DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AFFAIRS, AN AGENCY OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
CITY OF HAINES CITY, A FLORIDA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION, RESPONDENT
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A party must exhaust administrative remedies unless an agency acts without colorable statutory authority. The Department of Community Affairs had colorable authority, so the circuit court complaint should have been dismissed.
The Department of Community Affairs intended to disapprove a city's comprehensive plan amendment, leading to a circuit court complaint by the city. Th…
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The Department of Community Affairs announced its intention to disapprove a proposed amendment to the City of Haines City’s comprehensive plan. The matter was referred to the Division of Administrative Hearings for a formal hearing. Meanwhile, however, Haines City filed a complaint for declaratory judgment in circuit court relating to the same issues. When the circuit court denied the Department’s motion to dismiss, the instant petition for writ of prohibition was filed in this court.
The test to be applied in these circumstances is:
When an agency acts without colorable statutory authority that is clearly in excess of its delegated powers, a party is not required to exhaust administrative remedies before seeking judicial relief.
State, Dep’t of Envtl. Regulation v. Falls Chase Special Taxing Dist., 424 So.2d 787, 796 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (emphasis in original) (footnote omitted). Having now considered the petition, response, and reply, we find that Haines City has not demonstrated that the Department was acting without colorable authority in this matter. Accordingly, we grant the petition and direct the Circuit Court for Leon County to dismiss the complaint pending there for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.1
PETITION GRANTED.
DAVIS, BENTON, and CLARK, JJ., concur.
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Citator
Authorities Cited
- State v. Falls Chase Special Taxing Dist., 424 So. 2d 787 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982)