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CATHERINE E. SHOICHETThe developer of the Halls River condo project says the county's elimination of the mixed-use zoning category has hurt the property's value.
The developer of the Halls River Retreat condominium project filed a lawsuit Thursday alleging that the county government's actions caused his property to decline in value by $3.5-million.
Halls River Development Inc. filed the complaint in Citrus County circuit court and seeks relief pursuant to the state's Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act, which gives property owners the right to sue local governments if their property value is "inordinately burdened" by government action.
At issue is a 2002 county ordinance that eliminates the mixed-use zoning category. That move "directly restricted or limited use of the Halls River's real property such that Halls River is permanently unable to obtain Halls River's reasonable investment expectations," according to the complaint.
New Port Richey attorney Frederick T. Reeves filed the complaint on behalf of Halls River Development, whose president is Blake Longacre. Reeves could not be reached for comment.
County Attorney Robert "Butch" Battista said Tuesday that the county had not yet been served with the complaint.
Based on a draft of the complaint he received Friday afternoon, Battista said it did "not acknowledge the fact that the County Commission approved development of his (Longacre's) property on the Halls River."
Battista said county attorneys will review information related to the project currently stored in boxes in Lecanto and then prepare a response.
In February 2002, commissioners voted 3-2 to approve Halls River Retreat, a 54-unit condominium time-share. The Planning and Development Review Board had rejected it.
Environmentalists sued after the commission's vote, fearing the project and the boats Halls River Retreat would harbor would pollute the Halls River, a state-designated Outstanding Florida Waterway.
In November 2002, Circuit Judge Jack Springstead in Hernando County ruled that the project did not fit along the riverbank, according to the county's own comprehensive plan, which seeks to limit residential growth in coastal areas.
The county appealed but lost. Springstead's broad ruling pointed out several problems with county zoning and led to the commission's elimination of its mixed-use zoning category, which was the designation for the Halls River Retreat property.
Thursday's filing came two days after the County Commission vote 4-1 to settle another land development rights case filed under the Bert Harris act. Attorneys for the Caruth estate had argued that the county reduced the value of estate property in northwest Citrus by $730,000 when it eliminated the mixed-use zoning category and designated the property as coastal and lakes.
The county settlement, which still must be approved by a circuit judge, would allow the Caruth estate to build a 50-home waterfront subdivision on the property. The county would not pay any monetary damages.
County Commissioner Gary Bartell voted against the settlement, saying it violated the county's comprehensive plan and could open up the county to further legal problems. The statute of limitations on the project had already run out, he said.
"Am I surprised? No. Am I disappointed? Absolutely," he said Thursday of the Halls River lawsuit.