Southwest Ranches Homeowners Ass'n, Inc. v. Broward County

Decision Date14 January 1987
Docket NumberNo. 4-86-0208,4-86-0208
Citation502 So.2d 931,12 Fla. L. Weekly 357
Parties12 Fla. L. Weekly 357 SOUTHWEST RANCHES HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC., a Florida corporation, Appellant/Cross Appellee, v. COUNTY OF BROWARD, a political subdivision of the State of Florida, Appellee/Cross Appellant.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Brion Blackwelder of Titone, Roarke, Blackwelder and Titone, Lauderhill, for appellant/cross appellee.

Susan F. Delegal, Gen. Counsel, and Annette Star Lustgarten, Asst. Gen. Counsel, Fort Lauderdale, for appellee/cross appellant.

ANSTEAD, Judge.

This is an appeal from a final judgment declaring valid two zoning ordinances enacted by Broward County in order to facilitate the location of a sanitary landfill and resource recovery plant in an unincorporated area of the County. We affirm.

In 1981, Broward County began to search for an appropriate location, and secure necessary zoning, for a large scale sanitary landfill and resource recovery plant. After a long period of search and negotiations including the consideration of some 100 prospective sites, the County settled upon a 588 acre parcel of land adjacent to the Broward Correctional Institution (BCI), a women's prison located in an unincorporated portion of agricultural southwest Broward County. It was determined that two land use code changes would be necessary to locate the project on that site. First, an application would be required to change the BCI site from a limited agricultural A-1 zoning district, which permits a variety of agricultural, low intensity uses but prohibits dumps, sanitary fill or incinerators, to an agricultural-disposal A-6 zoning district, which permits sanitary fill and incinerators. Second, in order to permit the large scale solid waste disposal facility contemplated, the text of the A-6 district provision needed to be changed to allow landfill up to 125 feet above ground level, to provide for a resource recovery facility, to allow structures to be 200 feet high, and to permit incineration on an area of 20 acres or less. These changes were accomplished by enactment of Ordinances 84-35(Z) and 84-87, the ordinances declared valid below.

The Southwest Ranches Homeowners Association, Inc. sought to enjoin the County from locating the project on the BCI site, claiming that the project would endanger the water supply and that the rezoning constituted improper spot zoning and conflicted with the Broward County land use plan. At trial, the Association called several expert witnesses. The substance of their testimony was that the BCI site is a wetland area which rests on the Biscayne Aquifer, a source of drinking water for the inmates and staff of the prison, as well as the property owners comprising the plaintiff Association. According to these witnesses, the proposed plant poses a threat to groundwater control, i.e., flooding, and may cause groundwater pollution which in turn poses a health threat to drinking water. Specifically, one witness testified that the proximity of the high water table to the base of the landfill in a wetlands area creates a risk that the membrane of the landfill lining will rupture, releasing pollutants called leachates into the surrounding environment. The appellant also presented the testimony of an urban planner to the effect that the proposed use is incompatible with the general agricultural character of the region, and inconsistent with several other elements of the Broward County Comprehensive Plan. In particular, the Association attempted to demonstrate that the proposed use was inconsistent with the coastal zone protection conservation element, the potable water element, and the solid waste element of the plan. Finally, the Association presented evidence that this same site had previously been rejected as a location for an industrial and office use, in light of existing land use policy to keep development in the area to a minimum.

