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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance 534 Determination/Vested Rights ORDINANCE NO. 534 AN ORDINANCE SETTING FORTH THE PROCEDURES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF VESTED RIGHTS; PROVIDING FOR AN APPLICATION FORM; PROVIDING FOR TIME LIMITATIONS TO FILE VESTED RIGHTS APPLICATIONS; PROVIDING FOR A PUBLIC HEARING AND ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS APPROVING OR DENYING A VESTED RIGHTS SPECIAL USE PERMIT; PROVIDING FOR APPEALS OF ADMINISTRATIVE ORDERS TO THE CITY COMMISSION; PROVIDING FOR HEARINGS ON APPEALS: PROVIDING STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING VESTED RIGHTS; PROVIDING LIMITATIONS ON VESTED RIGHTS SPECIAL USE PERMITS; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, Chapter 163, Part II, Florida Statutes, entitled the Local Government Comprehensive Planning and Land Development Regulation Act, as amended (the "Act"), empowers and requires the City commissioners of the City of winter Springs to plan for the City's future development and growth, and to adopt and amend comprehensive plans, or elements or portions thereof, to guide the future growth and development of the County; and WHEREAS, the City Commissioners conducted public hearings relating to the adoption of the City of Winter Springs Comprehensive Plan and adopted the same by City Ordinance 513 on April 27, 1992 (the "Plan Adoption Date"); and WHEREAS, Section 163.3202(1), Florida Statutes, requires the city to adopt or amend and enforce land development regulations that are consistent with and implement its adopted Comprehensive Plan; and WHEREAS, Section 163.3194(1)(b), Florida Statutes, requires that all land development regulations enacted or amended by the City of Winter Springs shall be consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan, and any land development regulations existing at the time of adoption which are not consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan, or element or portion thereof, shall be amended so as to be consistent; and WHEREAS, Section 163.3194(1)(b), Florida Statutes, further requires that during the interim period when the provisions of the most recently adopted comprehensive Plan, or element or portion thereof, and the land development regulations are inconsistent, the provisions of the adopted Comprehensive Plan, or element or portion thereof, shall govern any action taken in regard to an application for a development order; and WHEREAS, the Comprehensive Plan envisions that the County shall adopt an administrative process for determining whether a person's right to develop is vested. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS: SECTION I. INTENT. In recognition of the fact that certain land development rights of property owners may be vested with respect to the City of Winter Springs Comprehensive Plan and the land development regulations adopted to implement the Plan (the "LDRs"), including the requirement for the determination of the availability and capacity of public facilities ("Concurrency"), it is the intent of this Ordinance to provide for a fair and equitable process for the determination of whether a property owner has vested rights against the Comprehensive Plan of the City of Winter Springs and the land development regulations adopted to implement that Plan. SECTION II. VESTED RIGHTS APPLICATION PROCESS. A. Application for Vested Rights Special Use Permit. 1. Any person claiming vested rights to develop property shall make application for a Vested Rights Special Use Permit pursuant to this Ordinance. The owner of the subject property must either sign the application or give written authorization for the applicants to file the application. 2. An application for a Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall be approved and a Vested Rights Special Use Permit issued if an applicant meets the requirements set out in this Ordinance. Possession of a Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall enable a permittee to complete the development approved under such Permit up to and through issuance of appropriate certificates occupancy, subject to the limitations set forth in section IV below, and subject to compliance with such laws and regulations against which the development is not vested. 3. Applications for a Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall be submitted to the City Manager of the City of winter Springs on a form to be provided by the City. Such application must be filed within one (1) year after the later of (a) the adoption of this Ordinance or (b) the rezoning of the subject property in order to bring its zoning into conformance with the land use designation assigned to the property by the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map adopted on April 27, 1992 (the "Plan Adoption Date"). Except as provided in Subsection ILA.4. and 5., below, failure to file an application within the required period will constitute an abandonment of any claim to ,vested rights. Judicial relief will not be available unless administrative remedies set forth in this Ordinance are exhausted. 