Once a Florida city council has appointed itself as the governing board of its community redevelopment agency, can it later transfer that authority to a separate independent board?

Subject

Community redevelopment agency -- transfer of authority

Plain-English summary

The Community Redevelopment Act of 1969 lets cities and counties create community redevelopment agencies (CRAs) to address slum and blighted areas. When a CRA is formed, the local government picks one of two governance structures: appoint a separate board of commissioners, or have the local governing body itself serve as the CRA's board. The City of Avon Park chose the second option; its city council declared itself the CRA. The council asked whether it could transfer that role to an independent board.

The AG concluded the answer was no. Section 163.357(1)(a) explicitly allows the move in one direction (a separate board can later be replaced by the governing body declaring itself the CRA), but Chapter 163 does not authorize the reverse transfer of authority for an existing CRA.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

What is a community redevelopment agency?

A separate "public body corporate and politic" that a city or county creates under the Community Redevelopment Act of 1969 (Chapter 163, Florida Statutes) to redevelop slum and blighted areas. The local government creates the CRA by adopting a resolution making a finding of need.

What are the two governance options for a CRA?

Under Chapter 163, the local government can (1) appoint a separate board of commissioners under § 163.356(2), or (2) declare its own governing body to be the CRA board under § 163.357(1)(a).

Can the local governing body switch governance structures later?

Only one direction is statutorily authorized. Section 163.357(1)(a) lets a local government with an appointed board "at any time thereafter by adoption of a resolution, declare itself to be an agency." The reverse move (governing body to independent board) is not authorized.

Why did the AG read Chapter 163 so narrowly?

The AG read § 163.356(2) as providing for appointment of a board of commissioners "[w]hen the governing body adopts a resolution declaring the need for a community redevelopment agency." The opinion found no provision for appointing a new board after the agency was established. By contrast, § 163.357(1)(a) expressly permits a local governing body to declare itself the CRA "at the time of the adoption of a resolution under s. 163.355, or at any time thereafter."

What if the city's prior code of ordinances locked in the council-as-CRA choice?

The opinion says the council declared itself the CRA by resolution, consistent with Chapter 163 and its own Code of Ordinances. It does not analyze a proposed ordinance amendment.

Did the opinion identify another way to transfer an existing CRA to an independent board?

No. It concluded that "the city council lacks statutory authority to transfer its authority as the community redevelopment agency of an existing agency to an independent board." It did not discuss other restructuring options.

Background and statutory framework

The Community Redevelopment Act of 1969 (Chapter 163, Florida Statutes) authorized counties and municipalities to create CRAs to address slum and blighted areas through redevelopment. Key provisions:

• § 163.355: a local government adopts a resolution making a finding of need.
• § 163.356(1): once created, a CRA is a separate "public body corporate and politic."
• § 163.356(2): when a need resolution is adopted, the governing body appoints a board of commissioners. Footnote 7 says the 2019 provision specified five to nine commissioners.
• § 163.357(1)(a): "[a]s an alternative to the appointment of not fewer than five or more than seven members of the agency, the governing body may, at the time of the adoption of a resolution under s. 163.355, or at any time thereafter by adoption of a resolution, declare itself to be an agency, in which case all the rights, powers, duties, privileges, and immunities vested by this part in an agency will be vested in the governing body of the county or municipality."

Avon Park initially chose the second option, with its City Council declaring itself the CRA. The opinion says the choice was consistent with the city's Code of Ordinances.

The AG read § 163.357(1)(a)'s "at any time thereafter" language as creating one-directional flexibility: from independent board to governing body, but not back. The opinion did not invoke an "anti-abdication" principle but relied on the statute's silence on the reverse path.

Citations

• Chapter 163, Florida Statutes (Community Redevelopment Act of 1969)
• § 163.355, Fla. Stat. (finding of need)
• § 163.356(1), Fla. Stat. (CRA as public body corporate and politic)
• § 163.356(2), Fla. Stat. (board of commissioners)
• § 163.357(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (governing body declaring itself the CRA)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/community-redevelopment-agency-transfer-of-authority
• Official print view: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/1472

Original opinion text

Mr. Gerald T. Buhr

City Attorney, City of Avon Park

7747 US Open Look

Lakewood Ranch, FL 34202

Dear Mr. Buhr:

On behalf of the City of Avon Park, you have requested an opinion on the following question:

Whether the city council, presently sitting as the governing board of the city community redevelopment agency, can transfer its authority to an independent board?

In sum:

Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, does not authorize the city council to transfer its existing authority as the city community redevelopment agency to an independent board.

The Community Redevelopment Act of 1969, codified in chapter 163, Florida Statutes, permits county and municipal governments to create community redevelopment agencies to redevelop and revitalize slum and blighted areas. A community redevelopment agency may only be created after the local government adopts a resolution making a finding of need.[1] Once created, a community redevelopment agency is a separate “public body corporate and politic”[2] from the local government. Generally, the Act provides that such a separate public agency when formed may be governed in two ways. First, the local government may, by ordinance, appoint a board of commissioners which may be comprised of members distinct from the members of the board of the local government.[3] Second, the local government’s “governing body” may instead designate itself as the community redevelopment agency board.[4]

Consistent with chapter 163, Florida Statutes,[5] and its own Code of Ordinances,[6] the city council of the City of Avon Park, in creating a city community redevelopment agency, chose the latter structure and declared its members, by resolution, to be the commissioners of the community redevelopment agency. The city council now asks whether it can designate, as the community development agency acting in its stead, a public agency configured as set forth in section 163.356, Florida Statutes.

Section 163.356(2), Florida Statutes, requires that a board of commissioners distinct from the city council be appointed “[w]hen the governing body adopts a resolution declaring the need for a community redevelopment agency.” The statute is clear that the board of commissioners be established when the community redevelopment agency is established. There is no provision for transfer of governance of an established community redevelopment agency to a later constituted board of commissioners. Notably, the converse is not true. Section 163.357(1)(a), Florida Statutes, provides that, “[a]s an alternative to the appointment of not fewer than five or more than seven members of the agency, the governing body may, at the time of the adoption of a resolution under s. 163.355, or at any time thereafter by adoption of a resolution, declare itself to be an agency, in which case all the rights, powers, duties, privileges, and immunities vested by this part in an agency will be vested in the governing body of the county or municipality, subject to all responsibilities and liabilities imposed or incurred.”[7] (Emphasis added.)

Therefore, I am of the opinion that the city council lacks statutory authority to transfer its authority as the community redevelopment agency of an existing agency to an independent board.

Sincerely,

Ashley Moody

Attorney General

AM/tlm

[1] § 163.355, Fla. Stat. (2019).

[2] § 163.356(1), Fla. Stat.

[3] §166.356(2), Fla. Stat.

[4] § 163.357(1)(a), Fla. Stat.; see also § 163.40(3), Fla. Stat. (defining “governing body” as “the council, commission, or other legislative body charged with governing the county or municipality”).

[5] See § 163.357(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2019).

[6] See Avon Park, Fla., Code of Ordinances Ch. 74, § 74-76 (“The city council shall, by resolution, declare themselves to be the commissioners of the community redevelopment agency.”).

[7] The reference in section 163.357(1)(a) to “not fewer than five or more than seven members of the agency” appears to be a cross-reference to section 163.356(2), which now provides for a board composition of “not fewer than five or more than nine commissioners.” This language was added to section 163.357(1)(a) at the same time that identical language concerning the number of board members was added to section 163.356(2). See Ch. 83-231, § 1-2, Laws of Fla.