$4,500 Poll Tax Approved by Moron County Commissioners

One wonders what goes through the feeble minds of elected officials, not to mention their sycophantic in-house counsel. Two weeks ago, I noted that the Florida Keys' elected County Commissioners were entertaining their planners' proposed fee of $4,500 for a "Beneficial Use Determination," a/k/a "BUD." Well, they weren't embarrassed in the least. They adopted said $4,500 "poll tax" on April 15, 2009.

In other jurisdictions, similar statutes and ordinances are called "taking avoidance" procedures. Many communities are justifiably concerned that their land development regulations "go too far," placing the local taxpayers in a position where they will have to pony up millions of dollars when regulations go "too far." The more enlightened communities utilize their taking avoidance ordinances to back off on overly confiscatory regulations, and save the taxpayers a ton of money. The Florida Keys $4,500 fee will just cause more litigation. It is now being used to pay planners' salaries, instead of what it was originally intended to do -- save money.

On December 1, 2007, I reported on a good example of municipal incompetence on the part of the City of Half Moon Bay, California, when it got slammed with a $36.8 million inverse condemnation judgment as "payback" for its years of staunch opposition to a residential subdivision within the city limits. Nearly a year later, I reported, also on this blog, that Half Moon Bay and the landowner had reached a settlement. The City would allow the development of the property or, if the California Coastal Commission prevented same, it would pay the landowner $18,000,000.

Monroe County is headed for serious financial trouble, whether the County Commissioners know it or not, and this latest dumb move just digs the hole deeper. Property tax rates in this community are the lowest in the State of Florida, but that will not last long with these clowns in office.

Half Moon Bay Revisited

In a post last December 1, I reported the $37 million judgment awarded to the owner of 24 acres of oceanfront land in Half Moon Bay, California -- 18 miles south-southwest of San Francisco Int'l Airport. In Yamagiwa v. City of Half Moon Bay, a U.S. District Judge held that the city, in imposing a series of land development regulations, and excavating nearby areas for stormwater drainage -- that converted the property into undevelopable wetlands -- had "taken" the property and was liable for $37 million in Just Compensation.

In his March 2008 newsletter, Just Compensation, Gideon Kanner noted that the parties had settled. In that agreement, the city will either allow the landowner to develop the property for residential use. If it fails in that endeavor (presumably a euphemism for the California Coastal Commission's lead feet) the city will have to pay the owner $18,000,000.

Monroe County and the State of Florida will please take note of this interesting "development," and think hard about whether they want to keep on heading for the same treatment.

Landowner wins $37 million taking award

The owner of 24 oceanfront acres in the City of Half Moon Bay won a $36.8 million Inverse Condemnation award on Thursday (Nov. 28, 2007) following a nine-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The City had -- by "borrowing dirt" from the property in 1983-84 -- created man-made wetlands on the property. It then refused to repair the damage it had done, then refused to allow the owners to repair the damage.

In 1990 the City approved a tentative subdivision map for the property. In March 1991, the City imposed a 4-month development moratorium while it improved its sewer system. To pay for the upgrade, Plaintiffs were hit with a $962,988 sewer connection lien in 1994. After 11 extensions of the "4-month" sewer-based moratorium, it ended on March 31, 1998 (7 years later). The actual STP expansion was not completed until November 1999.

In May 2000, the City rejected Plaintiffs' application for final approval to build the subdivision, because "new wetlands" (that the City had created) had "suddenly appeared" since 1990. (Readers will kindly note the passage of 16 years since the City created the "new" wetlands.)

On Nov. 28, 2007, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Vaughn Walker entered a 167-page Order styled "Findings of Fact & Conclusions of Law," holding the City of Half Moon Bay liable for the "taking" of the subject property, determining the compensation to be paid to Plaintiffs as $36,795,000, plus interest, attorney fees, and expenses. The Court also enjoined the City from collecting any future payments on the sewer connection lien.