4. If a property owner is absent from the State during the entire filing period, and does not have an agent present in the State during such period, such property owner may, with documentation sufficient to indicate a probable lack of notice, be granted leave by the City Manager to file an application within one year after the individual's return to Florida. 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection II .A. 3., above, the City Commission may, in extraordinary circumstances, allow a property owner to submit an application after the one (1) year deadline where such extension is necessary to avoid undue hardship to the property owner. 6. The City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney and City Staff, shall review a Vested Rights Special Use Permit application for sufficiency, and shall request within ten (10) working days from the filing date any additional information necessary to rule on the application. 7. Upon receipt of a complete application, the city Manager shall schedule a public hearing before the Planning and Zoning Board, which hearing shall be held not later than thirty (30) days after receipt of a complete application, although said hearing may be continued at the request of the applicant or for good cause written notice of the date, time, place and purpose of the hearing shall be mailed by the City Clerk to all owners of property located within 150 feet of the boundaries of the property for which vested rights are sought, according to the latest certified tax roll. (For purposes of this ordinance, such an owner is deemed a "Party of Record"). Said notice shall be mailed not later than fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing. 8. Within fifteen (15) days after the date the hearing is closed, the Planning and Zoning Board shall render an order to either issue or deny a Vested Rights Special Use Permit on the application, based on the standards and subject to the limitations established in this Ordinance. The order shall be mailed to the applicant and shall include Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and shall state specifically (a) what rights, if any, are vested; (b) what laws or regulations those rights are vested against; and (c) what limitations or requirements apply for the applicant to preserve those vested rights. B. Appeals. 1. An applicant or a Party of Record as defined herein may appeal a decision by the Planning and Zoning Board to the City commission. Such an appeal must be filed with the City Clerk within ten (10) days after the date the written order is mailed to the applicant. 2. Upon receipt of an appeal, the City Manager shall schedule the matter for consideration by the City Commission within sixty (60) days after the appeal is filed. The City Clerk shall notify the applicant and any Party of Record of the date of the Commission's hearing by certified mail at least ten (10) days in advance of the hearing. 3. The City Commission shall conduct a public hearing on the appeal. Within fifteen (15) days after the conclusion of the hearing, the City shall mail its decision to the applicant in the form of an order incorporating the same elements as the City Manager's order described in Subsection II.A.8 above. 4. Any appeal of a city commission decision on a Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall be by Petition for certiorari review to the circuit court based solely on the record of the hearing before the City Commission. The applicant is responsible for providing a verbatim transcript of the record of that hearing. Such an appeal must be filed within thirty (30) days after the date the City renders its order on the application by mailing said order to the applicant. SECTION III. STANDARDS FOR DETERMINING VESTED RIGHTS. A. General. An application for a vested rights determination shall be approved if the applicant has demonstrated all of the following: 1. The applicant: a) Owned the property on or before April 27, 1992, the Plan Adoption Date; or b) Entered into a contract or option to purchase the property on or before the Plan Adoption Date; and c) Qualifies for either Presumptive Vested Rights or Common Law Vested Rights as defined herein. B. Presumptive Vested Rights. 1. Developments of Regional Impact. a) Developments which are authorized under Chapter 380.06, Florida Statutes, pursuant to a valid, unexpired Binding Letter of Vested Rights issued by the state land planning agency, including modifications to such Binding Letter of Vested Rights (a "Binding Letter"), shall be entitled to a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit. The application for a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit based on a Binding Letter shall include the Binding Letter and a letter from the Department of Community Affairs verifying the authentici ty of the Binding Letter and the related plan of development, all of which shall be made exhibits to the Permit. Such Permit shall recognize the vesting of the development as set forth in the Binding Letter, and such vesting shall continue until development approved in the Binding Letter is complete or until the expiration or invalidation of the Binding Letter, whichever occurs first. b) Development which has been specifically approved in a Chapter 380.06 DRI Development Order rendered prior to the Adoption Date, and which remains valid, shall be entitled to a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit. The DRI Development Order shall be made an exhibit to the Permit, and the Permit shall be subject to the terms of, and shall reference the limitations imposed by, the DRI Development Order. c) Development which has been specifically approved in a court order shall be entitled to a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit. The court order shall be made an exhibit to the Permit, and the Permit shall be subject to the terms of, and shall reference the limitations imposed by, the court order. 