CopyCited 33 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 157 Fla. 649, 1946 Fla. LEXIS 824
bars along the shore, within the provisions of section
253.12 Florida statutes 1941, and so were within the
CopyCited 29 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...Florida Statutes 1951, F.S.A., or similar statutes, do not apply to lands sold by the Trustees under the authority of Chapter 6451, Acts of 1913 (now Sections 253.06-253.11, Florida Statutes 1951, F.S.A.) or Chapter 7304, Acts of 1917 (now Sections 253.12-253.15, Florida Statutes 1951, F.S.A.) and that purchasers of such land are limited to the right to bulkhead and fill in the same as provided by Chapter 4370, Acts of 1895 (now Chapter 309, Florida Statutes 1951, F.S.A.)....
...r obstructions or whether such lands should be classified as sand bars or shallow banks or fall within any other of the classifications required to vest title to such lands in the Trustees of the Inter v al Improvement Fund under F.S. §§ 253.06 or 253.12 [F.S.A.]....
...§ 271.01 [F.S.A.]) as carried forward, should be construed to permit owners of lands purchased from the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund pursuant to Chapter 6451, Acts of 1913 (F.S. §§ 253.06-253.11[F.S.A.]) or Chapter 7304, Acts of 1917 (F.S. §§
253.12-253.15 [F.S.A.]) to bulkhead, fill in and acquire title to lands abutting their holdings of the classifications mentioned in Chapters 6451 and 7305, and that the bulkheading and filling in rights of such purchasers are limited to the privileges granted by F.S. §
309.01 [F.S.A.]. However, the Court is also of the opinion that the benefits of the Butler Bill and F.S. § 271.01 [F.S.A.] as extended, attach to lands purchased from the Trustees under F.S. § 253.06 or §
253.12 [F.S.A.] which abut lands of `sovereignty land' classification....
...ees and the State] also apparently contend that the submerged land in front of appellee's upland was of such character and formation as to come within the reservations of Chapter 8537, Acts 1921, and by Section 9 of said Act, the same being Sections 253.12 and 253.13, Florida Statutes 1941, F.S.A., and that the same constituted shallow banks and bars along the shore within the provisions of said sections....
CopyCited 21 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1971 Fla. App. LEXIS 6131
...ida West Coast Land Company, its predecessor in title. We think the courts of Florida should be open to the presentation of such a contention as this. [7] *287 Appellees next contend that any error in the corrective deed has been cured by Fla. Stat. 253.12(8) (F.S.A., 1969)....
...Whether either laches or estoppel defeats reformation in this case depends on issues of fact which should not be disposed of on summary judgment on the present record. Reversed and remanded for further proceedings, consistent with this opinion. LILES, A.C.J., and HOBSON, J., concur. NOTES [1] Fla. Stat. 253.12(4) (1969) F.S.A....
CopyCited 21 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 1966 A.M.C. 1377
...Appellants Zabel and Russell petitioned the Pinellas County Water and Navigation Control Authority, appellee, requesting that it fix a bulkhead line and grant them a dredge and fill permit for approximately 11.5 acres of submerged land in Boca Ciega Bay under the authority of F.S. §§ 253.122, 253.124, F.S.A....
...sage of time and changed conditions, the public interest will be impaired by the proposed use of the land the burden is on the objectors to demonstrate that fact. In Gies v. Fischer, [14] this court affirmed the District Court's construction of F.S. § 253.122, F.S.A....
...a dredge and fill permit for approximately 11.5 acres of submerged land in Boca Ciega Bay to be used for a trailer park. The Authority is composed of the Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County. The application was filed pursuant to F.S. §§ 253.122 and 253.124, F.S.A., which were derived from Chapter 57-362 as amended by Chapters 61-119 and 63-512 of the Laws of Florida, the same being the State Bulkhead Law, and Chapter 31182, Special Acts of Florida, 1955, a special act regulating the *382 dredging and filling of submerged lands in Pinellas County....
...but did not carry the burden of proof in showing no adverse effect upon the public would result if their application was granted. Chapter 31182 has been superseded in important respects by the State Bulkhead Law, which later statute provides in F.S. § 253.128, F.S.A., as follows: " Enforcement; board or agency under special law....
...the Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County in locally administering the Bulkhead Law in the unincorporated coastal areas of Pinellas County. Chapter 31182 makes no provision for the fixing of bulkhead lines. This is authorized only by F.S. § 253.122, F.S.A. A cursory inspection will disclose that the provisions of F.S. § 253.124, F.S.A., have superseded the provisions of Chapter 31182 in processing applications for dredge and fill permits....
