United States Sugar Corp. v. 1000 Friends of Florida
Docket: No. 4D12-2373
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; August 7, 2013; Florida; State Appellate Court
In a legal challenge regarding a development order allowing mining on U.S. Sugar's property in Palm Beach County, the trial court granted summary judgment, finding the order inconsistent with the Comprehensive Plan of Palm Beach County. This decision was based on precedents from 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc. v. Palm Beach County Bergeron Sand, Rock Mine Aggregates, Inc. and 1000 Friends of Florida, Inc. v. Palm Beach County Rinker Materials of Florida, d/b/a Cemex. The court affirmed the trial court's ruling, emphasizing that the development order, granted to Florida Rock Industries, Inc. and U.S. Sugar, allowed general commercial mining, which is prohibited by the comprehensive plan. U.S. Sugar argued that it intended to mine in compliance with the plan, attempting to differentiate its case from the previous ones where the companies did not intend to follow the plan's strict requirements for agricultural areas. However, the court clarified that the consistency of a development order with a comprehensive plan is assessed based on what the order permits rather than the applicant's intentions. The applicant bears the burden of proving conformity with the comprehensive plan, and the existing order was deemed inconsistent. The court advised that if U.S. Sugar wishes to mine in compliance with the plan, it should submit a new application that aligns with the comprehensive plan's restrictions. The ruling was affirmed with concurrence from Justices Stevenson and Taylor.