HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999 05 24 Regular Item E
COMMISSION AGENDA
ITEM E
May 24.1999
Meeting
Consent
Informational
Public Hearin
Re ular X
MG~T.
Aut orization
REQUEST: The Commission is requested to consider execution by the City of a
Quick Claim Deed (QCD) for the southern 20' of the western portion of Lot 56,
Plat of Springs Hammock, Plat Book 2, pages 2-5, Public Records of Seminole
County, located on Shepherd Road.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this request is to allow for a long sought sidewalk
segment that would be completed on the property to serve area residents and
school children
CONSIDERATION: The owners of the property are Hattaway & Bruce. Mr.
Hattaway has written Commissioner Gennell requesting a QCD from Seminole
County.
The Commissioner has suggested to Mr. Hattaway a QCD from the City in
exchange for an easement over the same land area, with the purpose of the
easement to be for a sidewalk; drainage and other public utilities.
A QCD from the City that does not harm the City if we receive the
easement simultaneously. Therefore, the City Attorney recommends that the City
hold the QCD in Trust until the p'roperly executed easement is received in from
the owners for recording. Only then should both the QCD and the easement be
recorded in the Public Records of Seminole County.
Title to this 20' parcel is ambiguous. The County received a deed to it in
1947. but the deed was not recorded until 1948. Unfortunately, this property was
sold and the new buyer's deed was recorded before the deed to the County was
recorded. This creates an ambiguity in regard to title to the property.
The easement would solve this issue of the legal right of the City to
construct a sidewalk and install public utilities in the easement even though
Hattaway & Bruce's claim to the 20' might well be defeated.
Regular Agenda Item E
Page 2 of Two
May 24, 1999
This has been in dispute as the property owners have ejected City
construction crews in the area in the past. I n January 1997, the City Commission
approved an arrangement with the County whereby the City would pay the $900
materials cost and the County would do the installation. However, the work was
never performed and the County initiated the process of transferring the Shepard
Road right of way to the City with the sidewalk issue unresolved.
FUNDING: Recording Fees; nominal
RECOMMENDATION: Authorize execution of the QCD for the southern 20' of
the western part of Lot 56 contingent upon simultaneous delivery by the Property
Owner of a general utility easement satisfactory to staff allowing construction of a
sidewalk and installation of public utilities on the described 20' strip of property.
ATTACHMENTS: Form Easement from Hattaway & Bruce to City of Winter
Springs. Letter from Hattaway & Bruce dated 4-23-99. Memorandum from
Attorney Bernard Martin describing title to the above described 20' of property.
COMMISISON ACTION:
SIDEWALK AND UTILITY EASEMENT
Parcel I.D.# 2120305AP0000056A
TillS INDENTURE MADE THE _ day of ,1999 between Hattaway
& Bruce, a Florida general partnership, GRANTOR, and the City of Winter Springs,
GRANTEE.
WITNESSETH, that the GRANTOR in consideration of the sum of $10.00 and other
good and valuable consideration paid by the GRANTEE, and the receipt whereof is hereby
acknowledged, does hereby give and grant to the GRANTEE and its successors and assigns, an
easement for water and sewer utility and sidewalk purposes, with authority, to enter upon,
construct, maintain and operate such utilities across, under and upon the following described
lands situated in Seminole County, Florida, subject to any previous granted easements, to-wit:
The property as described as follows: The south twenty (20) feet of the western
portion of Lot 56, Plat of Spring Hammock, Plat Book 2, Pages 2-5, Public Records
of Seminole County Florida.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD said easement unto the said GRANTEE and its assigns
forever.
THE GRANTEE herein and its successors and assigns shall have the right to construct a
pedestrian sidewalk and to clear and keep clear trees, undergrowth and other obstructions that
interfere with operation or maintenance of the sidewalk utilities constructed by the said
GRANTEE and its successors and plant material or any other normal improvements wich do not
interfere with the operation of the utilities, if said plant materials or paving improvements are
damaged by maintenance or operation of the utilities, constructed thereon. The GRANTOR and
its successors and assigns agree not to build, construct or create, nor permit others to build,
construct or create any buildings or other structure within the easement that interfere with the
operation or maintenance of the utilities installed thereon. GRANTOR or its assigns shall have
the right to install grass, trees, shrubs, or other materials or utilize the easement as GRANTOR
deems desirable provided that said plant materials or improvements do not interfere with
operation or maintenance of the utilities installed thereon.
IN WITNESS THEREOF, the said GRANTOR has caused these present to be signed
F:\ Winter Springs\utilityeasement.doc
in its name by its Representative on the date and year first above written.
