WASHINGTON SHORES HOMEOWNERS' ASSOCIATION, ET AL., APPELLANTS,
v.
CITY OF ORLANDO, APPELLEE

Fla. | 1992-07-23
No. 79621
BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur.
602 So. 2d 1300 Florida Supreme Court (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 10 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.


Holding

The court held that the city followed proper procedures for bond validation and provided sufficient notice, and that the specific location of a road project is not required to be fixed before bond validation.


Headnotes

[1] Judicial inquiry into the validity of a bond issue is limited to determining if a public body has the authority to issue the bonds, if the purpose of the obligation is le…

[2] A municipality may issue bonds to fund the construction of roads, as this constitutes a valid public purpose.

Previewing 2 of 4 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

Facts & Procedural History

Homeowners appealed a circuit court's validation of a proposed bond issue for capital improvements, including a roadway project. They argued the city …

The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.


Opinion of the Court
McDonald, justice.

McDonald, justice.

The Washington Shores Homeowners’ Association and several Orlando property owners appeal the circuit court’s validation of a proposed bond issue. We have jurisdiction pursuant to article V, section 3(b)(2), Florida Constitution, and affirm the circuit court.

At a duly noticed and publicly held meeting on December 9, 1991, the Orlando City Council adopted, on second and final reading, an ordinance authorizing the issuance of up to $150,000,000 of capital improvement special revenue bonds. The breakdown of the bond issue includes $30,000,-000 to $35,000,000 for “Roadway Project.” On December 17, 1991 the city filed a complaint seeking validation of the bond issue, and the circuit court issued an order to show cause that was published three times1 in an Orlando newspaper. The state answered the complaint, and the homeowners joined in opposing validation of the bonds. The court held a public hearing on January 27 and 28, 1992 and only on that second day did the city specifically identify the proposed “roadway project” as the extension of the John Young Parkway. Early in March 1992 the court entered a final judgment validating the proposed bond issue, and the homeowners appealed.

On appeal the homeowners argue that the city failed to follow the proper procedures for validating bonds and that the notice given by the city was insufficient. We disagree.

Judicial inquiry into the validity of a bond issue is limited to “1) deter-min[ing] if a public body has the authority to issue the subject bonds; 2) determining] if the purpose of the obligation is legal; and 3) ensuring] that the authorization of the obligations complies with the requirements of law.” Taylor v. Lee County, 498 So. 2d 424, 425 (Fla.1986); State v. Manatee County Port Authority, 171 So. 2d 169 (Fla.1965). The circuit court’s finding these requirements to have been met is supported by the record.2 Therefore, we affirm the final judgment authorizing the instant bond issue.

The homeowners’ allegations of insufficient notice have no merit. They have been on notice for years, as evidenced by their filing suit in federal court, that their property may be taken for this road expansion.3 Any complaint of the homeowners as to the advisability of the proposed road extension is collateral to, and therefore beyond the scope of, these bond validation proceedings. Manatee County.4 Additionally, as this Court has previously held:

There is no requirement in the statutes or the Constitution that the location of ... roads should be fixed and established prior to the validation or issuance of bonds. So far as the Constitution and the statutes are concerned, the resolution may provide for county roads generally and after the validation and issuance of the bonds, the county commissioners may then determine the location of the roads to be constructed.

Pirman v. Florida State Improvement Commission, 78 So. 2d 718, 721 (Fla.), cert. denied, 349 U.S. 956, 75 S.Ct. 885, 99 L.Ed. 1279 (1955). Pirman spoke in terms of a “county,” but municipalities have the same powers regarding bonds as do counties.5 The notice given by the city complied with the requirements of law.

Therefore, we affirm the circuit court’s validation of the instant bond issue.

It is so ordered.

BARKETT, C.J., and OVERTON, SHAW, GRIMES, KOGAN and HARDING, JJ., concur. . December 22 and 29, 1991 and January 5, 1992.

. Municipalities may issue bonds that further a public purpose, just as the state and its other subdivisions can. §§ 166.021(1), (2), 166.-101(8), 166.111, Fla.Stat. (1991). Constructing roads is a valid public purpose for which bonds may be issued. § 130.01, Fla.Stat. (1991).

.Contrary to the homeowners’ contention, the “case most applicable here” is not Baycol, Inc. v. Downtown Development Auth., 315 So. 2d 451 (Fla.1975). In Baycol, this Court held that a landowner was not estopped to challenge the public purpose and necessity for condemnation of its property where prior bond validation proceedings did not provide adequate notice that the bond proceeds would fund the taking of the landowner's property. Baycol is factually distinguishable and not controlling. State v. City of Orlando, 576 So. 2d 1315, 1317 (Fla.1991), held "that borrowing money for the primary purpose of reinvestment is not a valid municipal purpose" and, thus, is distinguishable from the instant case.

. This Court has also held that it will not "substitute its judgment for that of the constituted authorities vested with the power to designate the location of a road." Pirman v. Florida State Improvement Comm., 78 So. 2d 718, 719 (Fla.), cert. denied, 349 U.S. 956, 75 S.Ct. 885, 99 L.Ed. 1279 (1955).

. See n. 2, supra.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …y because there was no mention that the circuit court would consider the validity of the mandatory connection ordinance and also because the notice referenced the wrong case number. However, in Washington Shores Homeowners’ Ass’n v. City of Orlando, 602 So. 2d 1300, 1302 (Fla.1992), this Court concluded that a newspaper advertisement of a bond validation hearing for an unspecified “roadway project” provided adequate notice and “ complied with the requirements of law.” Nor do the pertinent bond validation statu…
  • Boschen v. City OF Clearwater, 777 So. 2d 958 (Fla. 2001)
    …whether the bond issuance complies with the requirements of law. See State v. Osceola County, 752 So. 2d 530 (Fla.1999); State v. Inland Protection Fin. Corp., 699 So. 2d 1352, 1355 (Fla.1997); Washington Shores Homeowners’ Ass’n v. City of Orlando, 602 So. 2d 1300, 1301 (Fla.1992). A final judgment validating bonds comes to this Court with a presumption of correctness. Osceola County, 752 So. 2d at 533; see Wohl v. State, 480 So. 2d 639, 641 (Fla.1985). The burden of proof is on the appellant, who must demons…
  • …economic feasibility of the financing plan were “the responsibility and prerogative of the governing body of the governmental unit in the absence of fraud or violation of legal duty.” See also Washington Shores Homeowners’ Ass’n v. City of Orlando, 602 So. 2d 1300, 1302 (Fla.1992) (stating that homeowners’ complaint as to advisability of project is “collateral to” and “beyond the scope of’ bond validation proceedings); State v. City of Sunrise, 354 So. 2d 1206, 1210 (Fla.1978) (explaining that the Court canno…

Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw