Own a small multifamily in Jacksonville and thinking about adding units? You’re bracing for rezoning fights and delays. Still, Florida’s Live Local Act can cut through the noise if you meet its affordability rules, unlocking by-right approvals, smoother permitting, and potential tax perks.
This guide explains what preemption is, when it applies in Jax, what still matters locally, and how to use it without getting tangled in red tape.
Key Takeaways
- If you meet the affordability tests, state law preempts local zoning for use, height, density, and floor area ratio (FAR) and requires administrative approval.
- Qualify by reserving at least 40% of units as affordable (at or below 120% AMI) for 30 years; mixed-use projects must be at least 65% residential.
- Height and density can’t be capped below statutory floors (tallest within one mile or three stories), with specific adjacency and historic limits.
- Cities must reduce required parking by 15% in qualifying locations and eliminate it in designated transit-oriented areas for mixed-use projects.
- Cities face tight limits on moratoria, and prevailing owners can recover attorney’s fees up to $250,000.
- Jacksonville offers an administrative Live Local path and a separate tax exemption that generally applies only to 50-plus-unit projects.
What is the Live Local Act & Zoning Preemption?
Why it exists? Florida passed the Live Local Act in 2023 to speed up the development of affordable and workforce apartments, especially in areas that are already commercial or industrial.
What “zoning preemption” means? If you commit to enough affordable units for a sufficient period, state law overrides some local hurdles.
In practice, the city must allow apartments or mixed-use housing in commercial, industrial, or mixed-use areas (and similar planned districts). You can’t be forced to change the zoning or the comprehensive plan just to get approval for use, height, or density.
Your project is reviewed and approved by staff (an administrative sign-off), not through public hearings, provided you still meet the usual non-preempted rules such as setbacks, utilities, stormwater, and building codes.
What Small Landlords Need to Know in Jacksonville
- Affordability commitment: Set aside at least 40% of your units as affordable for 30 years. “Affordable” means the rent (plus basic utilities) fits within 30% of a qualifying household’s income, up to 120% of the area’s median income.
- If it’s mixed-use: When you include shops or offices, most of the building must still be housing: at least 65% of the total square footage. The city cannot require you to add more than 10% non-residential space.
- Size doesn’t block you: There’s no minimum unit count to use Live Local’s zoning shortcuts. Even a four-unit building can qualify if it meets the affordability rules.
- Don’t confuse preemption with the tax break: Jacksonville’s local property-tax exemption is a separate program that generally applies to 50-plus-unit projects with at least 20% affordable units and specific rent limits. You might still get the state preemption even if you’re too small for the city’s tax break.
What Preemption Helps With
Suppose you meet the Live Local affordability rules. In that case, the city must treat apartments or mixed-use housing as allowed by right on land zoned commercial, industrial, or mixed-use (including planned districts), so you don’t have to rezone or change the comprehensive plan for those items.
The city also can’t force your project below the state-guaranteed minimums for height, density, or floor area. As long as you comply with the usual site rules, setbacks, utilities, stormwater, and building codes, your application is handled through staff administrative approval rather than a public hearing.
What Preemption Doesn’t Cover
Even with Live Local, you still have to meet the usual site rules, things like setbacks, drainage/stormwater, utility hookups, exterior design standards, and parking. However, the law now requires cities to reduce parking in certain situations and, in some transit-oriented areas, to eliminate minimum parking for qualifying mixed-use projects.
Suppose your property includes an individually listed historic building or contributes to a National Register landmark district designated before 2000.
In that case, the City can still require architectural compatibility (for example, matching key façade elements) without undoing the state preemption on height, density, or floor area; a separate three-quarter-mile height test also applies around such historic resources.
Jacksonville: What the City Has Done
Jacksonville’s Planning & Development Department has published straightforward Live Local guidelines and a simple application so qualifying projects can be reviewed by staff instead of going through public hearings.
Separately, the City adopted Ordinance 2023-349-E, which offers a break on the city portion of property taxes for larger multifamily projects, generally 50-plus units with at least 20% affordable units, so long as rents stay within state affordability charts or a set percentage of HUD fair-market rents and the property remains code-compliant.
2025 Updates You Should Know
- Clearer coverage: Tightens what counts as commercial, industrial, and mixed-use and confirms PUD/flex districts are in scope.
- Streamlined approvals: Makes parking reductions mandatory and reinforces staff-level approvals, including demolition when a project otherwise complies.
- Limits on delays: Caps local moratoria to one 90-day pause every three years, and only with published findings.
- Stronger remedies: Adds priority court scheduling and allows prevailing owners to recover attorney’s fees up to $250,000.
Strategy Tips for Small Landlords
- Run the numbers. Can you set aside at least 40% of units at or below 120% AMI for 30 years and still make the deal work? For mixed-use, plan on at least 65% of the building as housing.
- Start early with the admin track. Review Jacksonville’s Live Local materials and file a clean, complete application to avoid back-and-forth delays.
- Use the parking breaks. If you’re near transit or have qualifying nearby parking, request the mandatory 15% reduction or no parking at all in designated transit-oriented areas for mixed-use.
- Team up for tax savings. If you’re under Jacksonville’s 50-unit threshold for the local tax exemption, consider partnering or assembling parcels to qualify; state preemption itself has no minimum size.
Bottom Line: Qualify, Apply, Build Faster
Live Local shifts leverage to owners who commit to affordability: qualifying projects get by-right, staff-level approvals in commercial and mixed-use areas, with state protections on height, density, and parking flexibility.
Standard site and historic rules still apply, and Jacksonville’s tax exemption is a separate local incentive. If the deal pencils, Live Local can compress timelines, minimize hearing risk, and deliver absolute certainty.
Ready to act? Nest Finders will verify your Live Local eligibility, optimize unit mix and rents, prepare the administrative application, and manage compliance end-to-end, so you get approvals faster and keep incentives intact. Reach out to start your LLA checkup today!
FAQ
Do I have to make all units affordable to use LLA zoning preemption?
No. You need at least 40% affordable units (at or below 120% AMI) for 30 years. Mixed-use projects must devote at least 65% of total square footage to residential.
What counts as “affordable” under Live Local?
A unit is “affordable” if rent plus utilities does not exceed 30% of a qualifying household’s income (extremely low, very low, low, or moderate up to 120% AMI).
Do local rules for design, parking, and setbacks still apply?
Yes, except for the preempted items. Also, cities must reduce parking by 15% in listed circumstances and eliminate parking in certain transit-oriented areas for qualifying mixed-use projects.
What if I sell or stop offering affordability early?
The affordability commitment is 30 years. Violations risk loss of incentives and other consequences after a reasonable cure period.
Am I eligible if I only own a small project (e.g., under 20 units)?
For preemption: possibly yes if you meet the affordability tests. For Jacksonville’s local tax exemption: generally, no unless you meet the 50-plus-unit and other ordinance thresholds.
Additional Resources
The Real Estate Investment Strategies You Need to Know in Jacksonville
Is Jacksonville, Florida Landlord Friendly? The Laws That Matter
