TO: Indian River County Board of County Commissioners
THROUGH: John A. Titkanich, Jr., County Administrator
FROM: Ryan Sweeney, Assistant Planning & Development Services Director
DATE: January 26, 2026
SUBJECT: Consideration of Staff-Initiated Land Development Regulation (LDR)
Amendments to Create a Reasonable Accommodation Ordinance Including
Certified Recovery Residences [Legislative]
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BACKGROUND
Senate Bill 954 was adopted in 2025 requiring counties to adopt ordinances establishing procedures for reasonable accommodation of any local land use regulation that prohibits certified recovery residences. The County does not currently have reasonable accommodation procedures established within the adopted land development regulations (LDRs). Therefore, the proposed LDR amendments will create reasonable accommodation procedures, and then also confirm that certified recovery residences are eligible to request reasonable accommodation via the newly created procedures.
ANALYSIS
In summary, the first section of the proposed LDR amendments establishes consistency with the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act (42 U.S.C. 3601, et. seq.) ("FHAA") and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. Section 12131, et. seq.) ("ADA"). Section 2 outlines that requests for reasonable accommodation shall be submitted to the Planning and Development Services (PDS) Department and identifies timeframes for review of the request. Section 3 discusses medical information and that the County should make efforts to treat said medical information as confidential.
Section 4 of the proposed LDR amendments establishes that the PDS Director, or his/her designee, shall have the authority to consider and act on requests for reasonable accommodation, and outlines the process for approval, partial approval, or denial of each request. Section 5 confirms that the applicant must demonstrate a handicap or disability as defined in the FHAA and/or ADA. Section 6 outlines the appeal process if a request is denied, and identifies that the County Administrator shall hear the appeal.
Section 7 of the proposed LDR amendments confirms that there shall be no fee imposed by the County in connection with a request for reasonable accommodation. Section 8 confirms that any property purchase, building, construction, or other work associated with establishing a project or residence housing individuals covered by the FHAA and/or ADA while an application or appeal for reasonable accommodation is pending is considered to be at the applicant’s own risk. Section 9 outlines several general provisions for the reasonable accommodation process. Lastly, Section 10 identifies the information that is required to be included in a reasonable accommodation request form.
The proposed LDR amendments have been reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office, and are consistent with Section 397.487(15), Florida Statutes (FS).
BUDGETARY IMPACT
Not Applicable. Also, this ordinance is exempt from the requirement to provide a Business Impact Estimate per Section 125.66(3)(c)1., Florida Statutes.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTIONS
The have been no previous Board of County Commissioners (BCC) actions on this item. At their regular January 22, 2026 meeting, the Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that BCC adopt the proposed reasonable accommodation ordinance by a vote of 7-0.
POTENTIAL FUTURE BOARD ACTIONS
The BCC may recommend or consider additional revisions to the proposed reasonable accommodation ordinance in the future.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners adopt the proposed reasonable accommodation ordinance.