It’s unusual for attorney generals to comment on a pending lawsuit.
By Derek Gilliam/Suncoast Searchlight
Host: Sarasota County has spent months arguing that Florida’s Live Local Act does not allow developers to build large apartment complexes on land zoned primarily for rural uses. Now, Attorney General James Uthmeier’s office says the county has it wrong. Derek Gilliam with Suncoast Searchlight reports.
Derek Gilliam: In a September 16 letter responding to Sarasota County’s request for legal guidance, the Attorney General’s Office concluded this: Rural properties allowing even limited commercial uses—such as veterinary clinics and plant nurseries—can qualify as mixed-use land eligible for development under Live Local.
The letter casts new doubt on the county’s long-running fight over the controversial law. It gives ammunition to developers suing the county in six ongoing cases and potentially clearing a path for more than 7,500 housing units that have been put on pause.
Area real estate developers and a church have sued Sarasota County after commissioners voted in April to block six of the projects proposed under Live Local. That set up a court battle to determine whether local governments have the power to keep the state’s affordable-housing law from reshaping agricultural areas.
But before the lawsuits were filed, commissioners asked the Attorney General to weigh in on their position. Since then, the number of Live Local applications in the pipeline has tripled to 18, most of them eyeing rural land Sarasota County argued was off limits.
This aerial photo was taken on April 16, 2026, of the Tatum Ridge Golf Links. Neighbors of the golf course have been fighting against development proposals after the property was sold in December 2020 for $2.9 million | Photo: Michael Barfield, Trident via Suncoast Searchlight
The Attorney General’s legal analysis is advisory, meaning it is not binding like a judge’s ruling. But legal experts say the courts give it significant consideration.
The Live Local Act lets developers bypass local zoning rules and public hearings if they meet the law’s affordable-housing requirements.
The legislation allowed qualifying apartment complexes on any property “zoned for commercial, industrial or mixed-use.”
The county maintains that agricultural properties do not become mixed-use simply because their zoning allows limited commercial activities. County attorneys have argued in court that uses such as veterinary clinics and plant nurseries are ancillary to the underlying residential zoning.
Uthmeier’s office reached the opposite conclusion.
A judge will ultimately decide whose interpretation is correct. But the Attorney General’s letter has dealt the county its first blow over the legal position it has used to block the projects.
Commissioners have previously said they were reacting to a steady barrage of concerns from residents over the impact of the proposed developments. These critics fear the county would not be able to build infrastructure fast enough to keep up.
County Attorney Joshua Moye, pictured here during the April 7 Commission meeting, argued in a memo that if developers challenge the exclusion of rural zoning categories, defending the decision “would be an uphill battle given the strict language of the Live Local Act” | Screengrab from the Sarasota County Commission meeting livestream via Suncoast Searchlight
But County Attorney Joshua Moye warned of an “uphill battle” in court when the board unanimously voted to halt the Live Local projects on April 7.
Developers have since seized on Moye’s warning in their lawsuits. An attorney for the Live Local developers pointed to Moye’s interpretation, accusing commissioners of “knowingly weaponizing governmental power” with the “stated intent to intimidate.”
Commissioners themselves were initially named as defendants, but a judge last week dismissed them from the case, removing their potential personal liability.
All six court cases are still proceeding, with trials expected by August 2027.
The Attorney General’s letter does not resolve the lawsuits. Opponents of the Live Local projects question how much legal significance it should carry.
Critics note that the September 16 letter is not an official opinion because it is not numbered as such or published with the other official opinions on the Attorney General’s website.
But they still worry the letter will now soften the county’s stance, potentially prompting commissioners to backpedal or settle the pending lawsuits altogether.
Susan Schoettle, a former assistant county attorney and a legal adviser to the Audubon Society, said: “The county has some very strong arguments that support its policy position that have been well briefed before the court. The impacts to the county would be devastating.”
But Chistine Robinson, the CEO of the Argus Foundation, questioned the county’s transparency.
She criticized current county leadership. During last week’s Live Local update, she noted that neither commissioners nor staff brought up the recent letter from the Attorney General’s Office or the two latest lawsuits filed against the county.
She also noted that taxpayers could be on the hook for legal fees now standing at $1.5 million should the county lose.
Robinson said: “Everybody up on that dais knew about this and they just did not talk about it.”
Others argue the letter should never have been issued in the first place.
It’s unusual for attorneys general to opine on pending litigation, according to the National Association of Attorneys General. It’s also a longstanding policy in Florida.
Stay Tatum Ridge United President Matt Procaccini said he’s spent more than 1,000 hours over the past year helping organize residents of his community against proposed redevelopment of the Tatum Ridge Golf Links | Photo: Derek Gilliam, Suncoast Searchlight
Matt Proccaccini, who has organized opposition to a Live Local project on Tatum Ridge Road, said: “I don’t think it was the AG’s job to throw out an opinion on a pending lawsuit.”
Procaccini noted that the issue comes down to neighborhoods defending against overreach by large developers.
He said: “I’m standing here trying to defend something that’s a clear property rights issue.”
Reporting for Suncoast Searchlight, Derek Gilliam. To read the full report, go to suncoastsearchlight.org/sarasota-county-live-local-attorney-genera.
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