Small Scale Plan Amendments: Legislative or Quasi-Judicial in Nature?

In 1997, the Florida Supreme Court made a decision in the case of Martin County v. Yusem, which clarified the standard of review for local government decisions on amendments to the local comprehensive plan. The court ruled that these decisions are legislative, not quasi-judicial, so they should be reviewed using the “fairly debatable” standard. However, there have been conflicting decisions about the standard of review for small-scale plan amendments. Some courts have said they should be subject to “strict scrutiny,” while others say the “fairly debatable” standard still applies. This disagreement stems from a previous case called Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County v. Snyder in 1993. That case led to a fact-based analysis to determine the nature of plan amendments, which hasn’t provided clear guidance. The Florida Supreme Court ruled that all changes to a comprehensive plan are legislative decisions and subject to review. Small scale plan amendments, involving less than 10 acres, have different rules and can be appealed. In the case of Grondin v. City of Lake Wales, a landowner sought to change the land use designation of their property, but the city commission voted against it. The court had to decide on a case that had never been ruled on before. They determined that small scale plan amendments should be reviewed under a specific standard because they are different from other plan amendments. The court found that the city council’s decision to deny the plan amendment was not based on enough evidence, so they overturned the decision. The city did not challenge this decision in a higher court. The case of Fleeman v. City of St. Augustine Beach is about a landowner who wanted to change the classification of their property to commercial on the city’s land use map. The city said no, and the landowner took the decision to court. The court said that the city’s decision was a matter of policy and was up to the city’s legislative body. The landowner appealed, and the court agreed with the original decision. The case was then sent to the Florida Supreme Court to decide if small scale plan amendments should be reviewed through certiorari or through a declaratory judgment action. This decision will also determine how small scale plan amendments are reviewed. Grondin, Yusem, and Snyder all agree that small scale plan amendments are like traditional rezoning decisions and should be reviewed with “strict scrutiny”. This means that the decisions will have a limited impact and should be reviewed carefully. The Florida Supreme Court should clarify the standard of review for small scale plan amendments to provide certainty for landowners and local governments.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/small-scale-plan-amendments-legislative-or-quasi-judicial-in-nature/