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Florida Supreme Court To Decide Property Rights Fight Over Fire Station

Auld & White Constructors, LLC
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auld-white.com

The Florida Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in after Jacksonville property owners sued the city for building a fire station next door.

The case will settle the question of how much local governments should held responsible when property values plummet.

Jacksonville property owners, R. Lee and Christy Smith, sued the city after it built a fire station on a riverfront lot on Hecksher Drive across from Mayport — and right next to the Smiths’ undeveloped lot.

The News Service of Florida reports, the couple won their original suit on the basis that their property lost nearly $500,000 in value when the lot next door was rezoned to build the fire station.

Or, in legalese, the city had “inordinately burdened” the use of their land.

But when an appeals court overturned that ruling in February, the question became ripe for Supreme Court review.

Jessica Palombo oversees local news at WJCT News 89.9 and Jacksonville Today. With a master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University and bachelor's in journalism from the University of Florida, Jessica is a nearly lifelong resident of Jacksonville. You may have once seen her on a local community theater stage. These days, you can most likely catch her reading a book in a school pickup line.