It's been a while since I put anything new up and I have quite a few new cases that will follow.
I also hope to get the email list started up, with invitations to lots of folks.
The Fifth DCA in an almost per curiam affirmance upheld a Circuit Court's writ of cert that overturned a decision of the Citrus County Board of County Commissioners on a rezoning and site plan approval that allowed higher density than permitted by the plan.
One interesting element: the Circuit Court had taken the issue up on cert, rather than through a de novo review under 163.3215, even though consistency with the plan was the biggest aspect.
The more interesting element was that the Court found that the BCC violated due process, as well as the planning act, in approving the development. Essentially the court found that the Board had to have pre-judged the issue and/or refused to consider the evidence in front of it - novel and very powerful for folks fighting politically driven decisions, on any side of a fight.
Here's a link to more info on the case.
More info on this in the discussion boards.
Robert
Sid Ansbacher (former head of the Environmental and Land Use Law Chapter of the Florida Bar) and I wrote an article on how local government should structure decisions to be properly reviewed by certiorari in Florida. It was just printed in the May edition of the Florida Bar Journal - here's a link:
Bar Journal Article
It took three days of part-time work, but the core functions of the Florida Land Law site are now available. We have a message board, an email-list-server for folk that prefer email for discussion, and the first set of links pages are up. More link pages can be added anytime.
Next steps are to get some "citizen guides" on line. I know that several different organizations and attorneys have put together information about how to deal with quasi-judicial hearings, what the steps in a comprehensive plan amendment are, and similar things.
I'll also start an invitation process next week and try to get some folks I know to visit, sign up for email and the discussion group, and get going.
That's all for a Saturday!
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