Florida Republicans Are Fighting Gainesville’s Zoning Reform, and Themselves
The state government is pushing back against a local effort to allow denser housing in single-family neighborhoods, setting the stage for a legal battle.
The view from Gainesville.
Photographer: Sean Pavone/iStockphotoFlorida Governor Ron DeSantis’s administration is urging the city of Gainesville to abandon its zoning reforms after it became the first in the state to vote to eliminate single-family zoning citywide this summer. In an unprecedented move for the agency, Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) sent a letter to Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe objecting to the city’s zoning plan last month. Gainesville’s City Commission is poised to vote to move forward with the changes anyway on Oct. 17.
The action raises the specter of Republican-controlled state governments stepping in to stop cities from passing progressive housing reforms — and mystifies some conservatives who support deregulation in the housing market.