...Nevertheless, the objectives and the administrative procedures affording due process in Chapter 31182 and the Bulkhead Law are substantially the same. The proceedings resorted to under Chapter 31182 in processing and reviewing the Appellants' application for the dredge and fill permit were sufficient to comply with Section 253.124. The use of an examiner in the hearing process, while not prescribed in F.S. § 253.124, F.S.A., is nevertheless permissible under the law generally in the administrative process. See 42 Am.Jur., Pub.Adm. Law, 141, p. 494. See also Chapter 120, the State's Administrative Procedure Act. The Controlling provisions relating to applications for bulkhead lines and dredge and fill permits in the Bulkhead Law are as follows: F.S. Section 253.12, F.S.A....
...bulkhead line, established hereunder shall be sold only to the upland riparian owner and to no other person, firm or corporation; and such sale to said upland riparian owner shall be made pursuant to the provisions herein." (Emphasis supplied) F.S. Section 253.122, F.S.A....
...municipality, after public hearing * * * are hereby authorized on their own initiative to locate and fix a bulkhead line or lines offshore from any existing lands or islands bordering on or being in the navigable waters of the county, as defined in § 253.12, within all or part of the territorial area of the county as the board of county commissioners in its discretion may determine, * * *....
..., a transcript of all proceedings including the evidence introduced at such hearing, and the court shall hear and determine the cause on the record without indulging any presumption in favor of the decision of such board or the trustees. * * *" F.S. Section 253.124, F.S.A....
...(application for filling land), provides in part: "Any private person, firm or corporation desiring to construct islands or add to or extend existing lands or islands located in the unincorporated area of any county bordering on or in the navigable waters of the state as defined in § 253.12, by pumping sand, rock or earth from such waters or by any other means, shall make application in writing to the board of county commissioners of the county wherein such construction is designed, for a permit authorizing such person, firm or corporation to engage in such construction, * * *....
...In the event such application be found by the *384 board of county commissioners or other authorized body not to be violative of any statute, zoning law, ordinance, or other restriction which may be applicable thereto, or that no harmful obstruction to or alteration of the natural flow of the navigable water as defined in § 253.12, within such area will arise from the proposed construction, or that no harmful or increased erosion, shoaling of channels or stagnant areas of water will be created thereby, or that no material injury or monetary damage to adjoining land will accrue therefrom, the same shall be granted to the applicant, * * *....
...ependent of the determination of the Authority since it was not required to indulge in any presumption favorable to said decision. Therefore, the Circuit Court's determination was not infected by procedural error since there was no duty under F.S. §§ 253.122 and 253.124, F.S.A., for the Circuit Court or the Authority to set out in writing any findings....
...In this connection, it is recalled that the state and the public generally have an important interest in the outcome of local action upon any application and the same is made subject to approval by the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. See relevant provisions of F.S. §§ 253.122 and 253.124, F.S.A., to this effect....
...District Court of Appeal then states that in these proceedings the Authority ruled under the latter alternative and so denied Appellants' application. This appears to be all that is legally required, even assuming Chapter 31182 still controls. F.S. Section 253.124, F.S.A., merely provides: "In the event a permit is refused the applicant therefor may have the order refusing the permit reviewed upon filing a petition for the issuance of a writ of certiorari with the appropriate circuit court in t...
...The evidence submitted by the objectors to the application clearly indicates the proposed fill and the bulkhead line to encompass it are of the character of injurious fills and bulkhead lines which the statute was intended to minimize or prohibit. In the enactment of F.S. §§ 253.12 to 253.0013, incl., F.S.A., the State Bulkhead Law, the Legislature acted under the state's retained inalienable trust doctrine in submerged lands and navigable waters and under the state's police power....
...structed view, ingress and egress over the foreshore from and to the water) * * *." Subsequently the Supreme Court in Gies v. Fischer,
146 So.2d 361 (Fla. 1962), speaking through Justice Drew, passed favorably upon the constitutionality of said F.S. §
253.122, F.S.A....
...ediment to navigation or public fisheries."' "The presumption is that the trustees, being public officials of the state, complied with their duty under the law, and that they correctly ascertained the facts warranting their action. * * * " [13] F.S. § 253.12(2), F.S.A....
CopyCited 18 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...t to Gary Street of the extension thereof are vested in the State Road Department with the right to use said street and riparian rights for State road purposes. Defendants interposed the further defense that under Chapter 26776, Acts of 1951, F.S.A. § 253.12, and Chapter 15861, Acts of 1933, F.S....
CopyCited 14 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...inage, dredging and other alterations to the shores, bottoms and waters of certain of the lakes. The Trustees and the Commission, through their officers and agents, have sought to interfere with such activity contending that such are violations of F.S. 253.123, 253.124 and F.S....
...w land unless the instrument makes a reservation of them. It also makes a special treatment of nonmeandered lakes when the trustees make conveyance of lands vested in it. Chapter 253, Florida Statutes, deals with the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. Section 253.12(1) specifies the lands which are vested in the trustees of the fund....
