CopyCited 31 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 2001 WL 209068
...At issue in the present case, however, is whether the City can, as the amended complaint alleges it has in fact done, employ another statutorily authorized means of financing a stormwater management system, viz., the creation of a stormwater utility and the adoption of stormwater utility fees. See § 403.0893(1), Fla.Stat....
...stormwater management programs."). Pertinent here is statutory authorization for local governments to "[c]reate one or more stormwater utilities and adopt stormwater utility fees sufficient to plan, construct, operate, and maintain stormwater management systems." § 403.0893(1), Fla.Stat....
...State, Dep't of Health and Rehabilitative Servs.,
456 So.2d 1204, 1208 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). See Brown v. State, Dep't of Corrections,
701 So.2d 1211, 1212-13 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. ALLEN and PADOVANO, JJ., concur. NOTES [1] Section
403.0893, Florida Statutes (2000), provides as follows: In addition to any other funding mechanism legally available to local government to construct, operate, or maintain stormwater systems, a county or municipality may: ....
CopyCited 16 times | Published | Supreme Court of Florida | 2003 WL 22052315
...To fund such programs, local governments may "[c]reate one or more stormwater utilities and adopt stormwater utility fees sufficient to plan, construct, operate, and maintain stormwater management systems set out in the local program required pursuant to s.
403.0891(3)." §
403.0893(1), Fla....
...lake v. City of Tampa,
115 Fla. 348,
156 So. 97, 99 (1934)). We acknowledge that under the authorizing statute a municipality may fund its stormwater management system either through the use of user fees or through special assessments. See generally §
403.0893, Fla. Stat. (2002). However, when a municipality chooses to fund its stormwater management system through special assessments, it does so pursuant to section
403.0893(3) and therefore does not technically establish a stormwater utility. Compare §
403.0893(1) (authorizing the creation of a stormwater utility and the imposition of stormwater utility fees), with §
403.0893(3) (authorizing special assessments to fund a stormwater management system). Although section
403.0893(3), Florida Statutes, authorizes special assessments, the City has not followed the required procedures under that section. Rather, the City has established a stormwater utility under section
403.0893(1) and has imposed utility fees....
...The City's creation of a stormwater utility, as the statute authorized, is a strong factor militating in favor of finding the stormwater fees a user fee. The City "establish[ed] stormwater management as a city utility enterprise in accordance with F.S. § 403.0893" and "establish[ed] a program of user charges for stormwater management service to be charged to all developed property within the city that contributes stormwater runoff to the city's stormwater management systems to accomplish the functions of such utility." Gainesville, Fla., Code art....
CopyCited 5 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 1999 WL 123532
...utility system. The city council established a policy that all property in the City contributed to the need for a stormwater utility; therefore all property in the City was to be charged a stormwater utility fee. The ordinance was passed pursuant to section 403.0893(1), Florida Statutes (1997), which authorized the City to [c]reate one or more stormwater utilities and adopt stormwater utility fees sufficient to plan, construct, operate, and maintain stormwater management systems set out in the local program required pursuant to s....
...a typical utility which bills services regularly, similar to water and wastewater services." §
403.031(17), Fla. Stat. (1997). Atlantic interprets the statutory authorization to use Chapter 197 collection methods to apply only to subsection (3) of section
403.0893, Florida Statutes (1997), which provides for the creation of stormwater management system benefit areas. We agree with the City's interpretation of the statute. Section
403.0893 contains three subsections....
...At the end of the long paragraph under subsection (3) is the following sentence: For fees assessed pursuant to this section, counties or municipalities may use the non-ad valorem levy, collection, and enforcement method as provided for in chapter 197. § 403.0893, Fla. Stat. (1997) (emphasis supplied). The use of the term "section" refers to section 403.0893 in its entirety, and not just to the paragraph contained in subsection (3)....
...See, e.g., §§
196.1975(4)(b) & (6),
215.422(2), Fla. Stat. (1997). Atlantic cites to Nikolits v. Nicosia,
682 So.2d 663 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), to support its contention that the non-ad valorem method of collection applies only to subsection (3) of section
403.0893, and not to subsections (1) and (2)....
