Orlando v. Comtois
Orlando v. Comtois
Opinion of the Court
Appellant seeks reversal of an order entered by the circuit court quashing a decision of the Board of Adjustment of the North Peninsula Zoning District in Volu-sia County, which order granted a zoning variance to the appellant.
The order of quashal in the trial court was founded on three stated grounds. First, the action of the Board of Adjustment amounted to rezoning rather than a variance and thus was beyond the jurisdiction of the Board of Adjustment. Second, no substantial competent evidence was offered in support of granting the variance. Finally, that the hardship alleged was self-created by the party seeking the variance.
Upon consideration of the record, briefs, and arguments of the parties herein, we are convinced that the trial court erroneously ruled that appellant’s hardship was self-created inasmuch as it is clear that appellant’s ownership of the land in question preceded the enactment of the zoning in question. However, it is our view that the overriding issue presented by the case is whether the action taken by the Board of Adjustment constituted a rezoning of appellant’s property as opposed to the granting of a variance. The criticality of this question is apparent since the Board of Adjustment is not empowered to rezone property, whereas it is empowered to grant variances. We think the distinction between the two is amply set forth in the Supreme Court’s opinion in Josephson v. Autrey, 96 So.2d 784. In Josephson, the court construed the authority of the zoning
Accordingly, the order of the lower court granting certiorari is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.