Signed, Sealed and delivered
in the presence of:
WITNESSES SIGNATURES
HATTAWAY & BRUCE,
a Florida general partnership
By:
Signature
General Partner (Signature)
Typed or Printed Name
Typed or Printed Name
Signature
Typed or Printed Name
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF SEMINOLE
THE FOREGOING instrument was acknowledged before me this day of
, 1999, by , who is personally known to me or who has
produced , as identification and who [did] [did not] take an oath.
{NOTORIAL SEAL}
Notary Public
Printed Name of Notary
My Commission expires:
THIS INSTRUMENT PREPARED BY:
Robert D. Guthrie, Esq.
Attorney for City of Winter Springs
105 E. Robinson Street, Suite 20]
Orlando, FL 32801
(Return to Robert D. Guthrie)
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F:\ Winter Springs\utilityeasement.doc
04-29-99 11:52' AM FROM CITY OF WINTER SPRGS
'P02/03
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'<!?:'''''' .' ;"'.~att~:~:~~\~ealtY
840 ~tII~'Plae8'~ ~ ~rida 32'50
Telephone (407) 831.7500
Fax (407) 331-7500
Apr1'l 2,3, 1999
CO~~Bsione~ Cindy Gennel1
City'of Winter Springs '
1126 East Hiihway 434
Winter Springs, FL 32708
Dear Cindy:
Per our recent telephone conversation, I am enClosing a draft
of a quit claim deed for the property on S~epherd Road.
Please note I have eliminated our Old address and inserted in
pen our new address.
If you have any questions, please call me.
Sincerely,
HATTAWAY & BRUCE
1IJt;k,
Mike Hattaway
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Enclosure
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Estabruhed 1969
04-29-99 11:52 AM FROM CITY OF WINTER SPRGS
P03/03
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This Instrument prepared by {and return to}:
Ross S, Payne
Attorney at Law
2832 Waym.yer Drive
Orlando, Florida 32812
[Q)~~lPi
Parcel identification no.:
Grantee SSN:
.
QUITCLAIM DEED
SE.MlNOLB COUNlY,. political subdivision of the State o!Florida. whose present mailing address is 1101
East First Stroot, Sanford, Florid& 32771 (!he "Giantot'). lor and In consideration of the 111m of Ten DoUara ($ 10.00)
lU1d other iOad and valuable c:onsidemion, the receipt of which is hereby aclmowledged by the Grantor, hereby
quitclaims to ,HATTA WAY &: BaUCB. 4 Florida ieneral partnmhip (the "Grancec'O. whose mailm, addreis is -1@:'"8'1O We:I:kt"WtUf
~t Ul~J,,,, 434, Longwood,oF1.orid& 32750, and me Grantee's heirs and auigns, all of the right, title, and mtmJt of ph..ce
vruntor fn and to the following described real property (the "Property") located in Seminole County, Florida:
The South 20 foot of SPlUNG HAMMOCI<, according to the plat thercsot rtc:orded in Plat Book 2.
pag" 2, Publi~ Records otSominole County, Florida..
IN WIThlESS WHEREOP, the Grantor has executed thla insttument this _ day of
,1997.
SEMINOLE COUN1Y, a politic:.s.l subdivision of tho
State of Florida '
By:
C1lirraan, Board of County Commissioners
M authorized by the Boud of County Commluionon
, at ~eir ;cgular meeting held On . 199.:-.
A TrEST
. .
MARYANNE MORSE,
Clork to the Board of County Commissionct"$ of
Seminole County, Florida
.-
BERNARD J, MARTIN
ATTORNEY AT LAW
506 WYMORE ROAD
WINTER PARK, FL 32789
TELEPHONE (407) 645-5566
FAX (407) 629-5389
December 3, 1998
Mr. Ron McLemore
City Manager - City of Winter Springs
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
VIA FAX TO: .127-475.1
Re: Lot 56A - Spring Hammock
Hattaway and Bruce
South Road/Sheoard Road
Dear Ron:
This letter will follow up our recent meeting regarding Shepard Road and the right-of-way limi-
tations as affected by the claim of Hattaway and Bruce over Lot 56A.
Summary
The original owner of Lot 56, Shepard, conveyed to Cox Lot 56 in a deed dated December 19,
1947. The second step was that Shepard quit claimed to Seminole County the south 20 feet
over Lot 56, dated September 10, 1948. The third step was that Cox recorded his deed Septem-'
ber 24, 1948, and the fourth step was that: Seminole County recorded its deed October 7, 1948.
Therefore, a common Grantor, Shepard, gave a deed to the entire lot to Cox and before Cox re-
corded his deed, almost a year later, Shepard gave a quit claim deed to Seminole County for the
south 20 feet over Lot 56. After the second deed Uunior deed) had been issued, Cox recorded
his deed (senior deed).
