City of Jacksonville v. Smith

159 So. 3d 888, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2703, 2015 WL 798154
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedFebruary 26, 2015
DocketNo. 1D14-2191
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 159 So. 3d 888 (City of Jacksonville v. Smith) 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 Jacksonville v. Smith, 159 So. 3d 888, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2703, 2015 WL 798154 (Fla. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

EN BANC

WOLF, J.

This is an appeal from a non-final order determining that appellant, City of Jacksonville’s construction and operation of a fire station on city property “inordinately burdened” the Smiths’ adjacent property, entitling them to relief pursuant to section 70.001, Florida Statutes (2012), the Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act (“the Harris Act” or “the Act”). We have jurisdiction pursuant to Florida Rule of Appellate Procedure 9.130(a)(3)(c)(viii). The dispositive issue in this case, which is strictly a legal one, is whether a property owner may maintain an action pursuant to the Harris Act if that owner has not had a law, regulation, or ordinance applied which restricts or limits the use of the owner’s property. [889]*889Because the issue involves pure statutory interpretation, our standard of review is de novo. Kuria v. BMLRW, LLLP, 101 So.3d 425 (Fla. 1st DCA 2012). We determine the Act simply does not apply where, as here, the Smiths’ property was not itself subject to any governmental regulatory action. The Act contains no language to indicate that it intends to create a whole new class of takings claimants who do not have to demonstrate that a governmental law, rule, or regulation had been applied to their property, nor is there language which would allow for claims based on non-regulatory governmental actions. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for entry of judgment in favor of the City. In light of the significance of the issue before us, however, we also certify a question concerning the Act’s applicability as being one of great public importance.

Facts

Appellees filed a cause of action asserting the City’s construction and operation of a fire station next to their property “inordinately burdened” their property pursuant to the Harris Act. Appellees asserted no other grounds for relief.1

In May 2005, appellees purchased a parcel of undeveloped riverfront property. This parcel and the adjacent riverfront lots were zoned “residential low density.” An undeveloped lot adjoining appellees’ property was owned by the City. A deed restriction limited use of the City’s lot to the leisure and recreation of Duval County employees. In October 2005, the City obtained a cancellation of this deed restriction. In March 2007, the City rezoned its property so that it could construct a fire station on the property.2 Construction of the fire station began in December 2010. When it was completed, the station included a two-story, 13,000-square-foot building, which housed multiple fire and rescue vehicles, and a 265-foot dock with berths for two large fireboats and a Florida Marine Patrol boat.

In July 2012, appellees filed a complaint for damages under the Bert Harris Act, alleging that construction of the fire station “inordinately burdened” appellees’ property because it effectively made the property unmarketable as a luxury home site and diminished its value by $470,000. The City moved to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action under the Act because the City had taken no direct action against appellees’ property. The trial court denied the motion. Appellant raised the same argument unsuccessfully in a motion for summary judgment. A bench trial was held on the issue of whether construction of the fire station inordinately burdened appellees’ property.

After the trial, the court entered an order determining that appellees had a “vested right to build a home on the property, or to sell the property to someone who wished to build a residence thereon,” but “after the construction of the fire station, [appellees] have been left with an inordinate burden placed on the property as to its viability for such use.” The court rejected the City’s argument that the Act [890]*890did not apply because the City had not taken any action directly against appellees’ property.

The court directed that a jury be impaneled to determine the total amount of compensation due to appellees for the loss in value of their property resulting from the construction of the fire station. This appeal followed.

The Bert Harris Act

Section 70.001, Florida Statutes (2012), provides in pertinent part:

(1) This act may be cited as the “Bert J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights Protection Act.” The Legislature recognizes that some laws, regulations, and ordinances of the state and political entities in the state, as applied, may inordinately burden, restrict, or limit private property rights without amounting to a taking under the State Constitution or the United States Constitution. The Legislature determines that there is an important state interest in protecting the interests of private property owners from such inordinate burdens. Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature that, as a separate and distinct cause of action from the law of takings, the Legislature herein provides for relief, or payment of compensation, when a new law, rule, regulation, or ordinance of the state or a political entity in the state, as applied, unfairly affects real property.
(2) When a specific action of a governmental entity has inordinately burdened an existing use of real property or a vested right to a specific use of real property, the property owner of that real property is entitled to relief, which may include compensation for the actual loss to the fair market value of the real property caused by the action of government, as provided in this section.
(3) For purposes of this section:
(d) The term “action of a governmental entity” means a specific action of a governmental entity which affects real property, including action on an application or permit.
(e) The terms “inordinate burden” and “inordinately burdened”:
1. Mean that an action of one or more governmental entities has directly restricted or limited the use of real property such that the property owner is permanently unable to attain the reasonable, investment-backed expectation for the existing use of the real property or a vested right to a specific use of the real property with respect to the real property as a whole, or that the property owner is left with existing or vested uses that are unreasonable such that the property owner bears permanently a disproportionate share of a burden imposed for the good of the public, which in fairness should be borne by the public at large.

(Emphasis added).

The specific language of the Act indicates that in order to have a cause of action under the Act, governmental action must be directly “applied” to the claimant’s property. § 70.001(1), Fla. Stat. The statutory language requires a claimant to demonstrate both an action of a governmental entity and that the action “inordinately burdened” the property in question. § 70.001(2), Fla. Stat. To constitute an inordinate burden, the governmental action must “directly restrict[ ] or limit[ ] the use of real property.” § 70.001(3)(e)l, Fla. Stat. The Attorney General concluded in an official opinion issued shortly after the Act took effect that inherent in the statutory definition of “inordinate burden” and the Act as a whole is the requirement that the rule or regulation at issue must be directly applied to the plaintiffs property. [891]*891See Op. Att’y Gen. Fla.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Rodney Shands v. City of Marathon
District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2025
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY v. OCEAN CONCRETE, INC. and GEORGE MAIB
District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2020
Cascar, LLC v. City of Coral Gables
274 So. 3d 1231 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2019)
WILLIAM MICHAEL VALE v. PALM BEACH COUNTY
259 So. 3d 951 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2018)
GSK HOLLYWOOD DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC v. CITY OF HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA
246 So. 3d 501 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2018)
R. Lee Smith v. City of Jacksonville
220 So. 3d 1118 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2017)
Hardee County, Florida, etc. v. FINR II, Inc., etc.
221 So. 3d 1162 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2017)
Finr II, Inc. v. Hardee County, Florida
164 So. 3d 1260 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2015)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
159 So. 3d 888, 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 2703, 2015 WL 798154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-jacksonville-v-smith-fladistctapp-2015.