City of Destin v. Department of Transportation

541 So. 2d 123, 14 Fla. L. Weekly 711, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 1458, 1989 WL 23487
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 16, 1989
DocketNo. 87-925
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 541 So. 2d 123 (City of Destin v. Department of Transportation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Destin v. Department of Transportation, 541 So. 2d 123, 14 Fla. L. Weekly 711, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 1458, 1989 WL 23487 (Fla. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Appellant/City of Destín, a municipality located in Okaloosa County, appeals a Department of Transportation final order which reclassifies a state highway located within Okaloosa and Walton counties. The effect of such reclassification is to transfer the portion of the highway located within each county to, respectively, the Okaloosa County and Walton County road systems.

The instant case concerns the Department’s decision to reclassify a state highway known as “Old 98,”1 which begins in Okaloosa County and runs eastward to terminate in Walton County.2 The portion located within Okaloosa County is also situated entirely within the Destín city limits. The effect' of the reclassification was to remove the road from the state highway system and place it within the county road systems of the two counties in which it is located, with the result that responsibility for the maintenance of the road would be transferred from the state to the counties. Okaloosa and Walton counties were notified of appellee’s intention. Walton County and the City both challenged the reclassification and requested (and received) an administrative hearing pursuant to Section 120.57, Florida Statutes (1987). Okaloosa County did not request a hearing. The City’s and Walton County’s cases were consolidated.

At the hearing, evidence was presented by the parties concerning the proper application of the requirements and criteria of Chapter 14-12, Pla.Admin. Code governing [125]*125road reclassification. The City contended that the proposed reclassification was contrary to the applicable requirements in several respects. The City also contended that it should have been furnished — as were Walton and Okaloosa counties — with the notice of intent required by Section 335.-04(l)(b)2.3, Florida Statutes and Fla.Admin. Code Rule 14-12.013(5)4, and that the notice of public hearing required by Section 335.04(l)(b)l.5, Florida Statutes (1985), and Rule 14-12.013(4)6, Fla.Admin.Code was deficient because such notice was published prior to the time that the Department completed the collection of data necessary to complete its evaluation.

On appeal, the City continues to assert the above referred deficiency in the notice of public hearing required by Section 335.04(l)(b)l. and Rule 14-12.013(4). This assertion was properly dealt with by the hearing officer in his recommended order from which we quote as follows:

[T]he evidence proved that the Department published notice of the hearings it conducted in Okaloosa and Walton Counties on May 31 and 21,1986, respectively. The evidence also proved that the notices were published at least 14 days prior to the date set for the hearings. Finally, the evidence proved that the notices of the hearings were published prior to the date on which the Department conducted its traffic count on Old Highway 98 (May 22-23, 1986). The traffic count was, however, completed prior to the dates the public hearings were conducted.
The Petitioners fail to comprehend the purpose of requiring that the Department conduct a public hearing as a part of its functional classification evaluation. The purpose of requiring that a public hearing be held is to allow the citizens of the county in which a road under evaluation is located to provide “public input” to the Department. The public hearing is not intended as a forum for the review of information collected by the Department or to contest a proposed decision by the Department. Section 335.04(l)(b)l. Florida Statutes, and Rule 14-12.013(4), Florida Administrative Code, provide that public hearings are an “integral part” of the evaluation procedure and not an opportunity to review the Department’s proposed decision.
Based upon the foregoing, it is concluded that the Department gave notice of the public hearings it was required to conduct in Okaloosa and Walton Counties in a timely manner despite the fact that notice was given before the Department [126]*126had completed its functional evaluation or its collection of the data used in completing its evaluation.

As for the City’s contention on appeal that it was entitled under Section 335.-04(l)(b)2. and Rule 14-12.013(5), as an “affected governmental entity,” to notification of the decision to reclassify the road, we again agree with the hearing officer’s treatment of that contention and we quote from the recommended order:

After the Department completes its evaluation, it is required to notify “affected governmental entities” of its decision, if the Department determines that a public road has changed function. Section 335.04(l)(b)2, Florida Statutes (1985), and Rule 14-12.013(5), Florida Administrative Code. The notice must be given in writing within 30 days after the completion of the Department’s evaluation by certified mail, return receipt requested. Rule 14-12.013(5), Florida Administrative Code.
If a road is to be transferred from the Department to a county or municipality, Section 335.04(l)(b)3, Florida Statutes (1985), requires, among other things, the following.
the department shall notify such county or municipality of the pending transfer by certified mail, return receipt requested.
In this proceeding, the Department gave notice of its proposed decision to transfer responsibility of Old Highway 98 from the State to Okaloosa and Walton Counties only to those Counties. No notice was given to the City of Destín.
The City of Destín has argued that, because of the failure of the Department to provide it with notice of the Department’s proposed decision, “any final action by the Department to reclassify Old U.S. Highway 98 should not be made until after proper written notice is given to the City of Destín....” In support of its position, the City of Destín has argued that failure to notify it may have “eliminated substantive quantitative and qualitative information from he decision making process ... which may have been provided by the City of Destín to the Department.” The City of Destín has further argued that “[fjailure of the Department to provide the required notice to the City of Destín may have adversely affected the City’s ability to participate in the public hearing.”
The City’s arguments are not persuasive. The notice required by Section 335.04(l)(b)2 and 3, Florida Statutes (1985), and Rule 14-12.013(5), Florida Administrative Code, is to be given after the Department has completed its evaluation, which includes the public hearing(s) it is required to conduct. Notice is not therefore required to allow an affected governmental entity an opportunity to provide quantitative and qualitative information to the Department for consideration or to give the governmental entity an opportunity to prepare to participate in a public hearing(s) the Respondent is required to conduct before the notice is to be given. If the Department proposes to transfer a road between governmental entities, Section 335.04(l)(b)2, Florida Statutes (1985), requires notice to be given to those entities so that they may comply with the following requirement of Section 335.04(l)(b)2, Florida Statutes (1985):

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Bluebook (online)
541 So. 2d 123, 14 Fla. L. Weekly 711, 1989 Fla. App. LEXIS 1458, 1989 WL 23487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-destin-v-department-of-transportation-fladistctapp-1989.