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Court Rules to Raze New Homes in Florida

By order of a Florida appeals court, a Martin County developer must tear down $3.3 million worth of apartment buildings that were recently built.

By order of a Florida appeals court, a Martin County developer must tear down $3.3 million worth of apartment buildings that were recently built.

Martin County had approved the two-story buildings, even though they did not entirely fit the county's master plan. With the county's okay in hand, the developer started building, despite the fact that opponents took the county's decision to court. The recent court ruling is being appealed to the state supreme court, but the lower-court order is a victory for slow-growth proponents. They say it forces local officials to stick to the rules they've set up for themselves. "You want these plans to be as clear as possible so developers and citizens know what the rules are," says Charles Pattison, executive director of 1000 Friends of Florida, an environmental group. "You don't leave it to the whim of a public hearing one night."

Martin County officials dispute the appeals-court ruling, saying that they wrote the master plan in the first place, so they should have the flexibility to interpret it. "We thought the development was consistent" with the master plan, says Commissioner Dennis Armstrong. "This shouldn't be up to the judiciary to decide." The county hopes the legislature will amend the state's growth laws to give such "deference" to local governments.

Homebuilders disagreed with the court ruling as well, and also vowed to take their concerns to the legislature. "When local government says, `Here's your permit,' it doesn't mean anything anymore," says Keith Hetrick, general counsel for the Florida Home Builders Association. "No means no, but yes never really means yes."

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