BAYWOOD CONSTRUCTION, INC., AND CHARLES E. FLETCHER, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE CITY OF CAPE CORAL, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1987-05-22
No. 86-2439
SCHEB, A.C.J., and CAMPBELL, J., concur.
507 So. 2d 768 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1987) Caution
Cited by 4 cases

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Synopsis

Baywood Construction and Charles Fletcher appealed a declaratory judgment upholding Cape Coral's utility capital expansion fee ordinance, arguing it was an impact fee that required stricter zoning procedures to be valid. The appellate court affirmed, holding that a valid impact fee ordinance for capital expansion is not a zoning ordinance and need not be enacted under zoning procedures.


Holding

The court held that a valid impact fee ordinance enacted for capital expansion purposes is not a zoning ordinance and does not substantially restrict the use of property, and therefore may be properly adopted using ordinary municipal ordinance procedures under section 166.041(3)(a) rather than strict zoning procedures.


Headnotes

[1] A municipal ordinance establishing a utility capital expansion fee, which is not a zoning ordinance and does not substantially restrict property use, may be properly adop…

[2] A municipal ordinance that substantially affects land use must be enacted under the procedures governing zoning and rezoning.

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Key Quotes

“A valid impact fee ordinance enacted for the purpose of capital expansion is not a zoning ordinance, and the imposition of a fee for this purpose does not substantially restrict the use of one's property.”

Establishes the core holding that impact fees for capital expansion are not zoning ordinances and thus need not follow zoning procedures.

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Facts & Procedural History

In 1980, Cape Coral adopted ordinance 63-80 establishing a utility (water and sewer) capital expansion fee payable when new water meters are installed…

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Opinion of the Court
SCHOONOVER, Judge.

SCHOONOVER, Judge.

Appellants, Baywood Construction, Inc., and Charles E. Fletcher, appeal a partial final declaratory judgment determining that Cape Coral Ordinance 63-80 was properly enacted and, therefore, is valid. We affirm.

In 1980, Cape Coral passed ordinance 63-80 establishing a utility (water and sewer) capital expansion fee. The ordinance requires the fee to be paid at the time the installation fee for a new water meter is paid. The ordinance further provides that if sewer service is not available, the fee for waste water is not due until the sewer service is extended to the property involved. The revenue from the ordinance must be used only for the capital expansion of utility facilities.

Appellants filed an action seeking a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was null and void and that they were entitled to a refund of the fees that they had paid pursuant to the requirements of the ordinance. The appellants did not attack the substance of the ordinance but instead contended that the ordinance established an impact fee. They argued that impact fee ordinances are, by their nature, intent, substantial effect and practical impact, actually land use and development regulations which must be enacted pursuant to the procedures set forth in section 166.- 041(3)(c)(2), Florida Statutes (1979). In response to cross-motions for summary judgment, the court found that ordinance 63-80 is not of such a nature as to have required that it be enacted in compliance with section 166.041(3)(c)(2) and entered a judgment for Cape Coral. This timely appeal followed.

As mentioned above, appellants do not contend that Cape Coral’s water and sewer expansion ordinance is invalid because of the way it is written or because it omitted any provisions crucial to its validity. See Contractors and Builders Association v. City of Dunedin, 329 So. 2d 314 (Fla.1976). They do contend, however, that the ordinance was improperly adopted and that it, therefore, is null and void.

The record reflects that in adopting the ordinance under consideration, the city followed section 166.041(3)(a), Florida Statutes (1979). This section sets forth the ordinary procedures which must be followed in adopting a municipal ordinance other than one which rezones private real property. A rezoning ordinance must be adopted by following the stricter procedures set forth in section 166.041(3)(c)(2). This court has held that zoning ordinances are null and void if not strictly enacted pursuant to the requirements of section 166.041. David v. City of Dunedin, 473 So. 2d 304 (Fla.2d DCA 1985). We have also held that if an ordinance substantially affects land use, it must be enacted under the procedures which govern zoning and rezoning, i.e., section 166.041(3)(c)(2). City of Sanibel v. Buntrock, 409 So. 2d 1073 (Fla.2d DCA), petition for review denied, 417 So. 2d 328 (Fla.1982).

We agree with the trial court’s determination that ordinance 63-80 did not have to be enacted pursuant to the requirements of section 166.041(3)(c)(2). A valid impact fee ordinance enacted for the purpose of capital expansion is not a zoning ordinance, and the imposition of a fee for this purpose does not substantially restrict the use of one’s property. See Buntrock. Such an ordinance, therefore, may be properly adopted by using the procedure set forth in section 166.041(3)(a).

Affirmed.

SCHEB, A.C.J., and CAMPBELL, J., concur.


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Citator

Cited By

  • …al effect on the building code and so was subject to the requirements). Nor are they required for impact fee ordinances which have the primary purpose of capital expansion rather than land use regulation. Baywood Constr., Inc. v. City of Cape Coral, 507 So. 2d 768, 769 (Fla. 2d DCA), rev. denied, 513 So. 2d 1060 (Fla.1987). We conclude that the structural requirements of the Broward County ordinance do not substantially affect the use of land. They are very similar to the type of changes that might be impose…
  • Daytona Leisure Corp. v. The City OF Daytona Beach, 539 So. 2d 597 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989)
    …f emergency ordinances, is misplaced; that statute expressly provides that “no emergency ordinance shall be enacted which enacts or amends a land use plan or which rezones private real property.” See Baywood Construction, Inc. v. City of Cape Coral, 507 So. 2d 768, 769 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 513 So. 2d 1060 (Fla.1987); City of Sanibel v. Buntrock, 409 So. 2d 1073 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 417 So. 2d 328 (Fla.1982). Florida follows the majority view whereby measures passed in contravention of notic…

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