Judge Denies Voter Approval of Land-Use Development

The proposed amendment to the city charter read, in part, "development of properties within the City of Miami Springs shall not exceed the maximum allowable floor areas, densities, or building heights set out in the Miami Springs Comprehensive Plan or City Code…unless approved by a majority vote of the city's electors." The city passed a resolution calling for a Jan. 31 special election on the proposed amendment.

Four local citizens intervened by filing a complaint with the circuit court against the city and Miami-Dade County supervisor of elections, alleging that the proposed charter amendment "attempts to change the way the citizens amend the municipal charter in violation of the Florida Constitution [and] requires a referendum where the Florida statutes specifically prohibit a referendum."

Based on the complaint, Senior Judge Herbert Stettin held an "emergency final hearing" on the proposed change in the charter to "consider and determine the amendment's validity prior to an election." His nine-page ruling, issued after the hearing, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and the election was enjoined.

"The proposed charter amendment would provide a new standard for repealing, revising or amending the city charter," the judge wrote. Calling the proposed charter amendment "in direct conflict with the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act," he stated that the act "specifically prohibits an initiative or referendum process in regard to any development order or in regard to any local comprehensive plan amendment or map amendment that affects five or fewer parcels of land. … A referendum is not permitted unless there are at least six development units or parcels of land at issue. In contrast, the charter amendment requires an election when there is any development of property exceeding limits imposed by the current code."

He concluded, "the charter amendment is unconstitutional for two reasons." It "attempts to pre-empt the Miami-Dade Home Rule Amendment " and it "directly conflicts" with a Florida statute stating that "municipal law is subordinate to state law and where there is a conflict, state law will prevail."

Although Miami Springs, located between Hialeah and the Miami International Airport, is just three miles square, the principals set forth by the judge in this ruling "could affect many current and proposed municipal charter provisions throughout Florida," Jennifer Ator, an attorney with Miami-based Tannebaum Weiss, tells GlobeSt.com. She represented the plaintiffs in this case.

"Largely because of all the high-rise development taking place in Miami, there is a push among municipalities that like the way they look to take greater control over development," she says. If this ruling, judged in violation of the state's constitution, were "adopted by other circuit courts and appeals courts, any local or county government in Florida would be prohibited from taking the power to grant development orders from local elected and appointed boards and giving the ultimate right of approval for such development to the voters," she contends.