Saadeh v. City of Jacksonville

969 So. 2d 1079, 2007 WL 3085005
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedOctober 24, 2007
Docket1D07-0584
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 969 So. 2d 1079 (Saadeh v. City of Jacksonville) 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
Saadeh v. City of Jacksonville, 969 So. 2d 1079, 2007 WL 3085005 (Fla. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

969 So.2d 1079 (2007)

Mary Anne SAADEH and Anwar Saadeh, Petitioners,
v.
CITY OF JACKSONVILLE and Stanton Rowing Foundation, Respondents.

No. 1D07-0584.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

October 24, 2007.
Rehearing Denied December 5, 2007.

*1080 Barry A. Bobek, of Barry A. Bobek, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellants.

Stephen H. Durant, of Durant & Schoeppell, P.A., Jacksonville; Richard A. Mullaney, General Counsel, and Tracey I. Arpen, Jr., Deputy General Counsel, City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville, for Appellees.

PER CURIAM.

Petitioners Mary Anne and Anwar Saadeh bring this second-tier petition for writ of certiorari, arguing the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law in denying their challenge to the City of Jacksonville's adoption of Ordinance 2005-487-E, rezoning certain residential property on the Arlington River. Because we find Ordinance 2005-487-E is inconsistent with the City of Jacksonville's 2010 Comprehensive Plan, we grant certiorari, quash the circuit court's order, and remand with directions that the circuit court enter an order quashing Ordinance 2005-487-E.

*1081 I. Background

In May 1996, respondent, the Stanton Rowing Foundation, with financial support from respondent the City of Jacksonville, purchased two acres of property on the Arlington River in Jacksonville, Florida. It appears the City of Jacksonville originally intended to lease the property to Stanton, a competitive rowing club founded in association with the Stanton Preparatory High School, to operate a public rowing park. However, the City of Jacksonville has since formally cancelled its lease with the Stanton Foundation, such that Stanton now operates solely as a non-profit Florida corporation. The Foundation provides a space for Stanton students, as well as certain members of the qualified rowing public, to exercise, warm-up and launch boats, or shells, on the Arlington River. Petitioners, Mr. and Mrs. Saadeh, own several residential properties adjacent to, or in the same neighborhood as, the Stanton Foundation property.

Land use and development within the City of Jacksonville is currently guided by the City's 2010 Comprehensive Plan (the "Comprehensive Plan"). Pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan, the City is divided into one of several general land use categories, including residential, commercial or industrial areas. Each general category is further divided into subcategories. Thus, as it relates to this appeal, the residential category is divided into four subcategories: rural residential, low density residential, medium density residential, and high density residential. The Stanton Foundation's property is within a Low Density Residential (LDR) area. Each subcategory is in turn zoned according to its primary and secondary uses, with the secondary uses intended to support the various primary uses. The Stanton Foundation's property was zoned a Residential Low Density-D (RLD-D) District, a primary zoning district.

Since 1996, petitioners have filed a number of lawsuits against the Stanton Foundation seeking to curtail its operations in their neighborhood. In 2002, the Saadehs brought an action against the Stanton Foundation seeking to enjoin its continued use of the property as a private rowing club and to recover money damages, alleging that Stanton's use of the property constituted a private nuisance. Petitioners argued that the City of Jacksonville had recently amended the Jacksonville Ordinance Code to allow only "neighborhood parks, pocket parks, playgrounds, or recreational structures which serve or support a neighborhood or several adjacent neighborhoods" in a RLD-D district. In violation of this Ordinance, petitioners argued the Stanton Foundation operates its property as a "private club" for the exclusive benefit of Stanton Preparatory High School students. The Fourth Circuit granted summary judgment in favor of the Stanton Foundation, finding petitioners' suit barred by res judicata. Specifically, the court cited an earlier circuit court decision on a zoning violation, wherein it determined that Stanton's use of the property, pursuant to the City's lease arrangement, fit within the plain and ordinary meaning of a "park," and was therefore a permissible use of property in an RLD-D District.

On appeal, this court reversed the summary judgement. See Saadeh v. Stanton Rowing Found., Inc., 912 So.2d 28 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005). We noted that res judicata extends only to the facts and conditions as they existed at the time the prior court rendered its judgment. Indeed, since the previous zoning case, the City of Jacksonville had cancelled its lease with the Stanton Foundation, diminishing Stanton's status as a public park. Thus, we held Stanton's use of its property was *1082 more consistent with a private club. Id. at 31. Accordingly, this court remanded the case to the circuit court for further proceedings.

While petitioners' appeal was pending in this court, the Stanton Foundation initiated proceedings to rezone the property. Stanton ultimately sought to rezone its property as a Planned Unit Development (PUD) District, so that it could construct a boathouse to house its shells, as well as certain exercise equipment, currently stored outdoors.[1] On July 14, 2005, the City Planning Commission voted to recommend approving the application for rezoning, subject to the following conditions: (a) that the footprint of the proposed boathouse not exceed 75 feet by 75 feet; (b) that the boathouse not exceed 35 feet in height, (c) that the boathouse shall be set back at least ten feet from its property boundaries, and (d) that the boathouse shall be built to accommodate no more than fifty shells, or seats for 137 rowers. On July 19, 2005, the Land Use and Zoning Committee approved the application for rezoning, subject to the above conditions. Accordingly, the rezoning was adopted by City Ordinance 2005-487-E, on August 22, 2005.

Subsequently, petitioners filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the Fourth Judicial Circuit Court for Duval County. Petitioners raised two arguments below. First, that the City violated their procedural due process rights in failing to provide sufficient notice. Second, petitioners argued that Ordinance 2005-487-E was inconsistent with the 2010 Comprehensive Plan, and thus the City's approval of the Ordinance was a departure from the essential requirements of law. On November 14, 2006, the circuit court denied the petition. Petitioners filed a Motion for Rehearing, which the court denied on December 27, 2006. Accordingly, petitioners have brought the instant certiorari petition.

II. Analysis

Petitioners seek second-tier certiorari review of the Jacksonville City Council's approval and adoption of Ordinance 2005-487-E. When a zoning board rules on an application for rezoning, the parties may twice seek review in the court system. First, a party may, as a matter of right, seek certiorari review at the circuit court level. See Florida Power & Light Co. v. City of Dania, 761 So.2d 1089, 1092 (Fla.2000). On "first-tier" review, the circuit court must determine "(1) whether procedural due process is accorded, (2) whether the essential requirements of the law have been observed, and (3) whether the administrative findings and judgment are supported by competent substantial evidence." Miami-Dade County v. Omnipoint Holdings, Inc., 863 So.2d 195, 199 (Fla.2003) (internal citations omitted).

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

Related

Village of Pinecrest v. GREC PINECREST, LLC
47 So. 3d 948 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
969 So. 2d 1079, 2007 WL 3085005, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saadeh-v-city-of-jacksonville-fladistctapp-2007.