House Bill 0659c1

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 659

        By the Committee on Judiciary and Representatives
    Alexander, Putnam, Feeney, Albright, Stansel, J. Miller,
    Kilmer, Russell, Tullis, Bense, Dockery, Peaden, Argenio,
    Fasano, Sembler, Bainter, Kelly, Harrington, Minton, Futch, K.
    Smith, Byrd, Spratt, Goode and Argenziano


  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to private property rights

  3         protection; amending s. 70.001, F.S., the "Bert

  4         J. Harris, Jr., Private Property Rights

  5         Protection Act"; providing that an action by a

  6         governmental entity that involuntarily

  7         decreases the density of development below one

  8         residence per five acres creates a rebuttable

  9         presumption that there is an "inordinate

10         burden" that qualifies the property owner for

11         relief under the act; providing determinations

12         to be made by the circuit court when a claim is

13         filed to seek compensation for such

14         governmental action; providing an effective

15         date.

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17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Paragraphs (d) and (e) of subsection (3),

20  paragraph (b) of subsection (5), and paragraph (a) of

21  subsection (6) of section 70.001, Florida Statutes, are

22  amended to read:

23         70.001  Private property rights protection.--

24         (3)  For purposes of this section:

25         (d)  The term "action of a governmental entity" means a

26  specific action of a governmental entity which affects real

27  property, including action on an application or permit. The

28  term also includes any action by a governmental entity which

29  involuntarily decreases the density of development below one

30  residence for every five acres.

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  1         (e)  The terms "inordinate burden" or "inordinately

  2  burdened" mean that an action of one or more governmental

  3  entities has directly restricted or limited the use of real

  4  property such that the property owner is permanently unable to

  5  attain the reasonable, investment-backed expectation for the

  6  existing use of the real property or a vested right to a

  7  specific use of the real property with respect to the real

  8  property as a whole, or that the property owner is left with

  9  existing or vested uses that are unreasonable such that the

10  property owner bears permanently a disproportionate share of a

11  burden imposed for the good of the public, which in fairness

12  should be borne by the public at large. Any action by a

13  governmental entity that involuntarily decreases the density

14  of development below one residence for every five acres

15  creates a rebuttable presumption that the governmental action

16  inordinately burdens the real property. The terms "inordinate

17  burden" or "inordinately burdened" do not include temporary

18  impacts to real property; impacts to real property occasioned

19  by governmental abatement, prohibition, prevention, or

20  remediation of a public nuisance at common law or a noxious

21  use of private property; or impacts to real property caused by

22  an action of a governmental entity taken to grant relief to a

23  property owner under this section.

24         (5)

25         (b)  If the property owner rejects the settlement offer

26  and the ripeness decision of the governmental entity or

27  entities, the property owner may file a claim for compensation

28  in the circuit court, a copy of which shall be served

29  contemporaneously on the head of each of the governmental

30  entities that made a settlement offer and a ripeness decision

31  that was rejected by the property owner. Actions under this

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  1  section shall be brought only in the county where the real

  2  property is located. When a claim is filed to seek

  3  compensation for any governmental action that involuntarily

  4  decreases the density of development below one residence for

  5  every five acres, there is a rebuttable presumption that the

  6  governmental entity or entities have inordinately burdened the

  7  property owner's real property.

  8         (6)(a)  The circuit court shall determine whether an

  9  existing use of the real property or a vested right to a

10  specific use of the real property existed and, if so, whether,

11  considering the settlement offer and ripeness decision, the

12  governmental entity or entities have inordinately burdened the

13  real property. When a claim is filed to seek compensation for

14  any governmental action that involuntarily decreases the

15  density of development below one residence for every five

16  acres, the circuit court shall determine whether an existing

17  use of the real property or a vested right to a specific use

18  of the real property existed and, if so, whether the action by

19  the governmental entity or entities did not inordinately

20  burden the real property.  The governmental entity or entities

21  shall have the burden to prove that the action did not

22  inordinately burden the property. If the actions of more than

23  one governmental entity, considering any settlement offers and

24  ripeness decisions, are responsible for the action that

25  imposed the inordinate burden on the real property of the

26  property owner, the court shall determine the percentage of

27  responsibility each such governmental entity bears with

28  respect to the inordinate burden.  A governmental entity may

29  take an interlocutory appeal of the court's determination that

30  the action of the governmental entity has resulted in an

31  inordinate burden. An interlocutory appeal does not

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2000              CS/HB 659

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  1  automatically stay the proceedings; however, the court may

  2  stay the proceedings during the pendency of the interlocutory

  3  appeal.  If the governmental entity does not prevail in the

  4  interlocutory appeal, the court shall award to the prevailing

  5  property owner the costs and a reasonable attorney fee

  6  incurred by the property owner in the interlocutory appeal.

  7         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

  8  law.

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