HELEN C. SUTTON, APPELLANT,
v.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, ETC., APPELLEE
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Helen C. Sutton appealed the DEP's dismissal of her petition for a declaratory statement regarding whether the lagoon bottom adjacent to her property constitutes sovereign submerged lands subject to dock construction permitting requirements. The court affirmed the dismissal, finding Sutton's petition moot because the DEP subsequently determined the dock was built on sovereign submerged lands and notified the adjacent property owner of permit requirements, thereby providing Sutton the relief she sought.
The DEP properly dismissed the petition as moot because Sutton's petition became unnecessary once the DEP determined that the lagoon bottom constitutes sovereign submerged lands and notified the dock owner of permit requirements. Sutton's rights and legal relations were no longer in doubt, and the requested relief was effectively granted through the DEP's subsequent agency action and the pending hearing in which Sutton is actively participating.
[1] A petition for a declaratory statement is moot when the agency subsequently takes action that provides the petitioner with the relief sought.
[2] The purpose of a declaratory statement is to clarify the applicability of a statute or rule to a petitioner's specific circumstances, not for general application.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“set out the agency's opinion as to the applicability of a specified statutory provision or of any rule or order of the agency as it applies to the petitioner in [this] particular set of circumstances only”
Defines the purpose of a declaratory statement under Florida law
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSutton owns a home and lots on a Kings Bay lagoon (part of the Crystal River, designated Outstanding Florida Waters). Her neighbor Hubbard constructed…
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THOMPSON, Judge.
Helen C. Sutton timely appeals from a final order entered by the Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) dismissing a petition for declaratory statement.1 We affirm.
Sutton owns a home and several lots on a lagoon of Kings Bay in Citrus County. Kings Bay is part of the Crystal River, and both are designated as Outstanding Florida Waters. See Fla.Admin.Code R. 62-302.700 (formerly Fla.Admin.Code R. 17-302.700). Tana Hubbard, the owner of the adjacent property, has built a dock on the lagoon. Sutton filed a petition for declaratory statement with DEP seeking a determination as to whether the bottom of the lagoon of Kings Bay is sovereign submerged lands of the State of Florida and, if it is, whether it is subject to the requirements of rule 18-21.005 of the Florida Administrative Code with respect to the construction of docks. If the bottom of the lagoon is sovereign submerged lands of the State of Florida, Hubbard would be required to follow the permitting process and obtain a consent of use in order for her dock to be approved by DEP. DEP would then have to hold a hearing to determine whether to issue the consent of use in accordance with section 253.77, Florida Statutes (1993). Sutton, as a riparian owner of adjacent upland property, must receive notice of any hearing on Hubbard’s consent of use application. § 253.70, Fla.Stat. (1993).
DEP issued a final order dismissing the petition for declaratory statement without allowing Sutton to be heard. Subsequent to dismissing Sutton’s petition, DEP filed a notice of agency statement that the dock was constructed on sovereign submerged lands of the State of Florida and that “the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Trustees) claims ownership of the submerged bottoms” whereupon the dock was built. Having made that determination, DEP notified Hubbard that she was required to comply with chapter 253 of the Florida Statutes and rule 18-21.005 of the Florida Administrative Code requiring her to obtain a consent of use from DEP. As this notice gave Sutton the relief she was requesting, her petition is moot and there is no need to issue a declaratory statement.
The purpose of a declaratory statement is to:
set out the agency’s opinion as to the applicability of a specified statutory provision or of any rule or order of the agency as it applies to the petitioner in [tjhis particular set of circumstances only.
§ 120.565, Fla.Stat. (1993) (emphasis supplied). A declaratory statement cannot be issued for general applicability. Mental Health Dist. Bd., II-B v. Department of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 425 So. 2d 160 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Petitions for declaratory statements are similar to petitions for declaratory judgments, and appellate courts are guided by decisions issued under the declaratory judgments statute. Couch v. State, 377 So. 2d 32, 33 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). This court has held that the purpose of a declaratory judgment action
is to afford relief from insecurity and uncertainty with respect to rights, status, and other equitable or legal relations. Individuals seeking declaratory relief must show that there is a bona fide, actual, present, and practical need for the declaration ... [and that] the declaration deals with a ... present controversy as to a state of facts.
State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Marshall, 618 So. 2d 1377, 1380 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993), disapproved on other grounds, Cunningham v. Standard Guar. Ins. Co., 630 So. 2d 179 (Fla.1994).
Here, there is no need for DEP to issue a declaratory statement because Sutton’s rights, status, and other equitable or legal relations are not in doubt. Before DEP can issue a permit approving the construction of the dock, Hubbard must apply for a consent of use under chapter 18-21 of the Florida Administrative Code and a hearing must be held. In fact, Sutton has conceded in her brief and at oral argument that there is a hearing pending that was initiated pursuant to chapter 18-21 of the Florida Administrative Code and that Sutton is actively participating in the hearing. For these reasons, we affirm the decision of DEP. HARRIS, C.J., and GRIFFIN, J., concur. . This order is appealable under rule 9.030(b)(1)(C) of the Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and section 120.68, Florida Statutes (1993).
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Inv. Corp. OF Palm Beach v. Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering, 714 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…e appropriate where they deal with a petitioner’s particular factual situation, but are not appropriate where they would result in agency statements of general applicability interpreting law and policy. See Sutton v. Department of Envtl. Protection, 654 So. 2d 1047 (Fla. 5th DCA 1995); Mental Health Dist. Bd., II-B v. Dep’t of Health & Rehabilitative Servs., 425 So. 2d 160 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). Where a declaratory statement provides a response which is not limited to specific facts and specific petitioners, but…
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