Talbot, LLC v. City of Tampa and 1704 17th Street Venture, LLC
The Second District affirmed the dismissal. It held that City of West Palm Beach v. Haver bars Talbot's claims seeking to make the City enforce its own zoning ordinances, and that partially blocking a view, with no other injury, is not the 'special damage' a Boucher plaintiff needs for standing. In a lengthy analysis, the court refused to treat footnote 4 of State v. J.P. (Fla. 2004) as adopting the federal injury-in-fact/traceability/redressability test in Florida courts. It certified conflict with Fourth, Third, and First District decisions that apply that test, and certified a question of great public importance to the Florida Supreme Court.
Key facts
- Talbot owns the historic Stein building in Ybor City and leases it to a nightclub with a rooftop bar that markets its unobstructed views of the Tampa skyline.
- The Barrio Latino Commission granted the neighboring developer a height variance (45 to 54 feet) for the Miles Ybor building. Talbot did not oppose it because, it alleged, the prior owner promised the building would be no taller than the Stein building.
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Holdings
- Under Haver, a Boucher-type claim for injunctive or declaratory relief against a local government exists only if the plaintiff alleges that the governing body itself violated its own zoning…
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Why it matters
This is a major standing decision for any civil practitioner, well beyond zoning. The Second District now expressly rejects the federal Article III standing test that the First, Third, and Fourth Districts have applied… — full analysis with a trial
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