MAYFLOWER PROPERTY, INC., A NEW JERSEY CORPORATION AUTHORIZED TO DO BUSINESS IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, PETITIONER,
v.
WELCOM WATSON ET AL., INTERVENORS, AND CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE, A MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OF FLORIDA, RESPONDENTS
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.
The Florida Supreme Court discharged a writ of certiorari, finding no conflict between lower appellate court decisions regarding municipal zoning. The court held that a "fairly debatable" zoning classification is not subject to judicial interference, even if a prior ruling suggested a different highest and best use for the property.
No, a prior determination of highest and best use does not mandate a specific zoning classification. A "fairly debatable" zoning classification is not subject to judicial interference, and the trial court overstepped its bounds by mandating a specific zoning.
[1] A prior judicial determination of a property's highest and best use does not mandate a specific zoning classification permitting that use.
[2] Municipal zoning ordinances are presumed valid and will not be disturbed by courts if the classification is "fairly debatable."
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“The highest and best use for the property is for hotels and apartments.”
Quote from the initial trial court order, affirmed by the Second District Court of Appeal, regarding the property's potential use.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMayflower Property, Inc. owned land zoned for single-family residential use. A prior ruling found this zoning discriminatory and invalid, suggesting h…
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.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Municipal Zoning Ordinances cases and more on FLexlaw
Detecting what we suspected to be a conflict between the decision of the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, in the instant case, Watson v. Mayflower Property, Inc., 223 So.2d 368 (4th Dist.Ct.App.Fla.1969), and a prior decision of the Court of Appeal, Second District, in the same controversy, Watson v. Mayflower Property, Inc., 177 So.2d 355 (2d Dist.Ct.App.Fla. 1965), cert. denied, 183 So.2d 215 (1965), we granted oral argument. Fla.Const. art. V, § 4(2), F.S.A. We have now also considered the. record and briefs.
After a thorough consideration of the issues involved and the authorities, we have concluded that the writ was improvidently issued and should be discharged.
Mayflower Property, Inc., owns property in Fort Lauderdale which the City zoned as R-l-A, single family residential use, in 1960. It was contended in the trial court and throughout the initial appellate process that this R-l-A classification was discriminatory, having no substantial relation to the public health, safety, or general welfare of the community. The chancellor agreed with petitioner and found the City’s R-l-A zoning to be invalid as it applied to Mayflower’s property and enjoined enforcement of that zoning. On appeal, the Court of Appeal, Second District, affirmed the lower court’s ruling and incorporated the chancellor’s order in its opinion. In his order, the chancellor had determined, “The highest and best use for the property is for hotels and apartments.” Watson v. *392Mayflower Property, Inc., 177 So.2d at 361. Only the City of Fort Lauderdale’s R-4 zoning allows hotels and apartments.
After this Court denied a petition for certiorari, Mayflower Property, Inc. applied to the City of Fort Lauderdale for R-4 zoning. After hearing a considerable amount of additional evidence, the City rezoned the property as R-3-A instead of R-4. Petitioner, being dissatisfied with the R-3-A classification, filed a “Motion for Summary Post-Decretal Relief” in the circuit court. The chancellor held that the R-3-A zoning ordinance was, in faqt, as invalid as the R-l-A zoning had been and, furthermore, in his view the R-3-A zoning did not' carry out the mandate of the Court of Appeal, Second District.
This decree was appealed to the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, which had been created in the meantime. That Court reversed the chancellor by finding the subsequent showing before the City Planning and Zoning Board sustained the R-3-A classification. In its view the municipal zoning ordinance was, at least, “fairly debatable” and was, therefore, not subject to judicial interference. It is this decision which we now have for review.
Although the Court of Appeal, Second District, had held that the highest and best use of the property would be for hotels and apartments, this finding does not necessarily mandate a municipal zoning ordinance which would permit such use. Friedland v. City of Hollywood, 130 So.2d 306 (2d Dist.Ct.App.Fla.1961); and, City of Miami v. Zorovich, 195 So.2d 31 (3d Dist.Ct.App.Fla.1967), cert. denied, 201 So.2d 554 (1967). See also City of St. Petersburg v. Aikin, 217 So.2d 315 (Fla. 1968). In municipal zoning there are many times considerations other than the potential use of the property which enter into the ultimate classification. City of Miami Beach v. Lachman, 71 So.2d 148 (Fla.1953); and, City of Miami Beach v. Wiesen, 86 So.2d 442 (Fla. 1956). Such elements as increased traffic congestion with attendant hazards to safety as well as the general nature of the neighborhood and its adaptability to a different zoning category are often considered to be persuasive. City of Miami Beach v. Weiss, 217 So.2d 836 (Fla.1969).
