CITY OF CAPE CANAVERAL, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
JEFFREY L. RICH, ETC., ET AL., APPELLEES
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The City of Cape Canaveral appeals an order granting a writ of certiorari that found its sewer impact fees arbitrary and ordered recalculation based on the property owner's actual water usage. The court held that certiorari is an inappropriate remedy to challenge the validity of a quasi-legislative impact fee ordinance and remanded for the appellee to pursue a declaratory judgment action instead.
Certiorari is not an appropriate remedy to challenge the validity of a sewer impact fee ordinance because the adoption of such fees is a quasi-legislative function. The proper vehicle for challenging the constitutionality of impact fees is a declaratory judgment action, which allows for full development of factual issues necessary to evaluate the ordinance's constitutionality.
[1] Quasi-legislative actions, such as the adoption of a sewage impact fee ordinance, are not subject to review by writ of certiorari.
[2] A challenge to the validity of a municipal ordinance is most appropriately brought through a declaratory judgment action.
Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The adoption of a sewage impact fee is a quasi-legislative function and is clearly not an appropriate subject for review by way of certiorari.”
Establishes that impact fee ordinances cannot be challenged via certiorari because they are quasi-legislative acts.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe City of Cape Canaveral charged appellee Jeffrey L. Rich sewer impact fees. A lower court granted Rich's petition for writ of certiorari, finding t…
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PER CURIAM.
The City of Cape Canaveral (the “City”) seeks review of an order granting a petition for writ of certiorari. The challenged order found that sewer impact fees the City charged appellee were “arbitrary” because they were not calculated using the petitioner’s own historical actual water usage. The court further ordered assessment based upon alternative calculations of actual usage and issuance of a certificate of occupancy to petitioner upon payment of the recalculated fee.
As a threshold issue, the City contends that certiorari is inappropriate to challenge the validity of the sewer impact fee ordinance. We agree. The adoption of a sewage impact fee is a quasi-legislative function and is clearly not an appropriate subject for review by way of certiorari. E.g. Board of County Comm’rs of Manatee County v. Circuit Court of the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, 433 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983).
Because of the procedural history of this case, we believe it appropriate to remand the case to the trial court to afford the appellees an opportunity to amend their pleading if they choose to do so. We suggest the most appropriate device for appel-lees to challenge the subject ordinance is by declaratory judgment action. Contractors and Builders Ass’n of Pinellas County v. City of Dunedin, 329 So. 2d 314 (Fla.1976); City of Key West v. R.L.J.S. Corp., 537 So. 2d 641 (Fla. 3d DCA), rev. denied, 1800 Atlantic Developers, Inc. v. City of Key West, 545 So. 2d 1367 (Fla.1989); Ves Carpenter Contractors, Inc. v. City of Dania, 422 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982); Home Builders and Contractors Ass’n of Palm Beach County, Inc. v. Board of County Comm’rs of Palm Beach County, 446 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), rev. denied, 451 So. 2d 848 (Fla.1984). See also City of Ormond Beach v. County of Volusia, 535 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). Cf. Board of County Comm’rs of Hillsborough County v. Casa Development Ltd., 332 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). Through this device, the factual issues that necessarily must be developed and determined for a proper evaluation of the constitutionality of the challenged impact fees can be made a part of the record.
REVERSED and REMANDED for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
COWART and GRIFFIN, JJ„ and ORFINGER, M., Associate Judge, concur.
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Harlan D. Terry v. Bd. of Trs. of the City Pension Fund for Police Officers & Firefighters in the City of Pembroke Pines, 854 So. 2d 273 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003)…“legislative” decision and dismissed the certiorari petition for lack of jurisdiction. In doing so, the circuit court relied upon the authority of Stansberry v. City of Lake Helen, 425 So. 2d 1157 (Fla. 5th DCA 1983), City of Cape Canaveral v. Rich, 562 So. 2d 445 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990), and Board of County Commissioners of Manatee County v. Circuit Court of Twelfth Judicial Circuit for Manatee County, 433 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Each of the cases that the circuit court relied on apply the undisputed pri…
Authorities Cited
- Contractors & Builders Ass'n OF Pinellas Cnty. v. City OF Dunedin, 329 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 1976)
- The Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Hillsborough Cnty. v. CASA Dev. Ltd., II, 332 So. 2d 651 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976)
- City OF Ormond Beach v. Cnty. OF Volusia, 535 So. 2d 302 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- Home Builders & Contractors Ass'n OF Palm Beach Cnty., Inc. v. The Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Palm Beach Cnty., 446 So. 2d 140 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)
- The Goldryn Corp. v. Boger Rest. Corp. & Lewis Katz, 422 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982)
- The City OF KEY W. v. R.L.J.S. Corp., 537 So. 2d 641 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989)
- VES Carpenter Contractors, Inc. v. City OF Dania, 422 So. 2d 342 (Fla. 4th DCA 1982)
- The Bd. OF Cnty. Comm'rs OF Manatee Cnty. v. The Cir. Court OF the Twelfth Jud. Cir., 433 So. 2d 537 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)