The appellate ruling is expected to protect high-rise development from certain restrictions.
By Associated Press
Published July 18, 2003
MIAMI - An appeals court has ruled that property owners can sue if they believe they are victims of "inordinately burdensome" building restrictions, a decision that could affect high-rise development throughout Florida.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned a 1999 Circuit Court decision that prevented property owners from suing the city of Miami Beach.
Appellate Judge David Levy wrote that the Harris Act, a law that allows landowners to seek damages over development limits set by government officials, "clearly provides that the statute was intended to protect private property interests against "inordinately burdensome' governmental regulation."
The appellate decision involved a 1999 suit filed by Royal World Metropolitan, which sought more than $7-million in damages because it contended that Miami Beach's zoning laws would force it to scale down its Mirabella apartment project from 24 to six stories.
In that case, a lower court ruled that sovereign immunity - a principle often used by local governments to defend themselves from lawsuits - protected Miami Beach from lawsuits under the Harris Act. The appeals court disagreed.
"The property owner can now go back and present the merits of his claim that this six-story height limit would place an inordinate burden on his property," said Miami attorney Amy Brigham Boulris, who represents Royal World.
Miami Beach Assistant City Attorney Jean Olin called the decision "disappointing."
