A last-minute outpouring of public comments at the Jan. 24 Sunshine Task Force meeting has tabled a controversial ordinance that would have allowed ordinary residents to pause developments for inaccurate or incomplete information on permit applications. While advocates of the ordinance characterized it as a boon for accountability that would place residents on equal footing with well-resourced developers, critics warned that its broad language left it vulnerable to bad actors and would have a chilling effect on development at a crucial moment for the city.
The ordinance would set up a system by which a resident could challenge any permit for the “inclusion of inaccurate, substantially incomplete or erroneous information in an application,” according to a draft of the ordinance.
