On August 26, 2010, a Final Summary Judgment was entered for the plaintiffs in City of Weston, Florida, et al. v. The Honorable Charlie Crist, Governor of the State of Florida, et al., Case No. 2009 CA 2639 (copy attached). The Summary Judgment holds that Senate Bill 360 (“SB 360”) is unconstitutional and orders the Florida Secretary of State to expunge the law from the official records of this State. The order is not yet final, and the case is of such importance that it will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court of Florida. A motion for rehearing has been filed and the Summary Judgment may be further modified prior to appeal.
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City of Weston Court Order Re SB360 Unconstitutional |
SB 360 is a controversial piece of legislation adopted by the Florida Legislature on the evening of the last day of the 2009 legislative session and signed by the Governor after much deliberation (see above, DCA comments on SB 360 issued to the Governor after SB 360 passed the legislature but before the Governor signed SB 360 into law, lawsuit challenging SB 360 filed by City of Weston, Lee County, et al, the actual adopted version of SB 360).
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Breaking News from the Courthouse -----August 26, 2010----------
"On August 26, 2010, a Final Summary Judgment was entered for the plaintiffs in City of Weston, Florida, et al. v. The Honorable Charlie Crist, Governor of the State of Florida, et al., Case No. 2009 CA 2639 (copy attached). The Summary Judgment holds that Senate Bill 360 (“SB 360”) is unconstitutional and orders the Florida Secretary of State to expunge the law from the official records of this State. The order is not yet final, and the case is of such importance that it will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court of Florida. A motion for rehearing has been filed and the Summary Judgment may be further modified prior to appeal.
If this decision is upheld, however, the DRI and concurrency exemptions for “dense urban land areas” and the two-year permit extensions granted in Senate Bill 360 will be eliminated.
In 2010, while this case was pending, the Legislature adopted grandfathering language in Senate Bill 1752 (excerpt to the right>) that seeks to preserve the any DRI exemptions, two-year permit extensions, and concurrency exempt areas created under SB 360 against the legal challenge. While it is likely that two-year extensions are safe, the DRI exemptions and concurrency exemptions must be examined on a case by case basis.
Senator Bennett, sponsor of SB 360, has been quoted in the press as saying that he will introduce a new bill to fix the law. Stay tuned!"
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Circuit Court Order 2009CA2639_Weston_Final | 
Excerpt_of_Senate_Bill_1752 "stopgap" Legislation spring 2010 session |
Cities and County file lawsuit over controversial growth management bill
by Dara Kam | July 8th, 2009
A
coalition of cities filed a lawsuit against Gov. Charlie Crist and the
leaders of the House and Senate over a controversial growth management
bill.
The suit charges that SB 360, which eliminates the requirement that
roads must be built before development can occur, creates an “unfunded
mandate” by forcing local governments to foot the bill for
infrastructure like roads.
The lawsuit was filed in Leon County by Jamie Cole, the lawyer who
won a lawsuit against the legislature last year over a property tax
amendment. The Florida Supreme Court tossed the legislature’s proposed
amendment, spurring a special session that resulted in “Amendment 1,”
which voters approved.
http://www.postonpolitics.com/2009/07/cities-file-lawsuit-over-controversial-growth-management-bill/
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Lawsuit - Complaint challenging Constitutionality (Single Subject and Unfunded Mandate) | Ft Myers News-Press Op Ed supports Lee County's lawsuit to overturn SB 360.
...it's true that development rules need streamlining, but eroding
oversight and potentially creating a situation where roads are
overwhelmed is not the answer. SB
360 diminishes the local control municipalities and counties have by
allowing for new development in urban areas without requiring that
roads and other transportation options be in place, also known as
concurrency. Taxpayers, rather than developers, could be footing the bill.
That
is lamentable, indeed, but when commissioners and council members say
they do not understand how the legislation will affect their
constituents, then the Legislature has created a major problem.It
is unfortunate that this bill was pushed through at the very end of the
legislative session, limiting thoughtful and open public debate.
...A
court should at least properly interpret the meaning of the law. Better
yet, it should deem the law unconstitutional and nullify it. We wish Lee County success in its lawsuit, for the good of all of us.
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090711/OPINION/907110331/1002/RSS01/Editorial--SB-360-must-be-nullified
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SB 360 covers alot of ground - including transportation concurrency exceptions for "dense urban areas," DRI exemptions for more populated counties/cities, extensions of certain permits and local government development orders for 2 years due to the bad economy and affordable housing improvements.
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- We will keep you posted here with updates as :
- local governments begin to sort out how to implement SB 360 and
- local governments challenge SB 360 > as the case progresses.
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Ralf Brookes, Attorney
1217 E Cape Coral #107,
Cape Coral Florida 33904
(239) 910-5464 phone/direct line
Ralf@RalfBrookesAttorney.com
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