Sunday, January 13, 2013

Fourth Quarter 2012: Recent Florida Environmental and Land Use Case Law

The Florida Bar's Environmental and Land Use Law Section has posted its column on the environmental and land use cases in Florida that you need to know about for the fourth quarter of 2012. This is the column that I formerly coauthored. Here are the summaries:
  • Town of Longboat Key v. Islandside Property Owners Coalition, LLC, 94 So.3d, 1037 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). As I discussed in detail previously, In certiorari review, a circuit court is not bound by a local commission’s longstanding interpretation of a local code if that interpretation is unreasonable or erroneous. 
  • 19650 NE 18th Ave LLC. v. Presidential Estates Homeowners Ass’n, Inc., - So.3d -, 2012 WL 4448792 (Fla. 3rd DCA 2012). Where a deed of sale violated a county covenant requiring the deed to specify the number of units a buyer may build on the property, the remaining development rights associated with the property were not forfeited because such a condition was not included in the contract. 
  • Garcia v. Andonie, - S. Ct. -, 2012 WL 4666458 (Fla. 2012). The homestead exemption statute’s provision requiring that a property owner reside on the property to be entitled to a homestead property tax exemption violated Florida’s constitutional provision governing the homestead exemption.
  • Fla. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services v. Mendez, - So.3d -, 2012 WL 3023214 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012). The statute permitting issuance of writ of execution against Florida departments for judgment in eminent domain actions does not permit issuances of writ of execution against Florida departments in inverse condemnation actions. Further, a constitutional challenge to section 11.066, Florida Statutes, is not ripe for adjudication prior to appropriation proceedings before the Legislature.
As always, if you're interested in previous case law updates, take a look at my past posts for previous cases I've summarized about Florida environmental and land use law.