Agenda - Planning Commission - 03/02/1999

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Page 6 -- January 25, 1999 Z.B. University Baptist applied for a special exception allowing it to build a church on the property. Its plan included a sanctuary, fellowship hall, Sunday school, and administrative space. The application als6' §ought "unusual use" approval for a day care center and a sewer lift station .... :_ . The zoning and planning departments initially w~i-¢ unsatisfied with the plan, but after substantial revisions the zoning department ~letermined the proposal was compatible with the existing neighborhogd and recommended approval -- as did the planning department. The state department of environ- mental resources recommended approval as long as th_e natural forest commu- nity was preserved, and the public works department, the water and sewer authority, the fire department, the transit department, the school board, and other county agencies also recommended approving the application. The county zoning appeals board denied University Baptist's application, and the religious organization appealed to the county board of commissioners. During the board's hearing, University Baptist pointed out all the county agencies that examined the application, including the zoning and planning de- partments, had recommended approval. It presented evidence the project com- plied with or exceeded the county code, was consistent with the master plan, and was compatible with the surrounding area. Other experts testified in sup- port of the project, including the architect, an independent real estate appraiser, and a traffic engineer. The attorney for neighbors who opposed the project also testified. He said the neighbors weren't opposed to a church, they just wanted "a simple church." The neighbors' experts, including a land planner and a traffic engineer, testi- fied against the project. The commission approved the special exception, and the neighbors sued the commission and University Baptist. They argued the evidence didn't sup- port the commission's decision. The court reversed the commission's decision, relying primarily on the tes- timony of the neighbors' attorney and their expert witnesses. University Baptist appealed. DECISION: Reversed. University Baptist could build the church. The trial court improperly reweighed the evidence and completely ignored evidence supporting the commission's decision. The trial court focused on the neighbors' experts' and attorney's testimony while evidence presented at the commission's hearing showed both the county zoning and planning depart- ments recommended approving University Baptist's application: as did every other county agency that considered the plan. The commission also considered the testimony of the project's architect, an independent real estate appraiser, and a traffic engineer -- all of whom said the proposed church was compatible with the area. see also: Metropolitan Dade County ~: Blumenthal, 675 S. 2d 598 (1995).