15-003304BID Pinnacle Heights, Llc vs. Florida Housing Finance Corporation Status: Closed Recommended Order on Monday, August 31, 2015.

Summary: Petitioner established that Intervenor's application was incorrectly scored by agency; tax credits for affordable housing awarded to Petitioner rather than Intervenor.

STATE OF FLORIDA

FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION

PINNACLE HEIGHTS, LLC,

Petitioner, DOAH Case No.: 15- 3304BID

v. FHFC Case No.: 2015 -025BP

FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION,

Respondent,

and

RIO AT FLAGLER, LP,

Intervenor.

FINAL ORDER

This cause came before the Board of Directors of the Florida Housing Finance

Corporation ( "Board ") for consideration and final agency action on September 18,

2015. The matter for consideration before this Board is a Recommended Order

pursuant to §120.57(1) and (3), Fla. Stat. (2014). After a review of the record and

being otherwise fully advised in these proceedings, this Board finds:

1. Petitioner and Intervenor submitted applications to Florida Housing

seeking allocations for low- income tax credits pursuant to RFA 2014 -116. The

Board announced its intention to fund certain projects on May 8, 2015.

2. Petitioner Pinnacle Heights, LLC, ( "Pinnacle Heights "), timely filed a

challenge to proposed funding awards pursuant to § 120.57(3), Fla. Stat. (2014). Rio

FILED WITH THE CLERK OF THE FLORIDA

HOUSING FINAICE CORPORATION

e __;fR

at Flagler, LP ( "Rio "), entered the case as an Intervenor in accordance with Fla.

Admin. Code R. 28- 106.205(3). A formal hearing was conducted pursuant to

§ §120.569 and 120.57(3), Fla. Stat. (2014), before D. R. Alexander, Administrative

Law Judge, at the Division of Administrative Hearings in Tallahassee, Florida, on

August 6, 2015.

3. The issue for determination was whether Respondent's intended

decision to award low- income housing tax credits to Rio, was contrary to governing

statutes, Florida Housing's rules, or the solicitation specifications. Following the

hearing, Pinnacle Heights, Florida Housing, and Rio timely filed Proposed

Recommended Orders.

4. After a review of the record and the Proposed Recommended Orders,

the Administrative Law Judge issued a Recommended Order on August 31, 2015,

which found that Florida Housing's proposed scoring of Rio' s application was

clearly erroneous, contrary to competition, arbitrary or capricious, and

recommended that Florida Housing enter a Final Order finding Rio's application

ineligible and selecting Pinnacle Heights' application for funding. A true and correct

copy of the Recommended Order is attached hereto as "Exhibit A."

5. On September 8, 2015, Rio filed "Rio at Flagler LP's Exceptions to

Recommended Order," challenging four Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

of the Recommended Order. Respondent Florida Housing filed its Response to Rio

at Flagler, LP's Exceptions to Recommended Order on September 11, 2015.

Petitioner Pinnacle Heights did not file a separate response. By agreement of the

parties, both filings were deemed timely.

RULING ON EXCEPTIONS

6. Based on a review of the record and the arguments presented by the

Parties, the Board grants Rio's Exception 1 to Finding of Fact 12 regarding Rio's

representation of which qualifying routes were served by the selected bus stop.

7. Based on a review of the record and the arguments presented by the

Parties, the Board specifically rejects Rio's enumerated Exceptions 2 -4 for the

reasons set forth in the Recommended Order and the Response filed by Florida

Housing.

RULING ON THE RECOMMENDED ORDER

8. The Findings of Fact set out in the Recommended Order are supported

by competent substantial evidence.

9. Finding of Fact 12 contains a scrivener's error and is accordingly

amended below.

10. The Conclusions of Law of the Recommended Order are accepted

without changes.

ORDER

In accordance with the foregoing, it is hereby ORDERED:

11. The Findings of Fact 1 -11 and 13 -16 of the Recommended Order are

adopted as Florida Housing's Findings of Fact and incorporated by reference as

though fully set forth in this Order.

12. In Finding of Fact 12, the language "Route 6 (Coconut Grove)" should

be replaced with "Route 11 (Mall of Americas) ".

13. As amended above, Finding of Fact 12 is adopted as Florida Housing's

Finding of Fact and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth in this Order.

14. The Conclusions of Law of the Recommended Order are adopted as

Florida Housing's Conclusions of Law and incorporated by reference as though fully

set forth in this Order.

15. The Recommendation of the Recommended Order is adopted.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Rio' s application is ineligible for funding

and that Pinnacle Height's application is selected for funding under RFA 2014 -116.

DONE and ORDERED this 18th day of September, 2015.

FLORIDA HOUSING FINANCE

CORPORATION

B

Copies to:

Hugh R. Brown

General Counsel

Florida Housing Finance Corporation

227 North Bronough Street, Suite 5000

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Ken Reecy, Director of Multifamily Housing Programs

Florida Housing Finance Corporation

227 North Bronough Street, Suite 5000

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Michael P. Donaldson, Esquire

Carlton Fields Jorden Burt, PA

215 South Monroe Street, Suite 500

Tallahassee, FL 32301

J. Stephen Menton, Esquire

Rutledge Ecenia, P.A.

119 South Monroe Street, Suite 202

Tallahassee, FL 32301

Gary J. Cohen, Esquire

Shutts and Bowen, LLP

201 South Biscayne Boulevard

1500 Miami Center

Miami, FL 33131

NOTICE OF RIGHT TO JUDICIAL REVIEW

A PARTY WHO IS ADVERSELY AFFECTED BY THIS FINAL ORDER

IS ENTITLED TO JUDICIAL REVIEW PURSUANT TO SECTION 120.68,

FLORIDA STATUTES. REVIEW PROCEEDINGS ARE GOVERNED BY

THE FLORIDA RULES OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE. SUCH

PROCEEDINGS ARE COMMENCED BY FILING ONE COPY OF A

NOTICE OF APPEAL WITH THE AGENCY CLERK OF THE FLORIDA

HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION, 227 NORTH BRONOUGH

STREET, SUITE 5000, TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA 32301 -1329, AND A

SECOND COPY, ACCOMPANIED BY THE FILING FEES PRESCRIBED

BY LAW, WITH THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL, FIRST DISTRICT,

300 MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., BLVD., TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

32399 -1850, OR IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL IN THE

APPELLATE DISTRICT WHERE THE PARTY RESIDES. THE NOTICE

OF APPEAL MUST BE FILED WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS OF

RENDITION OF THE ORDER TO BE REVIEWED.