CITY OF WEST PALM BEACH ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS, AND THE CITY OF WEST PALM BEACH, PETITIONERS,
v.
EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT CENTER, INC., RESPONDENT
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The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed a circuit court's decision that had itself reversed a zoning board's denial of a preschool operating permit, holding that the circuit court applied an incorrect standard of review in its certiorari proceeding. The court clarified that circuit courts reviewing administrative agency decisions must determine whether the agency's findings are supported by substantial competent evidence, not whether contrary evidence exists in the record.
The circuit court applied an incorrect standard of review. The correct standard requires the circuit court to determine whether substantial competent evidence supports the agency's conclusion, not whether substantial competent evidence exists to support a position contrary to the agency's decision. The district court granted the petition for certiorari, quashed the circuit court's order, and remanded for redetermination under the correct legal standard.
[1] A circuit court reviewing an administrative agency's order by certiorari must determine if the agency accorded procedural due process, observed essential legal requiremen…
[2] A circuit court may not disapprove an administrative agency's findings unless the record is devoid of substantial competent evidence to support the agency's decision.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“where a party seeks review of an order of an administrative agency of a municipality by a petition for certiorari, that petition must be heard by the circuit court as of right and the circuit court must determine whether the agency has: accorded procedural due process, (2) observed the essential requirements of law, and (3) supported its findings by substantial competent evidence.”
Establishes the three-part standard for circuit court review of administrative agency decisions on certiorari
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Zoning Board of Appeals for the City of West Palm Beach denied Education Development Center's permit application to operate a preschool. Education…
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PER CURIAM.
The City of West Palm Beach Zoning Board of Appeals seeks certiorari review of an order of the circuit court reversing the Zoning Board’s denial of a permit to operate a preschool.
The City and Zoning Board argue that the circuit court applied the wrong standard in reviewing the matter originally brought to it by certiorari. We have defined the scope of review for the circuit court in such circumstances as follows:
[Wjhere a party seeks review of an order of an administrative agency of a municipality by a petition for certiorari, that petition must be heard by the circuit court as of right and the circuit court must determine whether the agency has: accorded procedural due process, (2) observed the essential requirements of law, and (3) supported its findings by substantial competent evidence.
Tomeu v. Palm Beach County, 430 So. 2d 601, 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983). It is well settled that a circuit court is not empowered to disapprove findings of a board or administrative agency unless the record is devoid of substantial competent evidence to support the agency’s decision. Skaggs-Albertson’s v. ABC Liquors, Inc., 363 So. 2d 1082 (Fla.1978); City of Tampa v. Islands Four, Inc., 364 So. 2d 738 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). Where conflicting interpretations of the evidence urged by a petitioner and respondent are both reasonable and plausible under the evidence presented, the circuit court may not transcend the scope of its certiorari review by substituting its judgment for that of the local administrative agency. Skaggs, 363 So. 2d at 1091.
The scope of a district court’s review of a circuit court order in a certiorari proceeding from the Zoning Board is more limited. It is restricted to a determination of whether the petitioner was afforded procedural due process in the circuit court, and whether the circuit court applied correct legal principles. Tomeu, 430 So. 2d at 602-03.
Instead of determining whether the Educational Development Center was provided procedural due process, whether the Zoning Board observed the essential requirements of law and whether the Zoning Board’s findings were supported by substantial competent evidence, the circuit court substituted its own findings of fact and ruled that:
[Tjhere was substantially [sic] competent evidence that the curriculum which the Petitioner was going to use in the operation of its pre-school was substantially similar to that offered in comparable public schools ... [tjherefore, the Respondent’s denial of Petitioner’s application was arbitrary and unreasonable; and the Respondent’s denial of said petition is hereby reversed, and this matter is remanded to the Respondents for further proceedings in accordance with this Opinion.
In so doing, the circuit court departed from the essential requirements of law by applying an incorrect standard of review. The question is not whether, upon review of the evidence in the record, there exists substantial competent evidence to support a position contrary to that reached by the agency. Instead, the circuit court should review the factual determination made by the agency and determine whether there is substantial competent evidence to support the agency’s conclusion.
We therefore grant the petition for writ of certiorari, quash the order of the circuit court and remand with instructions that a redetermination be made applying the correct standard of review.
CERTIORARI GRANTED; ORDER QUASHED; REMANDED.
HERSEY, C.J., and ANSTEAD and WALDEN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Haines City Cmty. Dev. v. Leila Heggs, 658 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 1995)…d by the agency. Instead, the circuit court should review the factual determination made by the agency and determine whether there is substantial competent evidence to support the agency’s conclusion. City of West Palm Beach v. Education Dev. Ctr., 504 So. 2d 1385, 1386 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987). . In contrast to the circuit court, the district court found: There was substantial evidence to support the denial of the application to permit the operation of a preschool in this residential area. To find to the contra…
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Educ. Dev. Ctr., Inc. v. City OF W. Palm Beach Zoning Bd. OF Appeals, 541 So. 2d 106 (Fla. 1989)…uit court reversed the Board, concluding that there was “substantially competent evidence” to support the Center’s application as required by the zoning code. In City of West Palm Beach Zoning Board of Appeals v. Education Development Center, Inc., 504 So. 2d 1385 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), the district court granted the Board’s petition for writ of certiorari, concluding that the circuit court had applied an incorrect standard of review. The district court remanded for a redetermination and explained: [T]he circu…1 / 2
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Dep't of Hwy. Safety & Motor Vehicles v. Favino, 667 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)…. By failing to apply the correct standard of review, the circuit court failed to apply the correct law. Skaggs-Albertson’s v. ABC Liquors, Inc., 363 So. 2d 1082 (Fla.1978); City of West Palm Beach Zoning Board v. Education Development Center, Inc., 504 So. 2d 1385 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987); Ford Motar Co. v. Kikis, 401 So. 2d 1341 (Fla.1981). We are fully cognizant of our limited scope of review in the instant case. Our consideration of the instant case is confined to two inquiries: whether the circuit court affor…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Bryar v. Nationwide Mut. Fire Ins. Co., 363 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 1978)
- Skaggs-Albertson's v. ABC Liquors, Inc., 363 So. 2d 1082 (Fla. 1978)
- Tomeu v. Palm Beach Cnty., 430 So. 2d 601 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- City OF Tampa v. Islands Four, Inc., 364 So. 2d 738 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)