State ex rel. Marsh v. Simberg

4 Fla. Supp. 85

This text of 4 Fla. Supp. 85 (State ex rel. Marsh v. Simberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida, Miami-Dade County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State ex rel. Marsh v. Simberg, 4 Fla. Supp. 85 (Fla. Super. Ct. 1953).

Opinion

CHARLES A. CARROLL, Circuit Judge.

Under an order of severance dated October 15, 1952 [reported in 2 Fla. Supp. at page 197] this trial involved a separate cause of action — in which the plaintiffs, as substituted are State of Florida, ex rel. John D. Marsh, County Solicitor, and ex rel. David Koller, and David Koller, individually, and Citizens League of Miami Beach, a corporation of Florida, not for profit.

There have been some recent changes in the personnel of the defendant city council, and it is ordered and decreed that Harold Shapiro and Harold B. Spaet be substituted as defendant members of the Miami Beach city council for William Burbridge and Melvin J. Richard, who have become separated from their offices.

Plaintiffs’ bill alleges sovereign ownership — in trust for the public — of the foreshore, including the land between the ordinary high and low tide water marks on the Atlantic Ocean, that the city has established what it calls a harbor line and has permitted bulk-heading and filling in and construction out to such harbor line, that this harbor line generally lies eastward of the land between ordinary high and low water marks, that the city has done this by passing ordinances under certain presumed charter authority — and that the effect has been to confer such sovereign rights on riparian owners and to exclude the public from the use and enjoyment thereof.

The city’s answer admits that such action was taken under the ordinances and charter provision to which plaintiffs referred but denies that the land between the high and low water marks on the Atlantic Ocean is owned by the state in trust for the public, taking the position that the beach is west of where it formerly was because of certain storms, particularly the 1926 hurricane, and that its establishment of a harbor line in 1948 was for the purpose of allowing riparian owners to build out to reclaim what they lost in the 1926 and later storms.

Upon consideration of the pleadings, the testimony and evidence adduced at the trial, the arguments of counsel and briefs or memoranda of law, it is found, declared, ordered, adjudged and decreed as follows—

The charter provision involved is subsection (f) of section 6 of chapter 13101, Special Acts of 1927. That Act was one which amended certain sections of the original charter (chapter 7672) — including section 6 relating to powers of the city. The 1927 Act, enlarging and restating the powers of the city, included the provision about fixing a harbor line. The title of this 1927 Special Act, and the provision or part thereof in question, are as follows—

[88]*88CHAPTER 13101

AN ACT to Amend Sections 6, 29, 30 and 37 of Chapter 7672 of the Laws of Florida Relating to the Municipal Government of the City of Miami Beach, Florida.

BE IT Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

Section 1. That Section 6 of Chapter 7672 of the Laws of Florida be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 6. That said City of Miami Beach shall have power:
“ (f) To establish a harbor line in the Atlantic Ocean and to control and prohibit the use of submerged land East thereof except for boating, fishing and bathing and to provide life guards for safety purposes.”

That was in 1927. In 1948, three ordinances were passed by the city council — no. 832, dated February 4, 1948, no. 856, dated July 7, 1948, and no. 861, dated September 1, 1948. They are alike in form, differing only in the description and portions of the beach each covers. The first one reads as follows—

ORDINANCE NO. 832

AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, ESTABLISHING A HARBOR LINE IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN; DESIGNATING THE LOCATION OF BULKHEADS; PROVIDING THAT NO MATERIAL SHALL BE EXCAVATED FROM THE ATLANTIC OCEAN FOR THE PURPOSE OF BACKFILLING ANY BULKHEAD; LIMITING THE EXTENT OF GROYNES; PROVIDING THAT NO BULKHEAD SHALL BE CONSTRUCTED UNTIL THE ADJACENT GROYNES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED; AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR THE VIOLATION OF THIS ORDINANCE.

BE IT ORDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:

Section 1: A harbor line is hereby established in the Atlantic Ocean between a line seven. (7) feet southerly of the southerly line of 22nd Street extended easterly and the northerly line of 33rd Street extended easterly, located as follows:

[A lengthy description of the portion of the beach or shore line affected by this ordinance is omitted at this point in the interest of brevity.]

Section 2: That no bulkhead or other structure, except groynes, shall be constructed or created which shall be easterly of the line described in Section 1.

Section 3: That no material shall be excavated from the Atlantic Ocean for the purpose of backfilling behind any bulkhead.

Section 4: That no groynes shall be constructed or erected which shall extend into the ocean a distance of more than 200 feet from the harbor line described in Section 1 of this ordinance.

Section 5 : [Deleted — Amendment Ordinance No. 853.]

[89]*89Section 6: Any person convicted of the violation of any of the provisions of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction be fined not exceeding $500.00 or be imprisoned in the City Jail not exceeding sixty (60) days, or by both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the Municipal Judge. Each day that a violation is permitted to exist shall constitute a separate offense.

PASSED and ADOPTED this 4th day of February, A. D. 1948. ATTEST:

C. W. Tomlinson City Clerk Marcie Liberman Mayor

(SEAL)

The facts are that proceeding under these ordinances, which affect a substantial part of the oceanfront in the city, a line has been fixed on or east of the foreshore consisting of beach between high and low water marks, and riparian owners have been granted permits to erect bulkheads and fill in and erect structures out to such line. This has resulted and in most such instances will result in the upland owner taking over the beach or foreshore, and using same for private use and benefit, such as incident to operation of a hotel by the upland owner or his lessee. The photographic exhibits in the case show this very graphically. The result is exclusion of the public from such portion of the beach between high and low water marks.

I find that the harbor line was set by the engineering office of the city without any plan or regard for such elements as beach bathing or recreation, fishing, boating or navigation, but only as a “bulkhead line,” to mark the point in or toward the ocean to which upland owners could be permitted to extend their control and private use.

I find further that the harbor line is for the most part an arbitrary line, supported mostly by assumption and estimate. Earlier surveys which were relied on as showing location of the shore line at prior dates were not adequate to support this harbor line. Their showing of the shore line was incidental. They did not purport to show it exactly, but were for other purposes. The original points are questionable, and there were gaps of shoreline with no prior showing.

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Bluebook (online)
4 Fla. Supp. 85, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-marsh-v-simberg-flacirct11mia-1953.