2. Other Developments. a) Possession by a property owner of a valid unexpired final plat or final engineering plans approved by the ci ty shall presumptively vest the development approved if: (a) such plat or plans were approved prior to the Plan Adoption Date; and (b) physical development pursuant to the plat or plans has commenced and is continuing in good faith. Verification of the above requirements shall be made by the city Manager and a written statement of verification shall be included in his order if it approves a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit in reliance thereon. C. Common Law Vested Rights. 1. Applicants who do not qualify for a Presumptive Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall be entitled to a Common Law Vested Rights Special Use Permit if they can prove the following: a) Prior to the Plan Adoption Date, there was a valid, unexpired act or omission of a government agency upon which the applicant relied; and b) The applicant's reliance was reasonable and in good faith; and c) The applicant, in reliance upon the valid, unexpired act of government, has made a substantial change in position or has incurred extensive obligations or expenses; and d) It would be inequitable, unjust or fundamentally unfair to destroy the rights acquired by the applicant by means of the government's act or omission. 2. The purchase of property in reliance on then- existing zoning, without more, shall not vest the purchaser's right to develop in accordance with said zoning. 3. The following are not considered development expendi tures or obligations in and of themselves, without more, unless the applicant was unable to obtain further approvals because of extraordinary delays beyond the applicant's control: a) Expenditures for legal and other professional services that are not related to the design or construction of improvements; b) Taxes paid; c) Expenditures for initial acquisition of the land. SECTION IV. RIGHTS. LIMITATIONS ON DETERMINATION OF VESTED A. Except where a longer term is stated in the Vested Rights Special Use Permit, upon the expiration of five (5) years after the issuance of a Vested Rights Special Use Permit, the issuance of development permits for the property subject to the Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall be subject to the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan and implementing land development regulations. A term longer than five (5) years may be approved based on a reasonable schedule for completing the development being vested. The City may impose reasonable conditions on Vested Rights Special Use Permits, or extensions of same, to ensure that the vested development is continuing in good faith. B. The applicant or his successor may request an extension of the five (5) year period, which must be filed not less than ninety (90) days prior to the expiration of said time period. Such a request shall be scheduled for hearing by the City Commission within thirty (30) days after it is filed. The city may grant extensions for such additional periods as it deems appropriate to avoid undue hardship to the applicant, provided the applicant has commenced physical development of the property and is continuing in good faith with development of the vested plan, or has been precluded from doing so by extraordinary circumstances beyond his control. For purposes of this ordinance, the phrase "continuing in good faith" shall mean: 1) Receipt by the applicant or his successor of permits or approvals from the City or other governmental entity or agency consistent with the timely and orderly progression toward completion of the vested development; or 2) Other evidence of continued reliance and expenditures by the applicant in pursuit of the completion of the vested development. C. All development subject to a Vested Rights Special Use Permit must be consistent with the terms of the development approval(s) upon which the Special Use Permit was based. Any substantial deviation from a prior approval, except a deviation required by governmental action, shall cause the development involved to be subject to the Comprehensive Plan and implementing land development regulations. The City Manager shall determine whether a proposed change is a substantial deviation, which is defined for purposes of this Ordinance as follows: 1) Any change to add a new land use or to change the vested mix of land uses that alters the basic character of the vested development; or 2) Any change in density or intensity of use that would increase the development's impacts on those public facilities subject to Concurrency by more than five (5) percent; or 3) Any change in access to the project that would increase the development's transportation impacts by more than five (5%) percent on any road subject to Concurrency unless the access change would result in an overall improvement to the