State zoning preemption is influencing city approvals by creating credible by-right alternatives. Florida’s Live Local and California’s SB 79 show how the fallback option can change votes and timelines. AI Summary
State after state has passed laws preempting local control over zoning. Increasingly, developers don’t need to invoke any of them to change how city officials vote on a project.
Officials already know what a rejection could cost. Knowing that cost ahead of time, rather than a formal citation of state code, often gets a project approved…