What Is a Bert Harris Claim?

Florida’s Bert Harris Act (F.S. §70.001) gives property owners a remedy when a government action “inordinately burdens” their reasonable, investment-backed expectations for land use.

It doesn’t have to be a constitutional taking.

It can be triggered by enforcing an ordinance or denying an application.

Before suing, a landowner must file a 90-day notice with an appraisal showing the drop in value.

Damages are measured as the loss in fair market value, not lost profits.

In short, if government action makes a previously foreseeable use impossible and destroys land value, the owner can fight back.

RYAM vs. Fernandina Beach

On July 11, 2025, RYAM filed a Bert Harris notice of claim against the City, seeking $6.6 million in damages.

Here’s the background:

RYAM wanted to build a bioethanol facility on its industrial property.

The City denied the proposal, saying the plant counted as “chemical manufacturing/refining” — a prohibited use in Fernandina Beach’s industrial zoning (I-2).

RYAM argues that producing ethanol through fermentation and distillation isn’t “chemical manufacturing” under the City’s code and should have been allowed.

RYAM has also filed a federal lawsuit, so the fight is now on two fronts.

The Zoning Dispute: Code vs. Process

The heart of the conflict is interpretation.

City’s Position:

The Land Development Code (LDC) bans “chemical or petroleum manufacturing/refining” in all City districts.

Staff and attorneys say a bioethanol plant is, by nature, chemical manufacturing.

Distillation, denaturing, and storing ethanol at an industrial scale fit squarely into that category.

RYAM’s Counter:

Ethanol made from fermentation and distillation is closer to food processing or biochemical production than chemical refining.

The process (fermenting biomass, distilling alcohol, denaturing it for transport) should be considered an allowable industrial use in I-2.

Denying the plant unfairly stripped away a reasonable and foreseeable use of their land.

How a Court Might See It

A court reviewing RYAM’s Bert Harris claim will focus on two central issues: expectation and definition.

First, the question of expectation: RYAM will argue that ethanol production was a foreseeable use within I-2 industrial zoning and that they invested based on that understanding. The City, on the other hand, will say the code has always prohibited chemical manufacturing, so RYAM should never have expected approval for this type of plant.

Second, the definition of “chemical manufacturing” will be critical. RYAM’s position is that fermentation and distillation are not the same as chemical refining, and that the City stretched its interpretation of the code to block their project. The City will respond that at an industrial scale, ethanol production is exactly the kind of chemical process the prohibition was designed to cover.

Finally, damages will be scrutinized. RYAM has submitted an appraisal claiming a $6.6 million loss in property value due to the denial. The City is likely to challenge that figure, suggesting that other industrial uses remain possible and that the value hasn’t been reduced to the extent RYAM claims.

The Bottom Line

Yes—RYAM does have a Bert Harris claim against Fernandina Beach. They’ve filed it properly, with a $6.6 million demand.

Whether they win depends on two things:

If a court agrees that bioethanol via fermentation/distillation was a foreseeable industrial use under I-2 zoning.

If RYAM can prove the City’s denial caused a real drop in property value.

This isn’t just a zoning squabble. It’s a test of how far local governments can go in interpreting their codes, and how much protection Florida landowners really have under the Bert Harris Act.