For those who are interested in recent environmental and land use case law in Florida, the Environmental and Land Use Section of the Florida Bar publishes its newsletter, the Section Reporter, online. As of the June 2011 edition, I am now coauthoring the Florida Case Law Update column with my colleague at Hopping Green & Sams, Gary K. Hunter, Jr.
Each quarter, we review and summarize the most important cases in the Florida appellate courts dealing with environmental, land use, growth management, property rights, and natural resources law. This quarter, we review the following cases:
- Miami-Dade County v. DCA, 54 So. 3d 633 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 28, 2011), explaining the judicial review powers of the Administration Commission, and judicial review of the Commission itself.
- Hasselback v. DEP, 54 So. 3d 637 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), regarding proper legal notice of permits to be issued by the Department of Environmental Protection.
- City Nat’l Bank of Fla. v. Tampa, 2011 WL 1295874 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011), allowing state court review of federal equal protection claims under 42 U.S.C. section 1983.
- Graves v. Pompano Beach, 2011 WL 1376617 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011), establishing that plat approval does not constitute a development order under section 163.3215, Florida Statutes.
- Allen v. Key West, 2011 WL 1485992 (Fla. 3d DCA 2011), declaring a nonconforming land use where the previous owner relied on the city's actions and maintained all required licenses.
- Atwater v. Weston, 2011 WL 1634234 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), which I previously reviewed, dismissing a challenge to the 2009 growth management bill, SB 360.
