Here’s a cut and paste copy of the passage in Florida’s DRI laws that deals with Preliminary Development Agreements. Here’s a link to entire DRI chapter.

(8) PRELIMINARY DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS.--

(a) A developer may enter into a written preliminary development agreement with the state land planning agency to allow a developer to proceed with a limited amount of the total proposed development, subject to all other governmental approvals and solely at the developer’s own risk, prior to issuance of a final development order. All owners of the land in the total proposed development shall join the developer as parties to the agreement. Each agreement shall include and be subject to the following conditions:

1.  The developer shall comply with the preapplication conference requirements pursuant to subsection (7) within 45 days after the execution of the agreement.

2.  The developer shall file an application for development approval for the total proposed development within 3 months after execution of the agreement, unless the state land planning agency agrees to a different time for good cause shown. Failure to timely file an application and to otherwise diligently proceed in good faith to obtain a final development order shall constitute a breach of the preliminary development agreement.

3.  The agreement shall include maps and legal descriptions of both the preliminary development area and the total proposed development area and shall specifically describe the preliminary development in terms of magnitude and location. The area approved for preliminary development must be included in the application for development approval and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the final development order.

4.  The preliminary development shall be limited to lands that the state land planning agency agrees are suitable for development and shall only be allowed in areas where adequate public infrastructure exists to accommodate the preliminary development, when such development will utilize public infrastructure. The developer must also demonstrate that the preliminary development will not result in material adverse impacts to existing resources or existing or planned facilities.

5.  The preliminary development agreement may allow development which is:

a.  1Less than 100 percent of any applicable threshold if the developer demonstrates that such development is consistent with subparagraph 4.; or

b.  Less than 120 percent of any applicable threshold if the developer demonstrates that such development is part of a proposed downtown development of regional impact specified in subsection (22) or part of any areawide development of regional impact specified in subsection (25) and that the development is consistent with subparagraph 4.

6.  The developer and owners of the land may not claim vested rights, or assert equitable estoppel, arising from the agreement or any expenditures or actions taken in reliance on the agreement to continue with the total proposed development beyond the preliminary development. The agreement shall not entitle the developer to a final development order approving the total proposed development or to particular conditions in a final development order.

7.  The agreement shall not prohibit the regional planning agency from reviewing or commenting on any regional issue that the regional agency determines should be included in the regional agency’s report on the application for development approval.

8.  The agreement shall include a disclosure by the developer and all the owners of the land in the total proposed development of all land or development within 5 miles of the total proposed development in which they have an interest and shall describe such interest.

9.  In the event of a breach of the agreement or failure to comply with any condition of the agreement, or if the agreement was based on materially inaccurate information, the state land planning agency may terminate the agreement or file suit to enforce the agreement as provided in this section and s. 380.11, including a suit to enjoin all development.

10.  A notice of the preliminary development agreement shall be recorded by the developer in accordance with s. 28.222 with the clerk of the circuit court for each county in which land covered by the terms of the agreement is located. The notice shall include a legal description of the land covered by the agreement and shall state the parties to the agreement, the date of adoption of the agreement and any subsequent amendments, the location where the agreement may be examined, and that the agreement constitutes a land development regulation applicable to portions of the land covered by the agreement. The provisions of the agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon successors and assigns of the parties in the agreement.

11.  Except for those agreements which authorize preliminary development for substantial deviations pursuant to subsection (19), a developer who no longer wishes to pursue a development of regional impact may propose to abandon any preliminary development agreement executed after January 1, 1985, including those pursuant to s. 380.032(3), provided at the time of abandonment:

a.  A final development order under this section has been rendered that approves all of the development actually constructed; or

b.  The amount of development is less than 100 percent of all numerical thresholds of the guidelines and standards, and the state land planning agency determines in writing that the development to date is in compliance with all applicable local regulations and the terms and conditions of the preliminary development agreement and otherwise adequately mitigates for the impacts of the development to date.

In either event, when a developer proposes to abandon said agreement, the developer shall give written notice and state that he or she is no longer proposing a development of regional impact and provide adequate documentation that he or she has met the criteria for abandonment of the agreement to the state land planning agency. Within 30 days of receipt of adequate documentation of such notice, the state land planning agency shall make its determination as to whether or not the developer meets the criteria for abandonment. Once the state land planning agency determines that the developer meets the criteria for abandonment, the state land planning agency shall issue a notice of abandonment which shall be recorded by the developer in accordance with s. 28.222 with the clerk of the circuit court for each county in which land covered by the terms of the agreement is located.

(b) The state land planning agency may enter into other types of agreements to effectuate the provisions of this act as provided in s. 380.032.

(c) The provisions of this subsection shall also be available to a developer who chooses to seek development approval of a Florida Quality Development pursuant to s. 380.061.

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