SITC Inc. v. Sarasota County (Live Local Act Zoning-Preemption Dispute)
Sarasota County faces four Live Local Act suits by SITC, D.R. Horton and others after ruling the law does not apply in two zoning districts, blocking six of seven affordable-housing applications.
Sarasota County is defending four separate lawsuits — brought by developer SITC Inc. (controlled by Halfacre Construction's Jack Cox), D.R. Horton Inc., and others — after commissioners voted in April 2026 that the state's Live Local Act does not apply to the county's Open Use and Residential Estate-1 zoning districts, blocking six of seven pending affordable-housing applications. Twelfth Judicial Circuit Judge Hunter W. Carroll heard argument on the county's motion to dismiss the second complaint on August 25, and a non-jury trial in the lead SITC case is set for March 29, 2027. SITC's suit also asks the court to hold individual commissioners personally liable and alleges the policy shift violated Florida's open-meetings law.
Why it matters: The case tests how much room a local government retains to narrow a state affordability-preemption mandate through zoning-code interpretation rather than an outright, publicly noticed policy change — a playbook other Florida counties are watching closely as Live Local Act litigation multiplies statewide. A ruling for the county would hand municipalities a template for limiting Live Local exposure through zoning classification; a ruling for the developers would signal courts will read the Act's zoning triggers broadly and scrutinize last-minute reclassifications.