...reignty lands from those of the riparian upland owner. The boundary is to be ascertained, if possible, `as of the date such body came under the jurisdiction of the state'. Subsection 3(a). Subsection (7) states: `Nothing contained in this section or section 253.12(1) shall be construed as affecting privately owned lakes, streams, watercourses, or submerged lands.' The existing constitutional provision relating to sovereignty lands refers to such lands under navigable waters, `which have not been alienated'. Article 10, Section 11, Florida Constitution 1968. "12. The statutes under particular attack here and under which the defendants assert their rights and duties to interfere with Deltona's activities are Section 253.123 and 253.124. Section 253.123(1) provides that no private entity shall construct islands *983 or add to or extend existing lands or islands `bordering on or being in the navigable waters of the state as defined in Section 253.12 by pumping sand, rock or earth from such waters or by any other means' without first complying with the fixing of bulkheads under Section 253.122....
...Subsection (2) deals with removal of sand, rock and earth from navigable waters by dredging, pumping, digging or otherwise which is prohibited, except for certain limited purposes, and subsection 3 requires that before most of such authorized works are undertaken, a permit must be obtained from the Trustees. Section 253.124 requires the obtaining of construction permits for filling or the pumping or dredging from navigable waters from the county commissioners of the county if location is in an incorporated area and from the municipality involved if in an incorporated area....
...The absence of any reference to nonmeandered `navigable' fresh water lakes, together with mention of privately owned lakes as being excluded, is indicative of a legislative assumption that nonmeandered lakes are not to be regarded as navigable. Also, it is not mere surplusage that Section 253.12(1) at the very outset excluded from its operation `submerged lands heretofore conveyed by deed or statute', nor are the words `which have not been alienated' in Constitution Article 10, Section 11 without meaning....
...1971)
245 So.2d 609 that a recreational test may be the more enlightened rule and that a recreation oriented state like Florida might well be so persuaded. However, this opinion did recognize that Florida had not yet adopted such a test. "23. It is also contended that the criminal prohibitions of Sections
253.124 and 370.035 are unconstitutionally vague and are therefore void....
CopyCited 13 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...March 27, 1946, the State of Florida through its agent, the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, hereinafter referred to as Trustees, conveyed by Murphy Act deed to O.H. Lobean Government Lot 1, Section 11, Township 43 South, Range 20 East, for which a consideration of $23.50 was paid. Pursuant to § 253.12, Florida Statutes 1955, as amended by Chapter 57-362, Acts of 1957, F.S.A., the Trustees in 1956 proposed to sell certain submerged, sometimes called sovereignty, lands in Gasparilla Sound, including Government Lot 1, Section 11, Township 4...
...It is admitted that the lands conveyed to respondent, the subject of this litigation, were submerged lands, below mean high-water mark, that they were subject to sale by the Trustees, that they were sometimes called sovereignty lands and could be sold subject to the trust defined in the act, § 253.12, Florida Statutes 1957, F.S.A....
...The purpose of the Murphy Act was to restore lands to the tax rolls, title to which had reverted to the state under the Act with power of the Trustees to sell them as provided by law. The power of the Trustees as to sale and disposition of Murphy Act lands under Chapter 18296, Acts of 1937, and as to submerged lands under § 253.12, Florida Statutes 1957, F.S.A., involve separate and distinct trusts and powers conferred at different times and for different purposes....
CopyCited 12 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 7 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 20
...f the waters, between the boundary line and the existing waterline. "(6) Any authorized dock, boathouse, or other structure, erected under permit, shall be for the sole use and control of the riparian owner. "(7) Nothing contained in this section or § 253.12(1) shall be construed as affecting privately owned lakes, streams, watercourses, or submerged lands....
CopyCited 12 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1972 Fla. App. LEXIS 5690
...Included in the evidence before the court was the 1951 decree of the circuit court which had fixed the bulkhead line as a limit beyond which fill was not to be permitted, and evidence that subsequently, in September of 1958, the Dade County Commission, as authorized under § 253.122 Fla....
...had fixed a bulkhead line there, being the same as that which had been designated in the 1951 circuit court decree. Also, there was evidence that no permit had been issued for extending said lots beyond the bulkhead line by filling, as required by § 253.124 Fla....
...beyond the bulkhead line established by the Dade County Commission and approved by the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund, and further that such filling was done without applying for or obtaining a permit therefor as required by Chapter 253 [§ 253.124 Fla....
...d to seek relief against the appellants for the claimed encroachment by filling beyond the bulkhead line. The first two of those contentions are predicated upon the argument of the appellants that by virtue of a proviso included in subsection (1) of § 253.123 the provisions of Chapter 253 Fla....
