Escambia County residents often ask an important question when they see new subdivisions or commercial projects proposed.
“Does the county require infrastructure like roads, drainage, parks, and utilities to be in place before approving development?”
The answer is yes and no. The county does have a concurrency framework, but it does not always function the way people expect.
Here is how the system actually works.
Under Florida law, local governments must plan infrastructure to support development. The governing statute is Florida Statute 163.3180, titled Concurrency.
Florida Statute 163.3180(1)(a) states:
“Public facilities and services needed to support development shall be available concurrent with the impacts of such development.”
The law originally required roads, utilities, parks, schools, and other public facilities to meet adopted “Level of Service” standards when development occurs.
Escambia County implements this requirement through its Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.
For transportation, the county’s Comprehensive Plan includes policies requiring monitoring of roadway capacity and congestion.
For example:
Escambia County Comprehensive Plan
Mobility Element Policy MOB 1.1.14 states the county will maintain a transportation level-of-service monitoring system and identify roadway segments that exceed adopted standards.
Source
Escambia County Comprehensive Plan
Development Services Department
https://myescambia.com/our-services/development-services
The county also uses a Capital Improvements Program (CIP) that schedules future infrastructure projects over a five-year period.
Capital improvements may include road widening, intersection improvements, drainage projects, parks, and utility expansions.
However, an important change occurred in Florida in 2011.
The Florida Legislature weakened transportation concurrency requirements statewide.
Local governments were allowed to replace strict road concurrency with systems that allow development to proceed while infrastructure improvements are scheduled later or funded through mitigation.
As a result, many counties, including Escambia, moved toward a system where: Developments must complete traffic studies.
If roadway capacity is insufficient, developers may provide mitigation such as proportionate share payments or improvements.
Road projects are then scheduled in future capital improvement plans.
This means development approvals can occur even when roads are already congested, provided mitigation or planning mechanisms are in place.
Infrastructure that still generally must have capacity available before occupancy includes:
Water supply
Sanitary sewer
Solid waste facilities
Drainage and stormwater systems
Parks and recreation facilities
Public schools (when applicable through agreements with the school district)
These requirements are still governed by Florida Statute 163.3180 and local comprehensive plan policies.
The goal of concurrency is to balance growth with infrastructure capacity.
But in practice, the system relies heavily on planning, capital budgeting, and mitigation rather than requiring all infrastructure to exist before development begins.
That is why residents sometimes see development occurring while road improvements, drainage projects, or park expansions are still in planning stages.
If you are interested in reviewing the official documents yourself, here are the primary sources.
Florida Statute 163.3180 Concurrency Requirements
https://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0163/Sections/0163.3180.html
Escambia County Comprehensive Plan
Mobility Element and Capital Improvements Element
https://myescambia.com/our-services/development-services
Understanding how concurrency works helps residents better participate in discussions about growth, infrastructure, and long-term planning in Escambia County.