City of Jacksonville v. Wynn

650 So. 2d 182, 1995 WL 49262
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedFebruary 9, 1995
Docket93-153
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 650 So. 2d 182 (City of Jacksonville v. Wynn) 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. Wynn, 650 So. 2d 182, 1995 WL 49262 (Fla. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

650 So.2d 182 (1995)

The CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a consolidated municipal corporation, Appellant,
v.
James M. WYNN, Mary Hildreth, Michael Thurgood, Wayne Riggins, D.W. Tredinick and James Kestner and Alice Kestner, his wife, Appellees.

No. 93-153.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

February 9, 1995.
Rehearing Denied March 10, 1995.

*183 Charles W. Arnold, Jr., General Counsel; Theresa R. Matchett, Loree L. French, Asst. Gen. Counsels, Jacksonville, for appellant.

Tyrie A. Boyer of Boyer, Tanzler & Boyer, P.A., Jacksonville, for appellees.

KAHN, Judge.

Appellees own properties in a Jacksonville residential subdivision known as Southside Estates. In 1991 they filed a three-count amended complaint against the City of Jacksonville. By Counts I and II, appellees sought a declaration that the City of Jacksonville's 2010 Comprehensive Plan (Plan) is null and void as to their property, and further sought an injunction prohibiting the City from imposing upon their property any use classification more restrictive than commercial use. Count III of the complaint alleged a taking without just compensation and sought inverse condemnation relief. After a nonjury trial, the circuit court entered judgment finding that the Plan "is invalid, as applied to the subject property, as being contrary to the enabling statute, to wit: Chapter 163, Florida Statutes." The court also enjoined the City from imposing upon the subject property any classification which *184 does not permit, as a minimum, those uses allowed under a zoning classification known as neighborhood commercial. Finally, the trial court found that a taking had occurred through operation of the Plan, but declined relief by way of inverse condemnation, since the injunctive remedy would alleviate the taking. We reverse the finding of Plan invalidity and order of injunctive relief, because the circuit court had no subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether Jacksonville's Plan is in compliance with Chapter 163, Florida Statutes, as the Plan applies to appellees' property. We also find that the taking claim was not ripe, and thus the trial court should not have considered it.

I

Appellees own six residential lots located near the north end of Southside Boulevard within a subdivision known as Southside Estates. Five of the lots are improved with single-family dwellings; one lot is vacant. Of the improved properties, two of the houses are owner-occupied and three are rented. The past and current use of the six lots is consistent with the RLD-G (Residential Low Density-G) single family zoning district and is also consistent with the LDR (Low Density Residential) category of the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) adopted by the City as part of the Plan. RLD-G and LDR are the applicable zoning and FLUM categories, respectively. Appellees Hildreth, Thurgood, Riggins, Kestner and Wynn all purchased their property for residential use. Kestner and Wynn continue to occupy their homes. Appellee Tredinick owns the vacant lot.

The essential contention raised by appellees at trial is that the nature of their property has gradually changed over the years as surrounding areas have become more and more commercially developed. They claim that their frontage on Southside Boulevard is not conducive to residential use. To this end, the owners' expert witness, Mr. Yeargin, stated that commercial zoning would be the highest and best use for the property, and if so zoned, each property would bring from $125,000 to $150,000. Yeargin also stated that the properties retained value as residential sites, with these values ranging from $20,000 for the vacant lot to $42,000 for one of the rental properties, to $56,000 for the property owned and occupied by Mr. Wynn. The evidence further established that the City will not rezone the property for commercial uses, since such a change of zoning would not comply with the Plan.[1]

In their complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief, appellees relied upon section 163.3177(2), Florida Statutes,[2] and section 163.3194(4)(a), Florida Statutes. Appellees point to two passages in particular: "The several elements of the comprehensive plan shall be consistent, and the comprehensive plan shall be economically feasible." § 163.3177(2), Fla. Stat. "A court, in reviewing local government action or development regulations under this act, may consider, among other things, the reasonableness of the comprehensive plan... ." § 163.3194(4)(a), Fla. Stat. The trial court framed the issues presented by appellees as follows:

a) Whether the Plan, as applied to the subject property, is invalid by virtue of being either unreasonable or not economically feasible?
b) Whether, if the Plan is not invalid as applied to the subject property, the effect thereof constitutes a taking for which Plaintiffs are entitled to compensation by way of inverse condemnation?

Having framed these issues, the trial court determined that restricting appellees' property to residential use has no substantial relationship to the promotion of the public health, safety, morals or general welfare; nor does the Plan, as applied, prevent some public evil or fill some public need. The court ruled that the Plan is not reasonable or economically feasible as applied to appellees' property within the contemplation of the two *185 statutory sections noted above, and therefore the Plan, as adopted by Jacksonville, is not in compliance with Chapter 163. The trial court found it would be unreasonable and contrary to economic feasibility to restrict the use of appellees' property to uses any less intensive than "neighborhood commercial" and accordingly enjoined the City from imposing any zoning category which does not permit, at a minimum, those uses allowed under neighborhood commercial.

II

The circuit court had no subject matter jurisdiction to determine whether Jacksonville's Comprehensive Plan was in compliance with Chapter 163, part II, Florida Statutes (the Act). An administrative hearing before a properly designated hearing officer of the Division of Administrative Hearings is, by statute, the sole proceeding or action for the determination of whether a local government's plan, or an element thereof, is in compliance with the Act. § 163.3184(13), Fla. Stat. The Department of Community Affairs, as the legislatively designated state planning agency, section 163.3164(20), Florida Statutes, must make an initial determination whether a local plan or amendment is in compliance with the Act. § 163.3184(8)(a), Fla. Stat. If the Department of Community Affairs issues a notice of intent to find that the comprehensive plan is in compliance with the Act, any affected person may file an administrative petition within 21 days after publication of the notice. Such affected person is then entitled to a hearing at which the comprehensive plan in question "shall be determined to be in compliance if the local government's determination of compliance is fairly debatable." § 163.3184(9), Fla. Stat. Thus, in cases where the Department of Community Affairs and the local government agree on the plan's compliance with the Act, the burden of proof upon a contestant in the administrative forum is quite strict.

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Bluebook (online)
650 So. 2d 182, 1995 WL 49262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-jacksonville-v-wynn-fladistctapp-1995.