...ir properties into the bay by filling, without the necessity of any permit and without official control or restriction by the state or by the county. With that argument of the appellants we cannot agree. The provision relied upon by appellants is in § 253.123 of Chapter 253. Subsection (1) thereof prohibits addition or extension of existing lands or islands bordering on or being in navigable waters of the state without first complying with the preceding section 253.122, following which there is stated: * * * provided nothing herein contained shall relate to artificially created navigable waters." The preceding section 253.122 to which reference there was made, is entitled "Power to fix bulkheads." That section contains extensive provisions dealing with the fixing of bulkhead lines by a county in the navigable waters of the county, and contains a provision that any bulkhead line when so fixed and established should mark the limit for extension of property in the waters of the county. [3] If navigable Bella Vista Bay was artificially created, then by virtue of the proviso in § 253.123(1), a riparian owner could extend his land into the bay by filling, without the preliminary requirement of a bulkhead line having been fixed by the county, on its own initiative or upon application of the owner as provided for in § 253.122. However, under § 253.124, which makes no distinction between natural or artificially created navigable waterways, before any upland owner can so extend his land into navigable waters as defined in § 253.12, he must have applied for and obtained a permit from the county, upon making the elaborate showing necessary therefor. Under subsection (5) of § 253.124, violation thereof is a misdemeanor of the second degree, and by subsection (6) the board of county commissioners is given "the authority to direct the abutting upland owner to remove any fill created in violation of this section." By subsection (7) the granting of an "after the fact" permit is sharply restricted....
...Whether or not it was necessary in this instance for a bulkhead line to have been fixed before an owner could apply for and be granted a permit to extend his lot into the bay, a bulkhead line in fact had been fixed both by the 1951 circuit court decree and recorded plat, and by the county commission acting pursuant to § 253.122....
...wners as shown by the public records of Dade County, Florida, be, and the same are hereby, respectively declared, quieted, and confirmed, so that each owner will own his own respective property in accordance with the terms of this final decree." [3] § 253.122(1) Fla....
CopyCited 11 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal
...Sale of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when in the public interest. Private use of portions of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when not contrary to the public interest. The Legislature in 1970 (ch. 70-97, Laws of Florida) amended subsection 1 of section 253.12, Florida Statutes (1969), to vest title to "all submerged lands owned by the state by right of its sovereignty in navigable fresh water lakes, rivers and streams" in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund and prov...
CopyCited 6 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 1994 WL 558430
...o fence off a spoil island in the Lake and a shallow, vegetated part of the Lake that lies between the spoil island and the shore. The Plaintiff Association's amended complaint is filed in the capacity of relator for the State of Florida, relying on Section 253.12(1), Florida Statutes and Article X, Section 11 of the Florida Constitution, which holds that spoil islands and navigable waters are and remain public lands held by the state in trust for public use and enjoyment....
...iangular zone in dispute. Local fishermen and others began to camp on the spoil island, and the island became one of the most popular camping sites in the Lake area. This took place because spoil islands are public property available for public use. § 253.12, Fla....
...xposed during some dry periods, the entire area was submerged at normal and high water stages. For that reason, the entire area in controversy must be considered vegetated lake bottom, and the spoil island is retained in public ownership pursuant to Section 253.12(1), Florida Statutes....
...Even if taxes had been paid, such payment cannot form the basis for equitable estoppel because it is the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund rather than the tax assessor who are authorized to speak for the state on the subject of boundaries on navigable lake bottoms. § 253.12(1), Fla....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal
...We can find no error since the allegations are not sufficient upon which to predicate fraud. The issues herein raised are dispositive under F.S.A. ch. 253 existing at the time of application for sale of the lands and issuance of the deed in question. F.S.A. § 253.12 placed title to such submerged lands in the trustees of the internal improvement fund....
...uired to show in the first instance. It cannot be assumed that the appellants relied to their detriment upon any act or omission on the part of the appellees. 14 Fla.Jur., Fraud & Deceit, §§ 64, 65, 66 and 68. It is to be also observed that F.S.A. § 253.12 was amended in 1951, with subsection (2) added, reading in pertinent part as follows: "(2) All conveyances of sovereignty lands heretofore made by the trustees of the internal improvement trust fund of Florida * * * are hereby ratified, con...
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida
...Gen., and Robert C. Parker, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellees. DREW, Justice. The appellants challenge a decree of the Circuit Court for Pinellas County as a decision directly passing upon and sustaining the validity of Chapter 57-362, Laws of Florida, 1957, Section 253.122, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., against attack on constitutional grounds....
...egation of the legislative authority. [1] *362 The statute in question [2] authorizes, in brief, local governing bodies to fix a bulkhead line offshore from lands or islands "bordering on or being in the navigable waters of the county, as defined in § 253.12," beyond which line any filling "shall be deemed an interference with the servitude in favor of commerce and navigation with which the navigable waters of this state are inalienably impressed." From a decision of the governing authorities i...
