7/12/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

BOOK 92 FACE 873 15. "Zoning laws are in derogation of the common law and as a general rule are subject to strict construction in favor of the right of a property owner to the unrestricted use of his property. Permitted uses must be interpreted broadly, prohibited uses strictly so that doubts are resolved in a property owner's favor." (City of South Miami) This excerpt is a statement of the general law and should come as no surprise to anyone. No one has ever suggested that the applicant does not have the right to use their property. See my comment under Excerpt #12. The relevancy of this excerpt to site plan review standards is questionable, since this excerpt deals with the overall concept of zoning. If there were any ambiguities in the LDRs suggesting that the land could not be used, then this excerpt would be useful; however, that is not the case. There _gre volummes of quotes that can be pulled from cases dealing with property rights; however, each one comes with a specific set of facts and circumstances that are used as the basis for local governments decisions and for judicial review. The more reasoned court decisions hold that every land owner has the right to a reasonable use of his land, not necessarily the highest and best use. If you are aware of any facts that would suggest the property owner will be denied a reasonable use of the land if the site plan is required to meet the applicable LDR requirements, then I would like to know what they are. This concludes my review of your June 17, 1994 Memorandum to the County Commissioners. In accordance with the previously agreed procedures by all parties, I request that you forward a copy of this response to the County Commissioners simultaneously with your Memorandum. If for some reason you elect not to forward your memorandum to the County Commissioners prior to the July 12, 1994 meeting, I would like you to forward this response to them anyway, so that they will have an opportunity to review it prior to the July 12th meeting. Attorney Dill introduced Robert Salmon, 1155 Reef Road, president of Windward, a condominium of 65 homeowners living across the road from the proposed supermarket. Mr. Salmon presented a black, 3 -ring binder (Exhibit 9) containing one page of printed material plus an aerial view of the site for the proposed project, a plat map of the Moorings, 26 color photographs showing the entrances into the Moorings, various residences in the Moorings, single-family homes on Bowline Drive which will face the loading area for the supermarket, condominium buildings, marinas, and material describing the Moorings Harbor Square Development Plan which was approved by the IRC Planning & Zoning Commission in 1989 but never built. Color photographs in the back of the folder showed the loading areas and rear access area of the Publix at Miracle Mile. Mr. Salmon commented on Section 911.10 of Ordinance 90-16: M July 12, 1994