...A public hearing provides tax dissenters with a forum to voice their opposition and an opportunity to influence the political process by mustering support for their views. Under the statute, the City was required to provide written notice and a public hearing for those assessments levied after the 1990/91 tax year. Section
403.0893 permits the City to use the non-ad valorem levy, collection, and enforcement method "as provided for in chapter 197." Section
197.3632(4)(a) provides that a local government "shall adopt a non-ad valorem assessment roll at a public hearing" if one of the following applies: 1....
CopyPublished | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 16980, 2015 WL 7245219
...We agree with this argument
and reverse the order certifying the class.
In 2005, the City adopted Ordinance No. K-390, codified as the
Stormwater Management Utility (“SMU”). Section 20-71 established
stormwater management services as a utility under section 403.0893,
Florida Statutes, and provided for the levy of fees “against all property in
the city in proportion to the property’s contribution to the stormwater
runoff as determined by the impervious surface of developed property and
the ru...
...2
Local governments like the City, the Department of Environmental
Protection (“DEP”), and the water management districts are responsible for
developing compatible stormwater management programs. § 408.0891,
Fla. Stat. (2014). Section 403.0893(1) allows counties and municipalities
to create one or more stormwater utilities and to adopt utility fees to
construct, operate, and maintain these systems....
...Alternatively, they may
create benefit areas and assess a per acreage fee upon all the property
owners within a particular benefit area, assessing different subareas
different per acreage fees based upon a reasonable relationship to benefits
received. § 403.0893(3), Fla. Stat. Local government can use the non-ad
valorem method to levy, collect, and enforce the fees assessed, pursuant
to section 403.0893, whether the government chooses to create a utility
under subsection (1) or benefit areas under subsection (3)....
...o pay the
City for stormwater utility services they do not receive.
The City replied that the SMU fee was neither a tax, as the revenues
are kept separate for the SMU upkeep, nor a special assessment. The SMU
fee was a user fee established under section 403.0893(1)....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1990).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...orida 32399-0450 Mr. Robert L. Hamilton, City Attorney City of Orlando 400 South Orange Avenue Orlando, Florida 32801 Dear Sirs: You ask substantially the following questions: 1. Are stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 , F.S., special assessments for purposes of s.
197.363 , F.S.? 2. Are stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 , F.S., service charges for purposes of s.
197.363 , F.S.? 3. Are stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 , F.S., non-ad valorem assessments as defined in s.
197.3632 , F.S.? 4. Is the real property of the State of Florida immune or exempt from the imposition of stormwater utility fees by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 , F.S.? 5....
...tract between the state and the entity seeking to impose the charge? 6. May the non-ad valorem levy, collection, and enforcement method provided for in Ch. 197 , F.S., be used when a county or municipality elects to create a stormwater utility under s. 403.0893 (1), F.S., as opposed to stormwater management benefit areas under s. 403.0893 (3), F.S.? 7....
...If the state is liable for the payment of stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando, is the real property of the state subject to forced sale under the procedures set forth in Ch. 197 , F.S.? In sum, I am of the opinion that: 1. and 2. The stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s. 403.0893 (1), F.S., appear to be special assessments rather than user charges....
...perty of the state is not subject to such fees absent a specific statute imposing such liability upon the state. 5. In light of the conclusion reached in Question Four, it is unnecessary to address your fifth question. 6. In light of the language of s. 403.0893 (3), F.S., authorizing the use of the non-ad valorem levy, collection, and enforcement method provided for in Ch. 197 , F.S., for fees assessed pursuant to that section, such method may be used when a county or municipality elects to create a stormwater utility under s. 403.0893 (1), F.S. 7. In light of the conclusion reached in Question Four, it is unnecessary to address this question. Section 403.0893 , F.S., provides a funding mechanism for local governments to construct, operate or maintain stormwater systems....
...and enforcement method as provided for in chapter 197. Questions One and Two As your first and second questions are interrelated, they will be answered together. You ask whether the stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s. 403.0893 , F.S., are special assessments or service charges for purposes of s....
