more burdensome and potentially restrictive on the ability to get a building permit,” Shepard said.

Now all eyes are looking west to Manatee County, which doubled its impact fees in June and was sued last month by a consortium of local homebuilders led by the head of the Suncoast Builders’ Association.

The complaint, filed on July 15, seeks an injunction against the county to prevent it from collecting impact fees in excess of what would be allowed under the Florida Impact Fee Act, which limits the increases to 50% spread over four years. The complaint argues that SB 180 doesn’t exempt cities or counties that use the “extraordinary circumstances” claim to hike their impact fees.

The builders in early July gave commissioners two weeks to rescind the impact fee ordinance. When the commission balked, the builders sued.

Lee Steinhauer, legislative director for the Greater Orlando Builders’ Association, believes SB 180 could invalidate an impact fee update if it’s determined to be more restrictive or burdensome on local development.

“Just kind of a plain reading of it … It certainly seems like there’s an argument there that it is,” he said.

So far, neither Osceola County nor St. Cloud has received a threat to sue, but there has been plenty of chatter among homebuilders and developers about a challenge. County Attorney Frank Townsend declined to provide an opinion on whether Osceola’s impact fees could withstand an SB 180 suit.

The Manatee case offers plenty of parallels to Osceola. For example, the plaintiffs attached an affidavit from economist Dr. Hank Fishkind on the potential impact of the new fees as evidence that the rates would “substantially burden and restrict their livelihoods; and … negatively affect the affordability of housing for residents of Manatee County.”

Fishkind offered a similar analysis of Osceola’s mobility fees before they were adopted.

“Imposing fees at these levels will have very significant negative impacts on the volume of development activity and severe consequences for Osceola County’s economy,” Fishkind wrote last summer.

Last week, Orange County officials received a letter from the state Department of Commerce, declaring the rural boundaries — and the county’s entire Vision 2050 plan — to be “null and void.” An attorney for the embattled 2,000-home Sustanee project, also known as Lake Pickett North, immediately filed suit under the provisions of SB 180. Orange County has not filed a response to the lawsuit.

“Based on the decision Orange County received from the state on Vision 2050, it appears that the intent of the state is for Senate Bill 180 to be broadly construed,” said attorney and Lowndes shareholder Rebecca Wilson. “And it appears that any additional burden, whether it’s in the land development code or a comp plan amendment, would be found void.”

Manatee County commissioners have vowed to fight for the right to determine their growth management policies by joining an effort led by Pasco County through the Florida Association of Counties to force a revision to SB 180. Specifically, they are recommending language to limit the “more restrictive or burdensome” preemption provisions to only those properties damaged by a hurricane.

The county is also considering joining a coalition of cities and counties preparing a lawsuit to overturn SB 180 before the 2026 session. Broward County land use lawyer Jamie Cole is leading the effort and asking each jurisdiction to pony up $10,000 for the cause.

GrowthSpotter reporter Tyler Williams contributed to this report. Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at lkinsler@GrowthSpotter.com or (407) 420-6261. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.