DIV. OF ADMIN., STATE DEPT. OF TRANSP. v. Jirik

471 So. 2d 549, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1246
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 14, 1985
Docket84-358
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 471 So. 2d 549 (DIV. OF ADMIN., STATE DEPT. OF TRANSP. v. Jirik) 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
DIV. OF ADMIN., STATE DEPT. OF TRANSP. v. Jirik, 471 So. 2d 549, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1246 (Fla. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

471 So.2d 549 (1985)

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION, STATE of Florida DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, Appellant,
v.
Clara E. JIRIK, aPPELLEE.

No. 84-358.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

May 14, 1985.
Rehearing Denied June 17, 1985.

*550 Ella Jane P. Davis and A.J. Spalla, Tallahassee, for appellant.

Jeff D. Gautier and Paul E. Watson, Tavernier, for appellee.

*551 Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and DANIEL S. PEARSON and JORGENSON, JJ.

JORGENSON, Judge.

The Division of Administration, State of Florida, Department of Transportation (DOT) appeals from a final order which determined that a taking had occurred in an inverse condemnation action.

In 1955, Jirik's parents filed a plat of Boatman's Colony, a subdivision located in Plantation Key, Monroe County, Florida, and in 1958, transferred lots 1 through 5 of block 1 to Jirik by a single warranty deed.[1] Jirik sold lot 5 approximately 18 to 20 years ago. In 1968, Jirik entered into an agreement for deed as to lot 4.

Jirik's remaining three lots form a compact body of land which is bounded on the west by lot 4, on the south by Darmy Canal, on the east by Tavernier Creek, and on the north by Freelan Road.[2],[3] The lots are presently vacant, undeveloped, and zoned for business purposes. The lots are subject to setback, maximum lot coverage, and parking restrictions pursuant to county ordinance.

In 1978, the DOT completed construction of a new bridge over Tavernier Creek and, in so doing, built a retaining wall on the right-of-way of Freelan Road. The retaining wall does not invade Jirik's lots but lies immediately to the north, running along lot 1 and part of lot 2. Access to lot 1 is now possible only by way of lot 2.

In the order under review, the trial court made the following findings and conclusions:

1. The Court cannot consider the plaintiff's three lots as one unit for inverse condemnation, as argued by the defendant, Division of Administration, Florida Department of Transportation.
2. The Court finds no diminution of access to Lots Two (2) and Three (3), of Block One (1), Boatman's Colony, Plat Book 3, page 90, of the Public Records of Monroe County, Florida.
3. The plaintiff, in the past, has considered and may continue to consider the lots involved as separate units.
4. As an incident to ownership of plaintiff's Lot One (1) abutting the public roadway, the plaintiff possesses rights not possessed by the public in general in that she has the right to egress and ingress to said Lot One (1).
5. The construction of the retaining wall, caused to be constructed by the defendant, is a substantial diminution of access to the said Lot One (1), which constitutes taking since the only access by land would be over a portion of Lot Two (2), which reduces the quality of the access to said Lot One (1).

On this appeal, the DOT contends that the trial court erred in finding that Jirik's lots constituted separate units. We disagree and affirm.[4]

*552 The determination of what constitutes a single unit/tract for condemnation purposes involves the consideration of three factors: unity of ownership, unity of use, and physical contiguity. See Mulkey v. Division of Administration, State of Florida, Department of Transportation, 448 So.2d 1062, 1065 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); County of Volusia v. Niles, 445 So.2d 1043, 1047 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Di Virgilio v. State Road Department, 205 So.2d 317, 319-20 (Fla. 4th DCA 1967), cert. dismissed, 211 So.2d 556 (Fla. 1968). As between the last two factors, unity of use generally is given the greater emphasis in such determination. See Mulkey; Barnes v. North Carolina State Highway Commission, 250 N.C. 378, 384, 109 S.E.2d 219, 225 (1959); see also Baetjer v. United States, 143 F.2d 391, 395 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 323 U.S. 772, 65 S.Ct. 131, 89 L.Ed. 618 (1944); Wilcox v. St. Paul & N.P.Ry. Co., 35 Minn. 439, 440, 29 N.W. 148, 149 (1886). Thus, "tracts physically separated from one another may constitute a `single' tract if put to an integrated use... ." Baetjer, 143 F.2d at 395; see Niles; 29A C.J.S. Eminent Domain § 140 (1965 & Supp. 1984) and cases cited in n. 25. Similarly, contiguous tracts may be considered "separate" if used separately. Mulkey; see also Sharp v. United States, 191 U.S. 341, 24 S.Ct. 114, 48 L.Ed. 211 (1903); United States v. Easements Upon 104.09 Acres of Land, 442 F. Supp. 926 (E.D.Wash. 1977); City of Menlo Park v. Artino, 151 Cal. App.2d 261, 311 P.2d 135 (Cal.Dist.Ct. App. 1957). With regard to the relationship between contiguity and use, some cases suggest that "`unity of use', or integrated use and not physical contiguity is the test but that physical contiguity often has great bearing on the question of unity of use." Calvert v. City of Denton, 375 S.W.2d 522, 527 (Tex.Civ.App. 1964); see also Baetjer, 143 F.2d at 395; Di Virgilio, 205 So.2d at 320; City of Lake Forest v. First National Bank of Lake Forest, 52 Ill. App.3d 893, 895, 368 N.E.2d 156, 158 (1977).

In Di Virgilio, the court was presented with the issue of whether the enhancement accruing to the defendants' property on the south side of a highway could be offset against the severance damage accruing to the defendants' property on the north side. To decide that issue, the court had to determine if physically separated lands could be considered "adjoining property" within the meaning of section 73.10(3), Florida Statutes (1963) (now section 73.071(4), Florida Statutes (1983)).[5] Based on its review of the record — the fact that the two tracts were separated only by a highway over which there was unlimited access and the fact that the tracts shared a highest and best use — the court concluded that the trial court did not err in permitting the jury to consider the tracts as a single unit. The court developed standards for the determination of what constitutes a single tract and stated that "[p]hysical contiguity ... [has] great evidentiary value in determining whether there exists a unity of use," 205 So.2d at 320, and, further, that contiguous lands which are nominally divided are prima facie one unit ("adjoining property") and will be treated as such "unless actually devoted to such divergent uses that they *553 take on the character of separate properties." Id. at 320.

Unlike Di Virgilio, Mulkey involved contiguous parcels of property. The northern parcel was leased to a company which constructed a convenience store on the property. The southern parcel remained vacant and unimproved except for a billboard. Patrons of the store had parked on the southern parcel but there was no indication that it was intended to be used as a parking lot. A strip of land was taken from both parcels. The taking eliminated five of the convenience store's eight parking spaces and the remaining three spaces were rendered unusable.

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Bluebook (online)
471 So. 2d 549, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 1246, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/div-of-admin-state-dept-of-transp-v-jirik-fladistctapp-1985.