When the instant case was remanded to the City, the governing authorities conducted hearings and examined new evidence regarding the rezoning of the property involved. Before reaching its decision the City Planning and Zoning Board considered such factors as the use to which, in and of itself,’ the property would be best adaptable and the impact of various zonings on the immediately surrounding area. In light of discovering changed conditions in the community by examining new evidence, the Board was not bound to classify petitioner’s property into an out-of-date zoning ordinance. Tampa Electric Co. v. Crosby, 168 So.2d 70 (Fla.1964); and, Steele v. Pendarvis Chevrolet, Inc., 220 So.2d 372, 376 (Fla. 1969). There is no showing of any abuse of municipal power in the ultimate decision to zone the property R-3-A. Certainly, it can not be effectively contended that such a classification is not “fairly debatable”. This is the rule which guides the courts in their examination of the validity of municipal zoning regulations. City of Miami Beach v. Weiss, supra; City of Miami Beach v. Lachman, supra; and, Friedland v. City of Hollywood, supra. We are compelled to conclude that the chancellor stepped beyond his bounds when he mandated Mayflower’s property be judicially rezoned R-4.
Finding as we do that there is no jurisdictional conflict, the decision of the Court of Appeal, Fourth District, will not be disturbed and the writ, heretofore issued, herein is discharged.
It is so ordered.
ERVIN, C. J., and ROBERTS, CARLTON and BOYD, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Allapattah Cmty. Ass'n v. City OF Miami, 379 So. 2d 387 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…nt. See City of Miami v. Zorovich, 195 So. 2d 31, 37 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967), cert. denied, 201 So. 2d 554 (Fla.1967), and cases cited.6 As the court stated in Watson v. Mayflower Property, Inc., 223 So. 2d 368, 373 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969), cert. discharged, 233 So. 2d 390 (Fla.1970): It is self-evident that the general welfare of a community demands that in some part or parts of its land area citizens may develop their homes without fear of losing a substantial segment of their economic investment or the comfort and…
-
S. A. Healy Co. v. Town OF Highland Beach, 355 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)…red to $845,000 under single family. It is not necessary to the constitutional validity of a zoning ordinance that it permit the highest and best use of a particular property. County of Brevard v. Woodham, supra, Mayflower Property, Inc. v. Watson, 233 So. 2d 390 (Fla.1970), Cooper City v. Burgess, 340 So. 2d 929 (Fla. 4th D.C.A.1977). A zoning ordinance is only confiscatory if it deprives an owner of the beneficial use of his property by precluding all uses to which the property might be put. Forde v. City…
-
City OF Hollywood v. Hollywood, Inc., 432 So. 2d 1332 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)…rezoning much better than he might have and certainly was not treated arbitrarily or capriciously. No one can argue that mere economic loss would preclude the rezoning of the entire tract to single family zoning. Mayflower Property, Inc. v. Watson, 233 So. 2d 390 (Fla.1970), and S.A. Healy Co. v. Town of Highland Beach, supra. We are also unimpressed with the testimony of the experts, quoted by the trial [*1337] judge, stating that single family zoning adjacent to the beach with multi-family to the west doe…
Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (16 total)
- City of Miami Beach v. Lachman, 71 So. 2d 148 (Fla. 1953)
- City OF Miami Beach v. Wiesen, 86 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 1956)
- City OF ST. Petersburg v. Aikin, 217 So. 2d 315 (Fla. 1968)
- Miami Gray Line Boats, Inc. v. Madison Sales Corp., 195 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- Friedland v. City OF Hollywood, 130 So. 2d 306 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- The City OF Miami v. Zorovich, 195 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 3d DCA 1967)
- Commercial Carrier Corp. v. Mayo, 217 So. 2d 836 (Fla. 1969)
- City OF Miami Beach v. Weiss, 217 So. 2d 836 (Fla. 1969)
- Welcom Watson v. Mayflower Prop., Inc., 177 So. 2d 355 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965)
- Welcom H. Watson & City of Fort Lauderdale v. Mayflower Prop., Inc., 223 So. 2d 368 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969)