transportation network. A permittee may appeal a substantial deviation determination to the City Commission provided such appeal is filed within ten (10) days after the date the written determination is mailed to the permittee. D. A change that is not a substantial deviation shall not divest vested rights. E. A Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall apply to the land and is therefore transferrable from owner to owner of the land subject to the permit. F. Development that is granted a Vested Rights Special Use Permit shall remain subject to the requirements of the Comprehensive Plan and implementing land development regulations except to the extent that the application of such requirements would result in the denial of: 1) The vested land uses; 2) The vested density or intensity of development; 3) The vested phasing of development; or 4) Other specifically vested development entitlements approved in the development order or orders on which the Vested Rights Special Use Permit was based. G. Notwithstanding anything in this Ordinance to the contrary, a Vested Rights Special Use Permit may be revoked by the City commission upon a showing by the City that failure to revoke the permit will result in a peril to the health, safety or general welfare of the residents of the City unknown at the time of the Permit's approval. The time periods provided for in this ordinance may be waived or amended by the city commission upon a showing of good cause. SECTION V. CONFLICTS. All Ordinances or parts of Ordinances in conflict herewith are hereby superceded to the extent of said conflict. SECTION VI. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Ordinance shall take effect upon its adoption. Passed and adopted this 23rd day of November 1992. CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA PHILIP A. KULBES, MAYOR ATTEST: Mary T. Norton CITY CLERK First Reading: Oct. 26, 1992 Posted: October 28, 1992 Public Hearing and Second Reading: November 23, 1992 The Odando Sentinel Published Daily $53.06 ~tate of jflortba } 5.5. COUNTY OF ORANGE Before the undersigned authority personally appeared Beverly C. Simmons , who on oath says that he/she is the Legal Advertising Representative of The Orlando Sentinel, a dally newspaper published at CASSt:LrlERRY in SEMINOLE County, Florida; that the attached copy of advertisement, being a NOT ICE OF PURL Ie H in the matter of OR n r NINe E ~ I:i =i 4 in the ' was published in said newspaper in the issue; of Court, Affiant further says that the said Orlando Sentinel is a newspaper published at CASSELBeRRY , in said SEMINOLE County, Florida, and that the said newspaper has heretofore been continuously published in said SEM Il\IOLr:: County, Florida, ea,ch '('leek 9ay .an~, ~~s b~en entered as second-class mail matter at the post office In CA.:.~I::LbI::RR'f in said SEMINOLE County, Florida, for a period of one year next preceding the first publication of the attached copy of advertisement; and affiant further says that he/she has neither paid nor promised any person, firm or corporation any discount, rebate, commission or refund for the purpose of securing this advertisement for publication in the said newspaper. The foregoing instrument was acknowledged before me this NOVEMBER , 19~, by Beverl C. Si who is personally known to nfe:.:a who did take..a i (SEAL) , ojith ,J. 6.._ _,~ JUANITA ROSADo 1Uanita Rosado :otary PU,blic, State of Florida Y oornnu!l8iqn expil'ea 1 Conunissiol1 #CC022902 line 18, 1994 --NOTICE OF PUBUC HeARING' CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, F\.OR~ NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN by the City Commission of the CIty of Winter Springs, Florida., thet .sa;d CommISSlO~ will hold Il PublIc HlliIII/1ll on an ordI- nance entitled as folloWS: ,r.' ORDINANCE NO. 534 AN ORDINANCE SETTING FORTH THE PROCEDURES FoR, THE DE- TERMINATION OF VESTED RIGHTS' PROVIDING FOR AN AP-," PLICATioN FORM; PROVIDING FOR TIME UMITATIONS TO FILE VESTED RIGHTS APPUCATIONS; PROVIDING FOR A PUBUC HEAR- ING AND ADMINISTRATIVE OR- DERS APPROVING OR DENYING A VESTED RIGHTS SPECIAL USE PERMIT; PROVIDING FOR A!j;-.... PEALS OF ADMINISTRATIVE On- DERS TO THE CITY COMMI$SION;,. PROVIDING FOR HEARINGS ON APPEALS; PROVIDING STAN. DARDS FOR DETERMINATING VESTED RIGHTS; PROVIDING UM- ITATIONS ON VESTED RIGHTS'.' SPECIAL USE PERMITS; PROVI!). ING SEVERABILITY; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. This Public Hearing will be held at 7:30 p.m. on November.23, 1992 or as SO?" thereafter as poSSIble In the Commts- sion Chamber. City Hall, 1126 East S. R. 434 Winter Springs, Fl, 32708. , coPies of the proposed ordinance. are available in the office of the City Clerk for inspection. Interested partieS may )pear at this hearing and be. hel\rd :ith respect to this proposed ordInance. Persons are advised that n they decide to llppaal any decisio'1 mada at thIS meeting, they will need a record of the proceedings and for $UCh pu~.:!'ey may need to ensure thet a v.. ,,",w" r~ cord of the proceedings is made whl~r record includes the testimony and evl' dence upon which the appeal IS to. be based per Section 286.0105 FlOrida Statutes. Dated this 1 st day of November, 1992. , CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS, , FLORIDA \ Is! Mary T. Norton Mary T. Norton CiClert< SLSAS6302' _~1,1~2