METROPOLITAN DADE COUNTY, A POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
HELEN FOSTER FLETCHER ET AL., APPELLEES
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Metropolitan Dade County appeals a trial court order requiring rezoning of thirteen acres from townhouse and single-family residential to higher-density apartment use. The appellate court reversed, holding that the County Commission's zoning decision was fairly debatable and supported by multiple county agencies, and therefore not subject to judicial override.
The court reversed, holding that the County Commission's zoning decision was fairly debatable and not shown to amount to confiscation of property. The recommendations of multiple county agencies supporting the zoning, combined with the absence of evidence that these agencies were wrong, demonstrated the fairly debatable character of the decision.
[1] A zoning classification is not confiscatory if the property owner fails to demonstrate that the zoning amounts to a taking of their property.
[2] A zoning decision is considered "fairly debatable" when the record before the legislative authority demonstrates a rational basis for the decision, even if other interpre…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“arbitrary, unreasonable and not fairly debatable”
The trial court's characterization of the County Commission's zoning decision, which the appellate court rejected
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe subject property consists of thirteen acres at the southwest corner of Southwest 97th Avenue and 24th Street in Dade County. The County Commission…
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PEARSON, Judge.
Metropolitan Dade County appeals an order of the circuit court direct ing the County Commission to rezone thirteen acres located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Southwest 97th Avenue and 24th Street by changing the district boundary of the zone classification. The County Commission has zoned the northern 200 feet of the property RU-TH (townhouses) and the remainder RU-1 (single family residence). The trial court held this classification “. . . arbitrary, unreasonable and not fairly debatable.” Thereupon, it directed a change to a classification “no less restrictive than RU-4L” (apartment use 23 units per acre). We reverse upon a holding that the zoning placed upon the property by the legislative authority was not shown to amount to a confiscation of property and that the record before the Board of County Commissioners conclusively demonstrated the fairly debatable character of the decision. See City of Miami Beach v. Wiesen, Fla.1956, 86 So. 2d 442 and Dade County v. Mitchell, Fla.App.1966, 188 So. 2d 359.
The record before the Board of County Commissioners showed the section west of 97th Avenue to contain no multiple-family development. The legislative action of the Board of County Commissioners was supported by: the recommendations of the Planning Department of the County, the recommendations of the Zoning Department, the recommendations of the Zoning Appeals Board, and the findings of the Florida International University Tamiami Park Area Study. Of course, all of these agencies of the county government could be wrong but there is nothing in this record to show that they are. These recommendations were part of the record before the commission and are probative to support the application of the “fairly debatable” rule. See Hall v. Korth, Fla.App. 1971, 244 So. 2d 766; Miles v. Dade County, Fla.App.1972, 260 So. 2d 553.
The trial judge concentrated his examination to the use of the 97th Avenue corners:
“Briefly, the facts revealed the zoning on the northwest corner of the intersection to be a combination of RU-5A (semi-professional offices) and RU-4L. Furthermore, the zoning on the northeast corner of the intersection is RU-4L. This property is already developed. On the southeast corner of the intersection is found a gas station, Farm Store, and shopping center, all zoned BU-1A. “To the immediate south of the subject property, the evidence revealed a Florida Power & Light easement 160 ft. wide. This easement extended from 97th Avenue westward almost the entire length of the subject property. A church is located to the immediate west of the property.”
We think that the corners argument is insufficient for a rezoning of thirteen acres. See Dade County v. Mitchell, Fla.App. 1966, 188 So. 2d 359.
The judgment of the trial court must be reversed upon authority of City of Miami Beach v. Ocean and Inland Company, 147 Fla. 480, 3 So. 2d 364 and City of Miami v. Zorovich, Fla.App.1967, 195 So. 2d 31.
Reversed.
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Dade Cnty. v. Yumbo, 348 So. 2d 392 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)…known primarily as an administrative action. Miles v. Dade County, Board of County Commissioners, 260 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 3rd D.C.A. 1972); Metropolitan Dade County v. Crowe, 296 So. 2d 532 (Fla. 3rd D.C.A. 1974); Metropolitan Dade County v. Fletcher, 311 So. 2d 738 (Fla. 3rd D.C.A. 1975); Marca, S.A. v. Dade County, 332 So. 2d 142 (Fla. 3rd D.C.A. 1976). See also: Renard v. Dade County, 261 So. 2d 832 (Fla.1972). Therefore, we find that the trial court erred in holding that the fairly debatable rule had been…
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Walker v. Indian River Cnty., 319 So. 2d 596 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975)…y’s professional planner and by the County Zoning Commission. These recommendations were part of the record before the trial court and are probative to support the application of the “fairly debatable” rule. See Metropolitan Dade County v. Fletcher, 311 So. 2d 738 (Fla.App. 3rd 1975), at page 739, and the cases cited therein. If there was any doubt as to the propriety of the appellee’s action in rezoning the appellant’s property to R-l Single Family and denying appellant’s request for an R-3 use, this doubt…
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Cent. Bank & Tr. Co. v. Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Dade Cnty., 340 So. 2d 503 (Fla. 3d DCA 1976)…and Building and Director of Planning, plus testimony of various individual residents of the neighborhood. We believe the above was sufficient to establish the fairly debatable character of the zoning decision. Metropolitan Dade County v. Fletcher, 311 So. 2d 738 (Fla.3d DCA 1975). Appellants’ contention concerning a change in character of the community as a prerequisite to a zoning change is not well-founded based upon the Florida Supreme Court case of Oka v. Cole, 145 So. 2d 233 (Fla.1962). In that case,…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- The City of Miami Beach v. Ocean & Inland Co., 147 Fla. 480 (Fla. 1941)
- City OF Miami Beach v. Wiesen, 86 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 1956)
- Adler v. Nelly Saffran (Fla. 1914)
- Miami Gray Line Boats, Inc. v. Madison Sales Corp., 195 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- The City OF Miami v. Zorovich, 195 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- Elbert Miles v. Dade Cnty., 260 So. 2d 553 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972)
- Meeks v. Turner, 244 So. 2d 766 (Fla. 4th DCA 1971)
- Dade Cnty. v. Mitchell, 188 So. 2d 359 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)