CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, APPELLANT,
v.
JEAN RICH MEENAN, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred in reversing the City's zoning designation because the decision was fairly debatable.
The City designated Meenan's property, which contained a single-family home and an apartment building, as low density residential. Meenan sought to ch…
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PER CURIAM.
Appellant, City of South Miami (City), appeals a final judgment reversing a zoning designation in favor of appellee, Jean Rich Meenan (Meenan). We reverse.
Meenan owns property located within the City of South Miami. In its comprehensive land use plan, the City designated Meen-an’s property, which now contains a single-family home and a 15 unit apartment building, as low density residential. Meenan sought to have the designation in the master plan changed to commercial use.
City asserts that the trial court erred in holding that the City’s designation of Meenan’s property as residential was not fairly debatable. Meenan contends that, for some political Machiavellian reason, the City zoned the property for other than commercial use, and its actions in doing so are not fairly debatable.
Zoning is the function of the zoning authority and not the courts. Skaggs-Albertson’s v. ABC Liquors, Inc., 363 So. 2d 1082 (Fla.1978). Courts are not empowered to substitute their judgment for that of legislative and administrative bodies in zoning matters. S.A Healy Company v. Town of Highland Beach, 355 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978).
In an appeal of a zoning decision, the scope of review is the fairly debatable test. Norwood-Norland Homeowners Association, Inc. v. Dade County, 511 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), rev. denied 520 So. 2d 585 (Fla.1988). In Norwood-Nor land Homeowners Association, this court explained:
The “fairly debatable” test asks whether reasonable minds could differ as to the outcome of a hearing; if so, the court should sustain a county commission’s resolution.
511 So. 2d at 1011.
After a careful review of the entire record, we find that the property in question is situated between residential and commercial areas. We further find that the evidence on the record demonstrates that the City’s zoning decision was fairly debatable. Accordingly we reverse the final judgment.
Reversed.
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Metro. Dade Cnty. v. Blumenthal, 675 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…mission to make that choice— not the circuit court. See City of Ft. Lauderdale v. Multidyne Medical Waste Management, Inc., 567 So. 2d 955, 957-58 (Fla. 4th DCA 1990), review denied, 581 So. 2d 165 (Fla.1991); see also City of South Miami v. Meenan, 581 So. 2d 228, 228 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991). The circuit court’s role is restricted to ascertaining whether there is substantial competent evidence to support the decision actually made here — the disapproval of the developer’s application. City of Ft. Lauderdale v. Mu…
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Orange Cnty. v. Lust, 602 So. 2d 568 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992)…the authority’s decision is based on evidence a reasonable mind would accept to support a conclusion. Town of Indialantic v. Nance, 400 So. 2d 37, 40 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), approved, 419 So. 2d 1041 (Fla.1982). See also City of South Miami v. Meenan, 581 So. 2d 228 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991); St. Johns County v. Owings, 554 So. 2d 535 (Fla. 5th DCA 1989), rev. denied, 564 So. 2d 488 (Fla.1990); Capeletti, 375 So. 2d at 315. A standard of review supplies the reviewing court with the guidelines for evaluating the qualit…
Authorities Cited
- Norwood-Norland Homeowners' Assn., Inc. v. Dade Cnty., 511 So. 2d 1009 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)
- S. A. Healy Co. v. Town OF Highland Beach, 355 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- 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)