...a bulkhead line may be established at a location as was done in this case would require a holding that the act is unconstitutional, and this the Court will not do when it can be construed in such a fashion as to render it constitutional." F.S. Sec. 253.122, F.S.A., was construed to authorize the establishment of a bulkhead line only at a point where, in fact, "a further extension of land or islands outward would be an interference with the servitude in favor of commerce and navigation." The cau...
...From a consideration of all related provisions of the act, we conclude that the court properly construed the statutory language, ruled upon its validity as so construed, and disposed of the cause before it in accordance with those views. Appellants' preliminary contention is that Section 253.122, authorizing bulkhead lines "offshore from any existing lands or islands bordering on or being in the navigable waters of the county, as defined in § 253.12," (e.s.) incorporates the exclusion in the latter section [3] of all "submerged lands heretofore conveyed" from lands vested by that section in the trustees of the *363 internal improvement fund. The more reasonable assumption, in our opinion, is that the definition incorporated by reference is simply the definition of navigable waters in Sec. 253.12 as "all coastal and intracoastal waters." Fortifying this construction, i.e....
...that the intention of the act was to authorize establishment of bulkhead lines on lands privately as well as publicly owned at any point where further extension of fill would impair the inalienable public rights specified, is the ancillary provision of Section 253.123 [4] of the act to the effect that the only purchasers of lands from the trustees who need not comply with Sec. 253.122 are those holding fill permits approved previous to the enactment....
...table to the parties who are now complaining. Furthermore, there is no indication in the record that the bulkhead line as established by the Authority has ever been approved or disapproved by the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund. Under Sec. 253.122 it is evidently necessary that such approval or disapproval be expressed by the Trustees as a basis for appeal and that the time for appeal is computed from the date of approval or disapproval....
...I am constrained to dissent. NOTES [1] Citing Section 12, Declaration of Rights, and Section 1, Article III, Constitution of the State of Florida, and Article I, Section 10, Amendment XIV, Constitution of the United States, F.S. Vol. 3, F.S.A. [2] "253.122 Power to fix bulkheads "(1) Subject to the formal approval of the trustees of the internal improvement trust fund, the board of county commissioners of each county or governing body of any municipality, after public hearing of which at least...
...having general circulation in the county, are hereby authorized on their own initiative to locate and fix a bulkhead line or lines offshore from any existing lands or islands bordering on or being in the navigable waters of the county, as defined in § 253.12, within all or part of the territorial area of the county as the board of county commissioners in its discretion may determine, provided however that where any bulkhead line has been located and fixed by any municipality pursuant to statuto...
...ension creating or filling of land or islands outward into the waters of the county shall be deemed an interference with the servitude in favor of commerce and navigation with which the navigable waters of this state are inalienably impressed." [3] "253.12 Title to tidal lands vested in state "(1) Except submerged lands heretofore conveyed by deed or statute, and submerged lands in navigable fresh water lakes, rivers and streams, the title to all sovereignty tidal and submerged bottom lands, inc...
...und. The trustees of the internal improvement trust fund may sell and convey such islands and submerged lands if not determined by the trustees to be contrary to the public interest upon such prices, terms and conditions as they see fit. * * *" [4] "253.123 Restriction of filling land. No private person, firm or corporation shall construct islands or add to or extend existing lands or islands bordering on or being in the navigable water of the state as defined in § 253.12(1) by pumping sand, rock or earth from such waters or by any other means without first complying with § 253.122 provided nothing herein contained shall relate to artifically created navigable waters....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida
...stees of the Internal Improvement Fund constituted an encroachment on their riparian rights. The Supreme Court held that the proposed fill did not infringe on riparian rights. The tidal lands at issue had been disposed of by the Trustees pursuant to § 253.12, F.S.A....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida
being in the navigable waters as defined in section
253.12 herein of the state which was commenced or
CopyCited 4 times | Published | District Court of Appeal of Florida
...Contiguous bay bottom lands extending from the ordinary high water line on the property in question to the established bulkhead line, a distance of some 517 to 544 feet, are state owned under the trusteeship of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund. Under the provisions of § 253.12(1), Fla....
...By condemning the appellees' land for the alleged purpose of extending Bayshore Drive, the appellant sought to achieve its real purpose acquisition of fee simple title to the appellees' lands and the riparian right to purchase contiguous bay bottom land under the provisions of § 253.12(1), supra....
CopyCited 4 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...2d DCA 1962), cert. discharged,
155 So.2d 151 (Fla. 1963). *9 Again, in addressing this issue, the Trustees urge that the lands were sovereignty in character, but they did not obtain title to them until the legislature enacted chapter 69-308, Laws of Florida. See §
253.12, Fla....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...a permit from the Trustees granting him the authority to proceed with this phase of his development plan. In order to comply with the requirements of law, petitioner filed with the Trustees an application pursuant to the provisions of F.S. Sections 253.123(2)(a) and (3)(a), F.S.A., governing permits to dredge for navigational purposes, which are as follows: "(2) The removal of sand, rock or earth from the navigable waters of the state as defined in section 253.12, Florida Statutes, and the submerged bottoms thereof by dredging, pumping, digging, or any other means shall not be permitted except in the following instances: * * * * * * "(a) For the construction, improvement or maintenance of navig...
