Can a Florida county lease or convey county-owned land to a developer for a project that includes market-rate housing as an economic-development activity?

Plain-English summary

Senator Oscar Braynon II asked whether section 125.045 barred a county from leasing or conveying county land to a private enterprise for a project including market-rate housing. He provided no other details about the project or transaction.

The AG distinguished the statute's goals from its list of funding methods. Subsection (1) states the goals of attracting and retaining manufacturing development, business enterprise management, and other activities conducive to economic promotion. The AG said the subsection (3) list "appears" to describe ways a county may spend public funds toward those goals, including leasing or conveying real property, rather than examples of economic development activities.

The county's governing board would have to examine the particular project and decide whether it furthered subsection (1)'s goals. Without a request from that board describing the transaction, the AG did not decide whether the proposed lease or conveyance qualified.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2017. 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

Q: Did the AG approve using county land for market-rate housing?
A: No. The AG had no details beyond the project's inclusion of market-rate housing. The county board would have to analyze the project against section 125.045(1)'s economic-development goals.

Q: Does section 125.045(3) define economic development activities?
A: The AG said it "appears" that subsection (3) lists ways, including leasing or conveying land, for a county to spend public funds toward the goals in subsection (1), rather than examples of economic development activities. The letter did not give a definitive classification of the proposed project.

Q: Who would decide whether this project furthered the statutory goals?
A: The county's governing board would need to examine the project's details. The AG declined to apply the statute to a transaction without a request from that board outlining its particulars.

Background and statutory framework

Section 125.045(1) states the Legislature's economic-development goals. The AG suggested that subsection (3) appears to list ways a county governing body may expend public funds, directly or indirectly, toward those goals, rather than examples of qualifying activities. The opinion also cites section 16.01(3) when explaining why the office would not analyze a specific county transaction without a request from the county governing board.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• § 125.045, Fla. Stat. (County economic development powers)
• § 16.01, Fla. Stat. (Attorney General; duties)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/ag-opinions/county-economic-development
• Official print view: https://www.myfloridalegal.com/print/pdf/node/8039

Original opinion text

June 1, 2017

Senator Oscar Braynon II
606 Northwest 103rd Street
Miami Gardens, Florida 33169

Dear Senator Braynon:

You have asked whether, under section 125.045, Florida Statutes ("County economic development powers"), there are "any State-prescribed prohibitions or restrictions" which would preclude the governing body of a county from leasing or conveying county-owned real property to a private enterprise to facilitate its development of a project which would include market-rate residential housing. You have not provided any other facts regarding the proposed project or the terms of the proposed lease or conveyance of county-owned real property. However, in posing the question, you note that section 125.045 "provides that '...it constitutes a public purpose to expend public funds for economic development activities, including, but not limited to…leasing or conveying real property....'"

In an effort to assist in your analysis of this question, it appears that the list contained in section 125.045(3) does not provide examples of "economic development activities" for which expenditure of local government funds constitutes a "public purpose." Instead, the activities set forth in section 125.045(3) ("developing or improving local infrastructure, issuing bonds to finance or refinance the cost of capital projects for industrial or manufacturing plants, leasing or conveying real property, and making grants to private enterprises for the expansion of businesses existing in the community or the attraction of new businesses to the community") appear to comprise a non-exclusive list of ways in which the "governing body of a county may expend public funds"--either directly or indirectly--in furtherance of the stated legislative goals of "attracting and retaining manufacturing development, business enterprise management, and other activities conducive to economic promotion[.]" § 125.045(1), Fla. Stat. (2017).

Therefore, a careful analysis of the proposed project, and consideration of whether it furthers the express statutory goals of "attracting and retaining manufacturing development, business enterprise management, and other activities conducive to economic promotion" would have to be undertaken by the governing board of the local body to determine whether the proposed project, which includes market-rate residential housing, would comprise valid "economic development" activities for which, under section 125.045, Florida Statutes, public funds may be (directly or indirectly) expended.

I hope these comments will be helpful to you, and trust you will understand that we cannot undertake an analysis of the statute's application to a proposed lease or conveyance of county property to a private enterprise to facilitate development of a proposed project without a request from the governing board of the local government outlining the particulars of the proposed transactions. See § 16.01(3), Fla. Stat. (2017).

Sincerely,

Teresa L. Mussetto
Senior Assistant Attorney General

TLM/tsh