The Florida legislature is trying to make it easier to redevelop older and historic buildings — or simply tear them down — along the state’s coast by limiting the ability of local governments to influence what happens to the structures and clearing the way for more resilient construction.

The House passed the Resiliency and Safe Structures Act in an 86-29 vote Wednesday after the Senate approved it last week. The bill now heads to Gov. Ron DeSantis' desk, who is expected to sign it into law over the next few weeks.

The proposed law prevents local governments from stopping the demolition of “nonconforming structures,” or buildings that do not meet flood elevation requirements issued by the National Flood Insurance Program, along the state’s coastal construction control line, a jurisdiction mostly encompassing Florida's beaches and barrier islands where Florida's Department of Environmental Protection regulates construction.

The bill would make older buildings, many with now-voided municipally designated historic protections, available to be redeveloped to their “maximum” potential, according to the bill.

The bill has been a source of friction between property owners and preservationists who argue that the bill paves the way for the redevelopment of historic areas across Florida’s coast, many built well before the National Flood Insurance Program was established in 1968.

Supporters of the bill highlight that the changes are needed to ensure the safety of coastal areas by replacing older properties with structures built using modern building and resiliency techniques.

The proposed law is an updated version of a prior bill that died last year during the legislative session after pushback from local residents in areas like the city of Miami Beach.

The bill now includes exemptions for single-family homes, buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places prior to 2000, and some properties on barrier islands in municipalities with a population of less than 10,000. City of Miami Beach officials did not immediately respond to phone calls or email requests for comment.

The new language also means that areas like St. Augustine, Key West and Palm Beach would remain protected, as would Miami Beach’s iconic Ocean Drive, part of the city’s Art Deco Historic District and included in the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.

The exemptions "helped significantly decrease opposition" to the proposed law, said Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, a local not-for-profit group, in an emailed statement to CoStar News.

But Miami Beach is home to approximately 2,600 buildings with some sort of historic designation or recognition, and many are not set to receive any protection. Areas in Mid Beach and North Beach are at risk, including the hotel-lined Collins Waterfront Historic District that joined the National Register in 2011, according to Ciraldo.

The proposed law will let property owners bypass local government bodies such as the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board from dictating whether buildings can be demolished, or mandate developers from preserving or replicating design elements in future projects.

Buildings can also be demolished if a municipal official deems the structure unsafe or has already ordered its demolition.

Developers will still need to follow all the regular local land development processes for new projects. However, local governments are barred from adding or creating any new rules, hearings or processes “that would not otherwise be applicable to a similarly situated vacant parcel within the same zoning district," according to the bill.