Lutz Lake Fern Road Neighborhood Groups, Inc. v. Hillsborough County, 2D99-1980.
| Decision Date | 21 June 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 2D99-1980.,2D99-1980. |
| Citation | 779 So.2d 380 |
| Parties | LUTZ LAKE FERN ROAD NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS, INC., et al., Appellants, v. HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Florida and School Board of Hillsborough County, Florida, Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Marsha G. Rydberg of The Rydberg Law Firm, P.A., Tampa and James M. Landis of Foley & Lardner, Tampa, co-counsel for Appellants.
H. Ray Allen, II, Sr., Assistant County Attorney and Julia C. Mandell, Assistant County Attorney, Tampa, for Appellee, Hillsborough County.
Thomas M. Gonzalez and Arnold B. Corsmeier of Thompson, Sizemore & Gonzalez, P.A., Tampa and W. Crosby Few of Few & Ayala, P.A., Tampa, co-counsel for Appellee, School Board of Hillsborough County.
The sole issue presented by this appeal is whether a second amended complaint filed by a group of property owners ("Neighbors") against Hillsborough County ("County") and the School Board of Hillsborough County ("School Board") states a cause of action. The Neighbors are residents of an area bordering a tract of land which the School Board selected as the site for a new high school. We conclude that the complaint does state a cause of action and, therefore, reverse the trial court's order dismissing the complaint with prejudice.
Section 235.193, Florida Statutes (1997), requires that, before acquiring property for a high school, a school board and local government must coordinate to ensure that the proposed school site complies with the county's comprehensive plan and development regulations, and it specifies a procedure for such coordination. The statute also permits a school board and a local governing body to establish "an alternative process for reviewing a proposed educational facility and site plan, and offsite impacts." § 235.193(7). The County and the School Board elected to establish such alternative process by interlocal agreement. The interlocal agreement specifies that high schools are to be located in the County's "urban service area," as defined in the comprehensive plan. However, a site may be permitted outside the urban service area if it meets certain additional criteria.
The School Board submitted five proposed school sites to the County for a review and determination of consistency with the comprehensive plan and compliance with the Hillsborough County Land Development Code (LDC). In accordance with the procedures set forth in the interlocal agreement, a land use hearing officer conducted a public hearing and rendered a written decision. Two of the sites were determined to be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and not in compliance with the LDC. The remaining three sites, including the site at issue here, referred to as the Lutz Lake Fern Road site, were determined to be consistent with the comprehensive plan and in compliance with the LDC. The Lutz Lake Fern Road site is not located within the urban service area and, thus, is subject to additional criteria. The School Board considered the land use hearing officer's decision and, after public hearing, selected the Lutz Lake Fern Road site.
The Neighbors unsuccessfully attempted to appeal the decision of the land use hearing officer to the Board of County Commissioners, which was advised by the county attorney that the public had no right to appeal. The Neighbors filed a "Verified Complaint, or in the Alternative, Petition for Certiorari" in the circuit court on October 15, 1998, and an "Amended Verified Complaint, or in the Alternative, Petition for Certiorari" on October 16, 1998. The County and the School Board moved to dismiss the amended complaint. The trial court granted the motion, allowing the Neighbors the right to amend. On February 15, 1999, the Neighbors filed their "Second Amended Complaint, or in the Alternative, Petition for Certiorari or for Writ of Mandamus" against the County and the School Board. The Neighbors asserted taxpayer standing and alleged that they lacked an adequate legal remedy and that they were in doubt as to their rights and obligations under section 235.193 and chapter 163, Florida Statutes. They asserted that if a high school were located at the Lutz Lake Fern Road site, they would be irreparably injured by impairment of their property values and semi-rural life style, by excessive flooding, substantial traffic impacts, and by the creation of a substandard high school for their children.
In counts I, II and III, the Neighbors sought declaratory and injunctive relief pursuant to chapter 86, Florida Statutes (1997). Count I was directed against the School Board and asked the court to declare that the selection of the Lutz Lake Fern Road site violated the interlocal agreement and to enjoin the School Board from acquiring or developing the site for a high school. Count I also included a petition for writ of mandamus whereby the court was asked to require the County to declare the Lutz Lake Fern Road site incompatible with the interlocal agreement because it lies outside the urban service area.
Count II was directed against the County and asked the court to declare that the interlocal agreement contains an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority and to enjoin the County and School Board from taking any further action toward the development of the site. Count III was directed against the County and School Board and asked the court to declare that the interlocal agreement contained an unconstitutional delegation of quasi-judicial authority and to enjoin the County and School Board from developing the Lutz Lake Fern Road site.
Count IV was an action pursuant to section 163.3215, Florida Statutes (1997),1 in which the Neighbors asked the court to declare the Lutz Lake Fern Road site inconsistent with the comprehensive plan and to enjoin the County and School Board from taking any further action toward development of the site.
The County and the School Board filed a joint motion to dismiss on the grounds that counts I, II and III failed to state a cause of action for declaratory and injunctive relief because the Neighbors did not have standing to enforce the interlocal agreement between the County and the School Board. They argued that neither section 235.193 nor the interlocal agreement allowed the Neighbors to bring a viable cause of action. The County and School Board also asserted that, as to count IV, the Neighbors failed to timely file their action pursuant to section 163.3215.
The trial court granted the motion to dismiss with prejudice. In its order, the trial court stated that the Neighbors had failed to state a cause of action in counts I, II and III, and had again failed to plead the elements...
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