Agenda - Planning Commission - 11/07/2013

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Wnat Koontz va St Johns River Water anagement District Means for Planners For Now By Tyson Smith, AICP On June 25, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Koontz v. St. Johns River Water Management District. Some will view Koontz as a significant case that corrects an imbalance of power between government officials and property owners negotiating discretionary exactions in zoning cases. Others will say that it does not —that the dis- tinctions the case purports to draw (between property -based and monetary exactions) are not commonly made in practice and that the protections the case suggests are needed are already in place. One thing is for sure, how- ever: the Koontz decision has gotten everyone talking and it may have raised more issues than it settled. In any case, the opinions of both the majority and the dissent —it was a 5-4 decision in favor of the property owners — suggest that a reexamination of current proto- col is in order for planners and local officials who find exactions and mitigation part of their daily routine. The holdings in the case, standing alone, at first appear to clarify a long-standing dis- agreement among lower courts about whether the Supreme Court decisions in Nollan v. California Coastal Commission, 483 U.S. 825 (1987) and Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994) apply to permit denials (not just ap- provals) and to monetary exactions (not just property exactions). The majority answered yes to both questions. However, given the facts in this case, the issues the Supreme Court sent back to the Florida courts, and the commentary and reasoning of the Koontz ma- jority, a closer look at the case gives one the sense that very little may have been clarified. The relevant underlying facts and key legal issues for the planning practitioner are set out in this article, as are several steps local governments should take to ensure com- pliance with Koontz. To understand Koontz, however, one must first understand Nollan and Dolan. NOLLAN AND DOLAN Nollan and Dolan involve a special application of the doctrine of "unconstitutional condi- tions" and of taking jurisprudence. Taken together, these two cases have become the established standard in exactions and governmental negotiations. Their princi- ® Wetlands play an important role in water quality management in Central Florida. These man-made wetlands at the Orlando Wetlands Park ensure that nitrogen and phosphorous levels from outflows remain significantly below background levels in the St. Johns River. ZONINGPRACTICE 10.13 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 2