Change is on the horizon for St. Augustine's builders and developers starting New Year's Day, thanks to a new legislative twist. According to the City of St. Augustine official announcement, effective January 1, 2025, the local Planning & Building Department is streamlining its building permit process because of the newly passed HB 267 by the Florida State Legislature.
The city's adjustment introduces the Land Development Application (LDA), a new procedure seemingly adopted to avoid getting snagged in red tape, and closely resembling the Clearance Sheet from St. Johns County. Before anyone can say 'construction underway', zoning, historic, archeology, public works, and utilities plan reviews must all pass muster under this new pre-building permit system—though the actual building and fire plan reviews are sticking with the old permit application process, as per the City of St. Augustine.
It would seem that the city is also reorganizing where it collects its assorted fees. A detail that may not excite much interest, unless one is actually parting with such fees, is that the Planning Fees linked to building permits will move house from Public Works and Utilities over to the capable, if somewhat dusty, hands of the Planning and Building Department.
Those in St. Augustine looking to avoid this new paperwork dance have a simple out—simply apply before the year turns. Permits sought before January 1, 2025, are exempt from the LDA. For the curious or those who really need to get their permits straight, the Planning & Building Department has opened a line of communication at 904.825.1065, and [email protected] for email inquiries.
As for the media looking for the inside scoop on this bureaucratic shuffle, Melissa Wissel, Communications Director, is the go-to at 904.293.3307 or [email protected]. The City of St. Augustine official statement details the changes further, for those with an unquenchable thirst for the finer points of municipal code adjustments.