...he application. Petitioner's position in this regard must therefore be rejected. Lastly, petitioner asserts that even conceding that respondents are vested with discretion in the granting or denial of dredging permits applied for under F.S. Sections 253.123(2)(a) and (3)(a), F.S.A., in the case sub judice they grossly abused that discretion by reaching a conclusion contrary to the competent and substantial evidence before them....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal | 1967 Fla. App. LEXIS 4322
...In the latter case, speaking through Associate Judge Ben C. Willis, the court said: "It is quite true that the riparian rights conferred under the now repealed Sec. 271.01, F.S.A. are very different from those recognized and provided in what is now Sec. 253.12 F.S. 1965, F.S.A. and which may be implemented and facilitated by the bulkheading and filling provisions set forth in Secs. 253.122-253.128....
...upland owner's right is limited to applying to the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund for a conveyance, without consideration, of such of the filled in lands as are "not required exclusively for the municipal * * * or public purpose." Thus in § 253.12 Fla....
CopyCited 3 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 1994 WL 131172
...ative hearing. [2] Because it is unnecessary to our decision in this case, we express no view as to whether appellant's petition alleged facts sufficient to afford him standing to object to the Board's granting of a lease in a proceeding governed by section 253.12, Florida Statutes....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
...Petitioners, the owners of a number of partially submerged lots in Pinellas County, applied to the Board of County Commissioners for a permit to fill those lots. The Board approved the application, subject to approval of the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund pursuant to Section 253.124, Florida Statutes (1973)....
...a Statutes (1975), and that body affirmed DER's order. Petitioners now seek judicial review pursuant to Section
120.68, Florida Statutes (1975), asserting (1) DER improperly denied their application for a *885 permit because DER is not authorized by Section
253.124 to review a county commission's findings that a project will not adversely affect marine or other wildlife; and (2) Section
253.124 does not contain adequate standards to guide DER's discretion in determining whether to grant or deny permits. Section
253.124(2) requires applicants for fill permits to seek approval from the appropriate board of county commissioners, who are to determine whether the proposed project would violate state or local law; harmfully obstruct or alter the natural f...
...s therefore an unconstitutional delegation of the legislative power. Article II, Section 3, Florida Constitution. The District Court of Appeal, Second District, upheld the constitutionality of Chapter 31182, Laws of Florida, a special act similar to Section 253.124, in Zabel v....
...ants. These criteria are designed to fulfill the purposes for which the Authority was created, [and] to provide for adequate regulation and control of waters in the county and their alteration.... The criteria in Chapter 31182 are very like those of Section 253.124....
...The Authority was then required to consider "whether or not the proposed plan or development will materially affect any of the rights and interests of the public heretofore set out in this section." In Yonge v. *886 Askew,
293 So.2d 395, 400 (Fla. 1st DCA 1974), this court considered the statutory criteria of Section
253.124 [3] and found the legislature had properly delegated to the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund the responsibility "to exercise a sound discretion in determining whether the public interest will be served by the proposed w...
...t in Yonge the court did not explicitly consider whether the standards attending the delegation of authority were adequate; the issue was whether the legislature had intended to delegate discretion to the Trustees. We conceive the criteria stated in Section 253.124, which direct the attention of DER to "fish, marine and wild life ......
...ecological factors that are not within the DER's statutory scope of review, leaving no factual predicate to support its order. As stated by the majority, petitioners' application was denied following the DER's review of certain factors enumerated in Section 253.124(2), Florida Statutes....
...nce. It thus must be concluded that Petitioners' project would be contrary to the public interest and, in consonance with the legislative intent, the application should be denied." (emphasis supplied) Prior to July 14, 1967, the legislature, through Section 253.124(2), Florida Statutes, provided that any person wishing to fill land located in or bordering upon the navigable waters of the state make application to the board of county commissioners of the county wherein the proposed fill site was located. Illustrative is Section 253.124, Florida Statutes (1965), which provided, in part: "......
...In the event such application be found by the board of county commissioners or other authorized body not to be violative of any statute, zoning law, ordinance, or other restriction which may be applicable thereto, or that no harmful *888 obstruction to or alteration of the natural flow of the navigable water as defined in § 253.12, within such area will arise from the proposed construction, or that no harmful or increased erosion, shoaling of channels or stagnant areas of water will be created thereby, or that no material injury or monetary damage to adjoining land will accrue therefrom, the same shall be granted to the applicant, subject to the formal approval of the trustees of the internal improvement trust fund." Thus, pursuant to the pre-1967 versions of Section 253.124, Florida Statutes, an applicant was required to demonstrate to the board of county commissioners that the project would not: 1) violate state or local law; 2) harmfully obstruct or alter the natural flow of navigable waters; 3) increa...
