Municipal Corporations – Zoning – Disqualification of Councilman for Personal Interest

An amendatory zoning ordinance was enacted by the city council of Miami Beach for the purpose of changing the zoning of an extensive area fronting on the Atlantic Ocean from a private residential to a hotel district. The amendment received the required affirmative votes of five of the seven members of the council, including the vote of one councilman who owned land in the area affected by the amendment which would be increased in value by $500,000 because of the zoning change. Plaintiffs, owners of near-by property, filed suit in the circuit court to have the amendatory ordinance declared invalid and to enjoin its enforcement. The chancellor granted the injunction. On appeal, held, reversed. The enactment by a city council of an amendatory zoning ordinance is a legislative function and cannot be invalidated on the ground that a councilman whose vote was essential to the passage of the ordinance had a substantial financial interest in land affected by the zoning change. City of Miami Beach v. Schauer, (Fla. App. 1958) 104 S. (2d) 129.