How does the Live Local Act density unlock work in practice?
The Florida Live Local Act creates by-right residential development rights on commercially-zoned land through three simultaneous unlocks. First, density matching: a compliant project may build at the density of the highest residential approval within one mile of the subject parcel. In practice, this means a strip center on a 3-acre commercial parcel in a corridor where a nearby apartment complex was approved at 48 units per acre can build 144 units by right. Second, height matching: the project may build to the height of the tallest building approved within one mile. Third, use preemption: local governments cannot deny compliant applications through discretionary review. The price of admission: 40% of units must be rented to households at or below 120% of Area Median Income, approximately $109,000 for a 2-person household in the Orlando MSA in 2026. The remaining 60% are unrestricted market rate. The LLA density unlock calculator above quantifies the unit count, development economics, and implied land value uplift for any compliant parcel.