...There were no ecological factors enumerated, nor was the phrase "to such an extent as to be contrary to the public interest" present. However, effective July 14, 1967, the legislature expanded the test for receiving a permit by the addition of the following language to Section 253.124(2), Florida Statutes....
...essary, the doubt should be resolved against the power of the court to supply missing words. Brooks v. Anastasia Mosquito Control Dist.,
148 So.2d 64 (Fla. 1st DCA 1963); and Armstrong v. City of Edgewater,
157 So.2d 422 (Fla. 1963). The language of Section
253.124(2), Florida Statutes, clearly provides that the board of *889 county commissioners shall consider four criteria and that their decision of these criteria are subject to the review of the Board of Trustees....
...rd of Trustees. Finding that the petitioners' application was denied solely on the basis of ecological factors "contrary to the public interest", I would hold that the DER and Board of Trustees exceeded their statutory scope of review as provided by Section 253.124(2), Florida Statutes, and that, therefore, there existed no factual predicate to support the denial of petitioners' application....
...the standards imposed by the statute. There being no competent, substantial evidence to support the final order of the DER, as approved by the Board of Trustees, I would grant the petition for review and quash the final order. NOTES [1] By its terms § 253.124 commits this review to the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund. As noted above, the Trustees' § 253.124 duties were transferred to DER by Ch....
...As originally enacted the statute unambiguously referred to the "trustees." Ch. 67-393, § 4, Laws of Fla. The change was made when the trustees were renamed "board of trustees" in 1969. Ch. 69-106, §§ 27, 35, Laws of Fla. [3] Yonge was concerned with criteria expressed in § 253.123 Fla. Stat. (1973). These criteria are exactly the same as those expressed in § 253.124.
CopyCited 1 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13490
...whereby the United States relinquished to the respective states all right to administer and control lands beneath navigable waters. Title to submerged tidal lands is expressly vested in the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, § 253.12, Florida Statutes, F.S.A....
...Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund may act only as an arm of the state rather than as an independent administrative entity. The answer to the question posited appears to be in the negative. Florida decisional authority is scant although § 253.12(2)(a), Florida Statutes, F.S.A., seemingly provides unequivocal authority to the Trustees to dispose of such submerged lands in the same manner and with the same authority as they would any other class of lands administered by them....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1998 WL 150413
...The court acknowledged that sovereign ownership of land is, in some states, based upon whether waters are tidal. The court concluded that the majority of states, including Florida, base the determination on whether the water is navigable. See Art. X, § 11, Fla. Const.; [2] § 253.12(1), Fla....
...as sovereignty lands" is not persuasive. [15] If the constitution had simply declared sovereignty lands to be held in trust, this argument might have weight but the detailed description of sovereignty lands has to be afforded significance. See also § 253.12, Fla....
...e not been alienated, including beaches below mean high water lines, is held by the state, by virtue of its sovereignty, in trust for all the people. Sale of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when not contrary to the public interest. [3] 253.12 Title to tidal lands vested in state. (1) Except submerged lands heretofore conveyed by deed or statute, the title to all sovereignty tidal and submerged bottom lands, including all islands, sandbars, shallow banks, and small islands made by...
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 5th District Court of Appeal | 1994 WL 41828
...The Butler Act remained viable as to all non-tidal submerged lands in the state and all tidal lands in Dade and Palm Beach counties. Industrial Plastics,
603 So.2d at 1306-07. Then in 1957, the legislature enacted Chapter 57-362, Laws of Florida, commonly known as the Bulkhead Act and codified as section
253.12, Florida Statutes (1957)....
CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2004 WL 2953071
...Benzing, Jr., and Anita B. Benzing ("the Benzings") are the proper owners of lands formerly submerged beneath the Manatee River and subsequently exposed by dredge and fill activities ("the filled lands"). River Place argues that it is the proper owner under section 253.12(9), Florida Statutes (2003), because it is the record owner of the property immediately upland of the filled lands. In the alternative, River Place argues that section 253.12(9) is unconstitutional because it violates article X, section 11 of the Florida Constitution. The Benzings argue that they are the proper owners under section 253.12(9) because they are the record title holders of the filled lands. We conclude that the trial court correctly determined that the Benzings are the record title holders of the filled lands and therefore the proper owners under section 253.12(9). We also conclude that section 253.12(9) is constitutional....
...In 1951, the legislature vested title to all lands submerged beneath tidal waters in the State Board of Trustees. Ch. 26776, Laws of Fla. (1951). The filled lands were submerged beneath the waters of the Manatee River at this time and became sovereign lands. On July 1, 1993, the legislature enacted section 253.12(9), which divested the State of its ownership of lands filled before July 1, 1975, as follows: All of the state's right, title, and interest to all tidally influenced land or tidally influenced islands bordering or being on sovereignty...
