Bullard v. Lake County Code Enforcement Bd., 92-1493

• Decision Date: 11 June 1993
• Docket Number: No. 92-1493,92-1493
• Citation: 620 So.2d 1041
• Parties: 18 Fla. L. Week. D1414 Carl BULLARD, Appellant, v. LAKE COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1041

620 So.2d 1041

18 Fla. L. Week. D1414

Carl BULLARD, Appellant, v. LAKE COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT BOARD, Appellee.

No. 92-1493.

District Court of Appeal of Florida Fifth District.

June 11, 1993.

Rehearing Denied July 8, 1993.

Carl Bullard, pro se.

Annette Star Lustgarten, County Atty., and Michael A. Sabol, Tavares, for appellee.

PETERSON, Judge.

Carl Bullard appeals the circuit court's affirmance of an order of enforcement of the Lake County Code Enforcement Board (Board). The Board found Bullard in violation of Lake County ordinances by dwelling in a travel trailer and storing two travel trailers on agriculturally-zoned lands. We treat the appeal as a petition for writ of certiorari pursuant to rule 9.030(b)(2)(B), Florida Rules of Appellate Procedure, and grant it in part.

Bullard owns one acre of land in a rural portion of Lake County. Pictures of the property contained in the record show it to be in poorly maintained condition with various older motor vehicles and debris stored haphazardly. Two older travel trailers are also located on the property; the smaller one, an 18-footer, serves as Bullard's residence.

It is not surprising that the condition in which Bullard maintains his property would invite a complaint to the Board. It is also not surprising that Bullard received a citation for violation of the code when an investigator who responded to the original complaint was greeted by Bullard in a less-than-hospitable manner. The citation charged violations of section 60.110 of the Lake County Code, and the order of enforcement issued by the Board found him in violation of that section which provides:

Permitted uses [in an agriculturally zoned district]: 60.110. One (1) single family dwelling unit having a minimum living area of eight hundred fifty (850) square feet, which may include three hundred (300) square feet of attached screened area, garages, carports, or utility areas.

Section 40.360 of the code defines "dwelling unit": "For regulatory purposes, the term 'dwelling unit' is not to be construed as including mobile homes, travel trailers, housing mounted on motor vehicles, tents, or other forms of temporary housing" (emphasis added). Section 70.220 of the code provides that uses not permitted are prohibited.

Bullard argues that, since section 60.110 fails to forbid the use of a travel trailer as a dwelling in an agriculturally-zoned district, an ambiguity exists which must be resolved in favor of the property owner. He cites Thomas v. City of Crescent City, 503 So.2d 1299 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987), in support of his argument. In Thomas, the appellant operated a resort in a commercial zoning district which permitted "any commercial use of a retail or service nature." The appellant sought but was denied by the city a permit to add twenty-four recreational vehicle sites to his property. On appeal of an order denying a writ of mandamus, this court found the proposed use was not prohibited by the zoning ordinance. In so finding, this court noted that the code in question defined travel and recreational vehicles, but it failed to include or exclude in any of the zoning districts travel or recreational vehicles specifically. The court found that an ambiguity was presented by the catchall phrase "any commercial use of a retail or service nature," and this ambiguity should be interpreted in the appellant's favor to include recreational vehicle parks or resorts. The court noted that:

We take a broad view of the ordinance because of the...