...become blurred. However, the statutes themselves appear to recognize a distinction between the terms. 8 Accordingly, while the terms have, on occasion, been used interchangeably, 9 I am of the opinion that they are not synonymous. Subsection (3) of s. 403.0893 , F.S., appears to contemplate the imposition of special assessments within a stormwater management system benefit area. However, the language in subsection (1), which authorizes the imposition of stormwater utility fees, does not as clearly specify the nature of the fees imposed therein. While it may be argued that the language in s. 403.0893 (1), F.S., authorizes the imposition of a service charge, 10 your inquiry is based upon the fees imposed by the City of Orlando and concerns the liability of the state for such fees....
...14 In addition, this office has been advised that the city has utilized the provisions of s.
197.363 , F.S. As noted above, s.
197.363 , F.S., specifically prohibits the use of ad valorem tax bills for service charges. I find no basis for concluding, as suggested by the city, that a user charge for purposes of s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., is not a user charge for purposes of s.
197.363 , F.S. Based upon the foregoing, I am of the opinion that the stormwater utility fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., are being imposed as special assessments....
...assessments as defined in s.
197.3632 , F.S., since such charges cannot become a lien against homestead as permitted in s. 4, Art. X, State Const. 15 However, as discussed in Questions One and Two, the utility charge imposed by the city pursuant to s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., as a charge against particular property with reference to the peculiar and specific benefit to the property by reason of the improvements, would appear to be imposed as special assessments....
...16 Such charges, therefore, would qualify as "non-ad valorem assessments" as defined in s.
197.3632 (1)(d), F.S. Question Four It is generally recognized that state-owned lands are subject to special assessments if so provided by legislation. 17 The legislative intent to impose such liability, however, must be clear. 18 Section
403.0893 (1), F.S., merely authorizes the city to impose stormwater utility fees; it does not expressly or by necessary implication impose such liability on state lands. Thus, to the extent that the City of Orlando seeks to levy a stormwater utility fee as a special assessment pursuant to s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., and in the absence of a clear declaration by the Legislature, I cannot conclude that state lands are subject to the fee imposed by the city....
...Accordingly, it may be advisable to seek legislative or judicial clarification on this issue. Question Six You ask whether the non-ad valorem levy, collection and enforcement methods provided in Ch. 197 , F.S., may be used when a county or municipality elects to create a stormwater utility under s. 403.0893 (1), F.S., rather than a stormwater management benefit unit under subsection (3) of the statute. Section 403.0893 (3), F.S., authorizes the creation of a stormwater benefit area and provides assessment of fees to fund the construction, operation and maintenance of the stormwater management system....
...county or municipality electing to create a stormwater utility under subsection (1) of the statute may use the levy, collection and enforcement methods provided for in Ch. 197 , F.S., as well as for those fees assessed pursuant to subsection (3) of s. 403.0893 , F.S....
CopyAgo (Fla. Att'y Gen. 1991).
Published | Florida Attorney General Reports
...Petersburg QUESTION: May the City of St. Petersburg pursuant to s. 403.0892, F.S., impose a stormwater utility services user's fee on a district school board based upon estimated use? SUMMARY: The city may impose stormwater utility user fees adopted pursuant to s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., upon a school board based upon the board's use of the system. Section
403.0893 (1), F.S., authorizes a municipality to [c]reate one or more stormwater utilities and adopt stormwater utility fees sufficient to plan, construct, operate, and maintain stormwater management systems set out in the local program required pursuant to s.
403.0891 (3). In AGO 90-47, this office considered whether stormwater fees imposed by the City of Orlando pursuant to s.
403.0893 (1), F.S., could be charged against property owned by the State of Florida....
...9 Based upon the analysis in the foregoing case, it does not appear that the recurring fee calculated by the estimated use of the stormwater system has the characteristics of an impact or service availability fee. Accordingly, the City of St. Petersburg is authorized to charge stormwater utility user fees pursuant to s. 403.0893 (1), F.S., which, if not imposed as an impact or service availability fee contemplated by s....
