Edgewater Explores Options After State Law Prevents Building Moratorium

EDGEWATER, Fla. – Leaders in the city of Edgewater are striving to comply with a new state law while addressing ongoing flooding concerns linked to new developments.

Last month, Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 180, which prevents local authorities from imposing temporary pauses on new construction. Despite this, the Edgewater City Council intends to pursue the objectives set out in a building freeze it adopted earlier this year.

“We are pressing ahead with the moratorium’s goals tonight, although it cannot be enforced,” Mayor Diezel Depew stated following the Tuesday night council gathering. “We are committed to upholding the legal requirements here in Edgewater.”

The one-year moratorium, passed in January, was aimed at pausing large-scale developments while the city updated its stormwater master plan and building codes following major flooding in the Florida Shores neighborhood. Some residents blamed the flooding on runoff from a nearby construction site.

Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew said city leaders plan to keep pushing for smarter development, even if they are legally barred from enforcing a ban.

“I have full confidence in our state representatives,” DePew said. “I think we can work with them to see how SB 180 could become a positive instead of a negative. Maybe add some amendments next year.”

DePew also issued a message to developers, asking them to work with the city and be mindful of environmental impacts.

“Please do the right thing,” he said. “We are open for business. Develop in a correct manner. Be a positive, not a negative. Please don’t build 12 feet above the Florida Shores corridor.”

City leaders also acknowledged that while SB 180 might have been intended for good, it could hurt communities like theirs.

“Every city is different. I can’t speak for other municipalities,” DePew said. “But for the city of Edgewater, it is going to slow us down a lot.”

The city attorney told council members he expects to receive a letter next month from an attorney encouraging municipalities to join a lawsuit challenging the new state law. The council said it plans to consider whether to join the legal challenge at a future meeting.

For the full list of new Florida laws passed this year, click here.