Petition
for Writ of Certiorari to Review Quasi-Judicial Action: Agencies, Boards, and
Commissions of Local Government: ZONING – Variance – code criteria –
property owner failed to meet each code criteria for granting of a variance –
the subject property did not have conditions or circumstances peculiar to the
land – a literal enforcement of the City’s Code would not deprive the property
owner of reasonable use of his property – while subject lot was small, such was
common in that area – a variance is not appropriate to cure a hardship that was
apparent when property was purchased – Petition granted. Pletcher v. City of
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SIXTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
IN AND
APPELLATE DIVISION
ROBERT E. PLETCHER and
GERALDINE E. PLETCHER,
Petitioners,
vs. Appeal No. 05-0078AP-88A
UCN522005AP000078XXXXCV
CITY OF
a municipal corporation,
Respondent.
________________________________________________/
THIS
CAUSE came before the Court on the Petition for Writ of Certiorari, the
Response filed by the City of
The
Petitioners, Robert E. Pletcher and Geraldine E. Pletcher (the Pletchers), seek
review of the Development Order # 20050031, entered August 25, 2005, in which
the City granted the Woods’ variance requests.
In reviewing the administrative action taken by the City, the Court must
consider whether the Pletchers were afforded procedural due process, whether
the essential requirements of law were observed and whether the Development Order
is supported by competent substantial evidence.
See Haines City Community Development v. Heggs, 658 So.2d
523, 530 (
The record shows that the Petitioners own real property in the Pass-a-Grille area of St. Pete Beach which abuts the rear of the Woods’ property.[2] The Woods property is a 50’ by 40’ lot developed with a one-story, single-family residence, built in approximately 1920. The house is a nonconforming structure described as “dilapidated” and does not meet several code requirements, including the current code setbacks for residential structures which require a 20-foot setback for the front and rear yard, and a 4-foot setback for the sideyard. The residence sits only 1 foot from the Petitioners’ rear property line, 2 feet from the front property line, and 3.5 feet from the east property line.
The Woods sought the variance requests for the purpose of elevating the house to 7 feet from the existing footprint to comply with FEMA’s “fifty percent rule”[3] as the Woods intend to extensively remodel the home. The Woods were required to seek variance approval of the three existing setbacks as the City’s Code, specifically Section 3.10(b)(3), states that: “should such [nonconforming] structure be moved, either vertically or horizontally, for any reason, for any distance, it shall completely conform to the regulations for the district in which it was located.”
Prior to the public hearing, the City’s Staff prepared a Variance Application Analysis which analyzed the Woods’ variance requests to determine if they complied with the criteria set forth in Section 3.12. The Staff Analysis found that, out of the five listed criteria, that Woods’ request did not meet criteria 1 and 5. For these criteria, the Staff commented: “There do not appear to be any conditions or circumstances that are peculiar to the land or structure to preclude the applicant from reasonable use,” and; “A literal enforcement of the land development code would not deny the applicant reasonable use of his property.”
The matter came before the City Commission on August 23, 2005, for a public hearing in which testimony and evidence was presented. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Commission
approved the variance requests so that the house could be elevated with the one condition that gutters be installed on the rear of the structure. The Commission made several oral findings of fact, including: (1) the lot size, 40’ by 50’ was substandard; (2) the inability to comply with FEMA regulations at ground level is a hardship not created by the Woods; (3) the building is of a historic nature; (4) if the building is not elevated, it cannot comply with FEMA and this deprives the Woods of reasonable use of the property; (5) the variances will not change the district boundary on the zoning map nor constitute the granting of a nonconforming structure as it is already a nonconforming structure; (6) the variance will be in harmony with the general purpose and intent of the land development regulations and will not be detrimental to the neighborhood; (7) the Commission received several letters and testimony in support of the variances; and (8) a hardship would unnecessarily result from a literal enforcement of the provisions of the land development regulations as set forth in the application and the variance proposed is a minimum variance that will make possible the reasonable use of the land and structure. The Commission also incorporated the findings set forth in the Variance Application Analysis into its ruling.
Before
this Court, the Pletchers argue that the Commission erred in granting the
variance requests as the Woods failed to meet each variance criteria. Under the specific facts presented in this
case, the Court must agree with the Pletchers that the Commission’s decision to
grant the variance requests was error. Initially,
the Court recognizes that it must defer to the Commission’s decision and review
the record to find support for its decision.
See Dusseau v. Metropolitan Dade County Board of County
Commissioners, 794 So.2d 1270, 1276 (
As
set forth in the Staff Analysis, the Woods’ property does not have conditions
or circumstances peculiar to the land or structure, nor would a literal
enforcement of the Code deny the Woods reasonable use of their property. As recognized by the Commission, that area of
Pass-A-Grille has many small, substandard lots that do not meet the current
Code requirements due to the age of the structures. Hence, the Woods’ residence is not peculiar
in that community. The hardship created
by the small size of the lot is common in this area such that a change in
zoning for this neighborhood, instead of seeking a change through a variance,
is the appropriate remedy.
Further, as pointed out by the Pletchers, there is nothing to preclude the Woods from remodeling their home to the extent possible without having to comply with current Code or FEMA requirements, or, in the alternative, to pursue having the home designated a historic building to avoid the FEMA requirements. While the Commission recognized that the building was of a “historic” nature, it is unclear why the Commission approved the variance requests when there were other alternatives that could be explored that would not involve raising a dilapidated house 7 feet with setbacks as minimal as 1 foot from neighboring property. Hence, without reweighing the evidence, the Court concludes that there is not competent substantial evidence in the record to support the Development Order since the record shows that each variance criteria was not met.
Therefore, it is,
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Petition for Writ of Certiorari is granted and the Development Order is quashed.
DONE
AND ORDERED in Chambers, at
______________________________ ______________________________
LAUREN LAUGHLIN BRANDT C.
Circuit Judge, Appellate Division Circuit
Judge, Appellate Division
Copies furnished to:
Thomas E. Reynolds, Esquire
Timothy P. Driscoll, Esquire
David A. Bacon, Esquire
2959
[1] Judge John Schaefer, Appellate Division, did not participate in this appeal.
[2] The
Pletchers, as neighboring property owners, have standing to seek certiorari
review of the Development Order.
[3] This rule provides that if the cost of constructing the improvements exceeds 50% of the value of the existing structure, excluding land value, then the property must be constructed in accordance with the applicable FEMA requirements.