The establishment of a limitation on the number of dwelling units for Pensacola Beach of 4,128 has a complicated and tortuous history. Ordinance No. 93-20, the Escambia County Comprehensive Plan, provided, in pertinent part, the establishment of a cap of 4,128 dwelling units under the MU-5 category with the maximum allocation of dwelling units to be defined by the lease agreements covering individual parcels. By February 4, 2004, the maximum dwelling units of 4,128 for MU-5 had been reached and all such units had been allocated by SRIA throughout Pensacola Beach.
However, before this date, the SRIA in 1982, in a subdivision popularly known as “The Sugar Bowl,” (Santa Rosa Villas 2nd Addition) had subdivided it into 28 lots. In 1990, the SRIA consolidated five lots into one for a total of 27 lots at the request of Mr. and Mrs. Mullet. In 2002, the SRIA reversed that action and separated the five lots, but did not exceed the original number of 28 lots which had been established in 1982, because at that time in 2002, not all of the 4,128 dwelling units had been allocated. The SRIA had the authority then to re-allocate dwelling units to each of those five lots.
As to Santa Rosa Villas’ 1st Addition, Robert Kohlman, on behalf of he and his wife, asked SRIA in 1994 to consolidate their four lots (14, 15, 21 and 22) and their leases into one leasehold. As a result, when SRIA was conducting the final count in 2003 and 2004 of the allocation dwelling units to stay within the cap of 4,128 dwelling units, the Kohlmans were allocated one dwelling unit for the four lots covered by one lease. Therefore, the number of dwelling units for Santa Rosa Villas 1st Addition went from 34 to 31 to coincide with the number of leases for that subdivision. To allow the building of a dwelling unit each on lots 21 and 22, as the Nowells are now requesting, would exceed the dwelling unit cap of 4,128 because all dwelling units were allocated in 2004. The dwelling unit cap is based on the number of leases for those parcels comprising MU-5 and not on the number of parcels themselves.
When the Nowells went before the SRIA at its regular Board meeting on July 10, 2019, through their agent, Buck Lee, to request that lots 21 and 22 be split from lots 14 and 15, the SRIA Board specifically told the Nowells, that even if lots 21 and 22 were split, and separated into three (3) separate leases (one for lots 14 and 15 and one each for lots 21 and 22), the Nowells would still be limited to only one dwelling unit which currently exists extending over lots 14 and 15. Mr. Lee acknowledged that he understood that the Nowells would not be able to build a dwelling unit on either or both of Lots 21 and 22.
At the present time, the Nowells are pursuing a petition for certiorari through the Circuit Court of Escambia County arguing that there is no competent and substantial evidence to support the SRIA’s determination as described above and that the denial of the opportunity to build a dwelling unit on Lots 21 and 22 departs from the essential requirements of the law. In addition, the Nowells have given notice of their intent to bring a claim under the Bert J. Harris, Jr. Private Property Rights Act alleging that the inability to build a dwelling unit on lots 21 and 22 has restricted and limited their rights to develop their property in an inordinate manner, for which, in fairness and equity, the general public should compensate them. The Nowells have attached to their written notice of claim a report of a real property appraiser who has made the determination that the inability to build a dwelling unit on lots 21 and 22 have made the lots essentially worthless and they are entitled to a substantial sum of money.
The Bert J. Harris, Jr. Act provides that the County must make a written settlement offer to the Nowells within 150 days of being served with the notice from one of the eleven (11) options listed in § 70.001(4)(c), Fla. Stat. Option 11 that the County and SRIA preserve the status quo and make no change to the action taken by SRIA is consistent with preserving the dwelling unit cap of 4,128 for MU-5. |