...This subsection shall not grant or vest title to any filled, formerly submerged state-owned lands in any person who, as of January 1, 1993, is the record titleholder of the filled or adjacent upland property and who filled or caused to be filled the state-owned lands. Section 253.12(9) transfers title on July 1, 1993, from the State to either "the landowner having record or other title" to the filled lands or to the landowner who owns the lands immediately upland from the filled lands....
...se that option is listed first in the statute. The lands in this case were filled before July 1, 1975. The chain of title establishes that NA Development had recorded a quit claim deed to the filled lands prior to July 1, 1993, the effective date of section 253.12(9)....
...NA Development subsequently executed a quit claim deed transferring the filled lands to Alaskan Ventures, Inc., [1] who thereafter executed a quit claim deed transferring the filled lands to the Benzings. The Benzings argue that title to the filled lands vested with NA Development upon the enactment of section 253.12(9)....
...River Place acknowledges the existence of the recorded deeds, but argues that those deeds did not legally convey record title to the filled lands because the State never conveyed the sovereign lands into private ownership. Thus, River Place argues that NA Development was not a "landowner having record or other title" under section 253.12(9) and that title to the filled lands vested with the record upland owner upon the enactment of section 253.12(9). [2] It is undisputed that NA Development's recorded quit claim deed did not establish it as the true legal owner of the filled lands prior to the enactment of section 253.12(9) on July 1, 1993. The issue before this court is whether NA Development's quit claim deed became effective with the enactment of section 253.12(9)....
...Whether all wild deeds became effective by virtue of this statute is not an issue we need to decide today because it is clear from the record that the deed to NA Development was prepared and filed in good faith. It was not an attempt simply to steal land from the State. Section 253.12(9) divests the State of its ownership of lands filled before July 1, 1975, and vests ownership in "landowner[s] having record or other title." The effect of section 253.12(9) was to vest legal title on July 1, 1993, in parties who had only a colorable claim to filled lands by virtue of existing, but defective "record or other" titles. Section 253.12(9) would be meaningless if it was limited to parties who were properly deeded the filled lands from the State because ownership would already be vested in those parties....
...te-owned lands." This exemption would be illogical if the statute was limited to parties who were deeded filled lands from the State because the State would be prohibiting title to vest in those in whom title had already vested. The clear purpose of section 253.12(9) is to remove clouds on the title to lands filled *389 before July 1, 1975....
...Thus "landowner[s] having record or other title" cannot be limited to those parties who do not have a cloud over their title to lands filled before July 1, 1975. In this case, NA Development's quit claim deed became effective with the enactment of section 253.12(9). As NA Development's successor in interest, the Benzings therefore are the proper owners of the filled lands under section 253.12(9). River Place's alternative argument is that section 253.12(9) is unconstitutional because it violates article X, section 11 of the Florida Constitution....
...Article X, section 11 provides that the State owns title to lands under navigable waters and that it holds these lands "in trust for all the people." "Sale of such lands may be authorized by law, but only when in the public interest." Id. River Place argues that section 253.12(9) gives land away without compensation and that this statute violates the requirement for a "sale" in the constitution. Section 253.12(9) was enacted because the lands involved were of marginal value to the State and would be more valuable if placed on the tax rolls....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
riparian/littoral 8 right to ownership of accretions), with §
253.12(9), Fla. Stat. (1993) (granting, under certain
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
interest in the disputed property pursuant to section
253.12(9), Florida Statutes (2012), a statute which
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1996).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
substantially the following question: Does section
253.12(9), Florida Statutes, divest the Tampa Port
CopyPublished | Supreme Court of Florida | 1958 Fla. LEXIS 1476
1951 Act [Chapter 26776, Laws of Florida, F.S.A. §
253.12] is unconstitutional if construed to deprive [the
CopyPublished | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 2014 WL 3446296, 2014 Fla. App. LEXIS 10877
...tle
to all submerged lands in the trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund." City of West
Palm Beach v. Bd. of Trs. of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund,
714 So. 2d 1060,
1061 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998) (citing ch. 57-362 § 1, Laws of Fla. (codified at §
253.12, Fla.
Stat....
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida
riparian/littoral 8 right to ownership of accretions), with §
253.12(9), Fla. Stat. (1993) (granting, under certain
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1966 Fla. App. LEXIS 5855, 1966 A.M.C. 2462
title to adjacent submerged sovereignty lands. F.S.
253.12(1), F.S.A. These rights inuring in the riparian
CopyPublished | District Court of Appeal of Florida | 1976 Fla. App. LEXIS 14174
being in the navigable waters as defined in section
253.12 herein of the state which was commenced or
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1985).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
of the former Everglades Drainage District. Section
253.12, F.S., has been cited in supplemental memoranda