Florida Law, in accordance with Florida Statutes ~695.01, states that "no conveyance of
real property shall be good against a subsequent purchaser for valuable consideration and with-
out notice." Basically, this estops claims by Grantees who fail to record. The prevailing case law,
Van Eepoel Real Estate Company us. Sarasota Milk Company, et aI, 129 So_ 89,
895(Fla. 1930), states that "if a person does not record his deed in a timely fashion, other deeds
will be upheld." In essence, the Florida Supreme Court applied the priority principle stating
that when one purchases for value without notice of a prior unrecorded deed, the rights acquired
under the junior deed are superior to those held on the senior deed, even though the senior deed
was recorded prior to the junior deed. This is exactly what happened in this instance. The sen-
ior deed being the transmittal of the entire Lot 56 by Shepard to Cox, and then a subsequent
junior deed from Shepard to Seminole County for the south 20 feet of the entire Lot 56. The
western portion of Lot 56 was sold on August 16, 1996 to Hattaway and Bruce who subsequently
claimed ownership of the south 20 feet. In fact, they claim ownership over the entire south 20
feet of Lot 56. Their basis of reasoning is that when they took title to the western pOltion of Lot
56, the description read "Lot 56 less that which was originally conveyed" which would be the
remainder portion not conveyed by the original Grantor. They feel that since the southern 20
~
foot conveyance is invalid and they retained' a remainder right, they own the entire southerly 20
feet of overall Lot 56.
Ouestion No.1: Whether a determination of ownership can be made as to the
south 20 feet of Lot 56 - The ownership of the south 20 feet of Lot 56, would have to be
adjudicated by a declaratory action, filed in COUlt to allow the Court to determine ownership.
The eastern portion of Lot 56 has been improvcd upon, over the southern 30 feet with a road
right-of-way and a sidewalk and there is ccrtainly a strong claim of ownership over that portion
since it has been improved upon and maintained by the County. On the westerly portion, there
is a drainage ditch and pipe culvert and other unimproved areas with a lot of vegetation. This
indicates that there has been no maintenance ill the arca paralleling Shepard Road.
Ouestion No.2: Of what value or necessity is the right-of-wav? The original
right-of-way as platted is only 40 feet. The additional right-of-way of20 feet provides for a60-
foot right-of-way for Shepard Road. If a person compares a 60-foot right-of-way to a typical
subdivision roadway, they would see that the minimum of 50 feet is usually required for a sub-
division street with Miami curbs and sidewalks. If a rural section were used, 60 feet would be an
absolute minimum. Taper lanes for school entrances and other commercial sites require addi-
tional footage. Certainly 60 feet would be the absolute minimum that the city engineering de-
partment would probably recommend.
Question No.3: What hindrance is the limitation over the 71 feet of Hattawav-Bruce?
The county is envisioning vacating their interest in the south 20 feet back to Hattaway-Bruce
where Hattaway-Bruce would dedicate a lO-foot sidewalk easement connecting the sidewalk
within the northerly right-of-way of Shepard Road. However, by having only an easement for a
sidewalk over the property, the city or anyone using the sidewalk would be at the mercy of the
property owner as joint use of the area. The area could only be used for a sidewalk and the re-
mainder of the right-of-way could not be used for underground utilities, overhead power lines or
any other purpose without going to the owner for permission which would be probably be in the
form of compensation, a rclease of liability, construction plan approval and any other condition
the fee simple owner would require. It might also constrain future city plans for a less than
standard right-of-way. Certainly, having a 60-foot right-of-way for the entire Shepard Road,
except for the 71-foot portion, does throttle the utility in value of the entire Shepard Road right-
of-way. Future utility uses could include adding a lane to Shepard Road, de-acceleratiolJ lanes,
grey water utility line, underground utility line, landscaping, street scaping, widening other
sidewalks, bicycle trail or a multitude of other areas, between the Highlands area and 17-92, and
any other improvements normally associatcd with a commercial corridor can be expected. In
summary, I would suggest the City of Winter Springs approach Seminole County as a condition
for acceptance of the roadway right-of-way that Seminole County enforce their rights to owner-
ship of the south half of Lot 56. Alternately, if the City of Winter Springs feels it is in their best
interests to, acquire the maintenance and control of Shepard Road, then they could take on that
duty. This would be having Seminole County assign its rights to the City of Winter Springs.
I talked with Bob Hunkapillar with Attorney's Title Insurance Company. He is re-
searching his files to determine the status of any legal action regarding the south 20 feet over the
eastern portion of Lot 56.
I will keep you informed as things progress.
BJMjswg