Case Name: LAMBROS, INC., etc., Appellant, v. TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA, etc. et al., Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1981-01-21
Citations: 392 So. 2d 993
Docket Number: No. 79-905
Parties: LAMBROS, INC., etc., Appellant, v. TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA, etc. et al., Appellee.
Judges: DOWNEY, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 392
Pages: 993–997

Head Matter:
LAMBROS, INC., etc., Appellant, v. TOWN OF OCEAN RIDGE, FLORIDA, etc. et al., Appellee.
No. 79-905.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Jan. 21, 1981.
Robert C. Salisbury, of Caldwell, Pacetti, Barrow & Salisbury, Palm Beach, for appellant.
Larry Klein, West Palm Beach, for appel-lee.

Opinion:
DWIGHT L. GEIGER, Associate Judge.
Appellant, Lambros, Inc., doing business as Busch's Restaurant, appeals an adverse final judgment entered by the circuit court of Palm Beach County which determined that the appellee, Town of Ocean Ridge, Florida, was not equitably estopped from applying a zoning ordinance to the Restaurant.
On December 30,1969, the Town adopted its Ordinance 229 which eliminated all commercial use of property in the municipality, but provided for the amortization of such commercial use for either forty years from construction of the improvement or twenty years from the date the use became nonconforming by the passage of the ordinance. Later, on February 2, 1976, the Town adopted another ordinance, its number 335, which repealed the provisions of Ordinance 229. The essence of Ordinance 335 was that it no longer required the elimination of the nonconforming (nonresidential) property. The purpose of this ordinance was to permit the indefinite continuation of the commercial use of those nonconforming properties.
Appellant wished to purchase Busch's Restaurant which is situated in the Town. Appellant's real estate broker called the Town Hall inquiring about the Restaurant's zoning. He was informed of the adoption of Ordinance 335, and on March 11, 1976, appellant contracted to purchase the Restaurant for $480,000. Appellant posted a $10,000 deposit, and an additional $40,000 deposit was due on April 15, 1976. The closing was set for September 1, 1976.
Prior to the payment of the $40,000, the Town had its first reading of Ordinance 337. The intent of 337 was to repeal Ordinance 335. It provided for the elimination of all commercial use of property within either forty years from the date of its construction or twenty years from the adoption of the ordinance's comprehensive land use plan, whichever is longer. Appellant was aware of this ordinance, and an officer of appellant appeared at the Town Council meeting and objected to the adoption of the ordinance. However, Ordinance 337 was adopted over appellant's protest. With knowledge of this ordinance, eliminating nonconforming property, appellant paid the $40,000 deposit and on September 1, 1976, closed the transaction. Appellant subsequently brought the instant litigation in attempt to estop enforcement of Ordinance 337.
The appellant here raises two issues: first whether a municipal corporation has the burden of proving that a zoning change which prohibits continuation of a legitimate business is constitutional, and second whether in this case the trial court erred in refusing to apply equitable estoppel to prohibit enforcement of such a zoning change.
The question presented concerning burden of proof stated more fully is: once an ordinance properly under attack is shown to prohibit continuation of a legitimate use of land, whether at that time the burden of proof shifts to the municipality to show that the ordinance is constitutional, or whether the burden remains with the attacker to show further that the ordinance is unconstitutional.
We are of the opinion that in this situation, Florida law places no obligation on the municipality to go forward with proof of constitutionality of the ordinance until such time as the attacker has made out a prima facie case that the ordinance is arbitrary, unreasonable and confiscatory and, thus, unconstitutional. In Rural New Town Inc. v. Palm Beach County, 315 So.2d 478 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), this court held:
The burden is not upon the governing authority to approve or establish by competent substantial evidence that the zoning regulation or classification is reasonable or is in furtherance of its police power; the very adoption of that regulation creates a presumption of reasonableness and debatability. On the contrary, the burden rests upon the applicant to prove by competent substantial evidence that the existing ordinance or continued classification would be arbitrary, unreasonable or confiscatory and hence not "fairly debatable". City of St. Petersburg v. Aikin, supra [217 So.2d 315 (Fla.)]. 315 So.2d at 480.
See also S. A. Healy Co. v. Town of Highland Beach, 355 So.2d 813 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978); Dade County v. Beauchamp, 348 So.2d 53 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1977); 23 Fla.Jur., Municipal Corporations, § 103. We specifically refuse to apply the Pennsylvania rule that in this type of case the attacker need only show that the ordinance prohibits continuation of a legitimate use of land before the burden of proof shifts to the municipality to show its constitutionality. See Beaver Gasoline Co. v. Zoning Hearing Board, 445 Pa. 571, 285 A.2d 501 (1971) and Amerada Hess Corp. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, 11 Pa.Cmwlth. 115, 313 A.2d 787 (1973).
The appellate courts in Florida have acknowledged the authority of a municipality to exclude certain uses of property entirely from a city. In Blank v. Town of Lake Clarke Shores, 161 So.2d 683 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964), the court approved a zoning ordinance which excluded all business from the municipality.. The final decree entered by The Honorable James R. Knott, Circuit Judge, now retired, was approved and quoted from at length by the appellate court. In the decree appealed from Judge Knott noted that "one who assails the validity of a zoning ordinance must carry the burden of both alleging and proving the invalidity of the ordinance; and this burden is an extraordinary one." This type of zoning was also approved in the oft cited case of Gautier v. Town of Jupiter Island, 142 So.2d 321 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962). In both cases the court found the question fairly debatable and thus a constitutional exercise of legislative authority. No suggestion was made or intimated that the burden of proof was different from any other attack upon a municipal zoning ordinance. These cases indicate the rule as to the burden of proof is the same for all such attempts to strike down zoning ordinances.
The trial court here was correct in not requiring the municipality to prove the constitutionality of the zoning ordinance until the plaintiff had first made a prima facie showing of unconstitutionality. Since at the trial neither the plaintiff nor the Town offered any proof of constitutionality, the trial court did not err in refusing to set aside the ordinance on constitutional grounds.
Concerning the question of equitable es-toppel, we have carefully examined the record and find no error in the trial court's refusal to hold the Town equitably estopped from enforcing the zoning change ordinance.
For the above reasons the judgment herein is AFFIRMED.
DOWNEY, J., concurs.
HURLEY, J., dissents with opinion.