The County presented evidence which controverted the claims of the Association in virtually every material regard. The County put on evidence demonstrating the critical need for the facility and the lengthy search for a suitable site. With respect to the environmental concerns raised by the Association, the County presented the testimony of several experts who were associated with the project and possessed expertise in the fields of hydrology and solid waste disposal. These witnesses testified in detail as to the state-of-the-art safety and engineering standards incorporated into the landfill project and the numerous features of the system designed to address the problems of surface water management and groundwater pollution. They also described numerous monitoring devices and procedures designed to immediately detect any problems of water pollution. The gist of their testimony was that the project would create no problems of water pollution or flooding. In response to the Association's evidence that the project would be inconsistent with certain elements of the comprehensive plan, the County contended that the facility was consistent with the land use elements of the plan and also consistent with the overall objective of the plan to provide an adequate level of services to support future growth in the County without endangering environmental resources. The project was described as providing for a 40 acre park, initially, with the landfill itself to have a 20 year life during the course of which it would be converted entirely into a public park. A County planning official also testified that pursuant to the County Code, the petition for rezoning had been reviewed and approved for consistency with the comprehensive plan by all of the County agencies with expertise in their respective fields, such as pollution and drainage control. It was also demonstrated that the project was subject to the scrutiny and approval of numerous other federal, state and local governmental entities concerned with water pollution and flood control.

The court concluded in its final order (1) that the Association had not proven any inherent danger of water pollution in the plan, (2) that the ordinances did not violate the consistency provisions of the Planning Act, and (3) that the ordinances did not constitute spot zoning and would be upheld as "fairly debatable." The court reaffirmed its earlier ruling recognizing the standing of the appellant Association to challenge the zoning changes. Importantly, the court also retained jurisdiction of the action for purposes of insuring that the project would be constructed and operated in the environmentally safe manner represented by the County.

I. STANDING

At the outset, we reject the County's challenge on cross appeal to the appellant's standing. The supreme court has recently clarified the standing requirements for citizens' groups in cases like the one at bar. In Citizens Growth Management Coalition of West Palm Beach, Inc. v. City of West Palm Beach, 450 So.2d 204 (Fla.1984), the court held that "only those persons who already have a legally recognizable right which is adversely affected have standing to challenge a land use decision on the ground that it fails to conform with the comprehensive plan." Id. at 208. The court in Citizens Growth Management upheld the trial court's finding that the Coalition had failed to prove that it or any of its members met the test. Id. The Coalition is only described as "an incorporated association the membership of which includes residents, citizens and taxpayers of West Palm Beach." Id. at 206. In our view, the Southwest Ranches Homeowners Association has a more direct stake in this matter than would a group of concerned citizens and taxpayers with a general interest in preserving the environmental character of the area. The Association is a group of property owners whose land adjoins the proposed development and stands to be directly affected by the alleged aspects of the development which are claimed to be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan; i.e. pollution, flooding, and deterioration of potable water supply. Therefore, we believe that the Association meets the general standing criteria of Citizens Growth Management. Moreover, a finding of standing here is in accord with the intent of the legislature as manifested by the recent addition of Section 163.3215, Florida Statutes (1985) to the statutory scheme. This section liberalizes standing requirements and demonstrates a clear legislative policy in favor of the enforcement of comprehensive plans by persons adversely affected by local action.

II. SPOT ZONING

We also reject the Association's claim that the trial court erred in holding that the ordinances in question did not constitute illegal "spot zoning." Spot zoning is the name given to the piecemeal rezoning of small parcels of land to a greater density, leading to disharmony with the surrounding area. See Dade County v. Inversiones Rafamar, S.A., 360 So.2d 1130, 1133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). Spot zoning is usually thought of as giving preferential treatment to one parcel at the expense of the zoning scheme as a whole. See Allapattah Community Ass'n, Inc. of Florida v. City of Miami, 379 So.2d 387, 394 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980). Moreover, the term is generally applied to the rezoning of only one or a few lots. Cf. Allapattah, 379 So.2d at 395 n. 9. The ordinances in question do not give preferential treatment to one group of property owners in the area over another. Nor is the pattern of development in the area such that its character will be destroyed by the waste disposal facility. The site in question is not completely surrounded by low density rural uses; rather, it will be adjoined by the prison on its eastern edge. More importantly, perhaps, the BCI site is 588 acres in size, substantially larger than a few lots.

III. CONSISTENCY UNDER THE PLANNING ACT

A more difficult issue is whether the zoning changes violated the consistency...

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