City of Miami Beach v. Royal Castle System, Inc.

• Decision Date: 31 January 1961
• Docket Number: No. 60-260,60-260
• Citation: 126 So.2d 595
• Parties: CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, a Municipal corporation; Morris N. Lipp, Joe Cohen, Leo Eisenstein, Joseph H. Gardner and Ben Giller, as members of and constituting the Board of Adjustment of the City of Miami Beach, Appellants, v. ROYAL CASTLE SYSTEM, INC., a Florida corporation, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 595

126 So.2d 595

CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, a Municipal corporation; Morris N. Lipp, Joe Cohen, Leo Eisenstein, Joseph H. Gardner and Ben Giller, as members of and constituting the Board of Adjustment of the City of Miami Beach, Appellants, v. ROYAL CASTLE SYSTEM, INC., a Florida corporation, Appellee.

No. 60-260.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

Jan. 31, 1961.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 24, 1961.

Joseph A. Wanick, City Atty., Miami Beach, for appellants.

Brigham, Wright & Goodwin, Stone & Bittel, Miami, for appellee.

CARROLL, CHAS., Judge.

The appellants, who are the City of Miami Beach and the members of its Zoning Board of Adjustment, appeal from a judgment of the circuit court in certiorari quashing a ruling of the Board which had denied appellee a building permit.

Appellee operates a chain of street-side lunch counter type eating places specializing in hamburgers, under the name of Royal Castle. The Board, relying on an opinion to that effect by the city attorney, concluded that such establishments were not restaurants, and thereupon denied a request for a permit to build a 'Royal Castle' in an area of the city in which the zoning permitted 'restaurants.' The issues and questions involved on the appeal may be shown sufficiently by quoting from the opinion of the learned circuit judge, which accompanied the judgment, as follows:

'* * * Petitioner owns Let 29 in Block 2 of Amended Plat of Garden Subdivision in the City of Miami Beach, which lot is zoned BAA in a business district of said city. According to zoning ordinance No. 289 of the City of Miami Beach, BAA zoning permits the following such businesses and activity:

'Restaurants

Furniture Stores

Professional Offices

Barber Shops

Hotel and Apartment Houses

Confectionery and ice cream stores

Music stores and radio stores

Bathing casinos

Photograph Galleries

Theatres and Moving Picture Houses

Drug Stores

Luggage Shops

Cabarets

Hardward Stores

'The Board of Adjustment of the City of Miami Beach denied Petitioner a permit to construct its building in accordance with the plan submitted because, in its determination and judgment, the operation would not constitute a restaurant within the meaning of the zoning ordinance. Certain testimony was received before the Board from good citizens interested in the matter, but completely outside of the scope of the inquiry. This is not a case in which someone seeks to secure a variance from zoning regulations or seeks to change the zoning where citizens affected may testify to the Board as to effects that such variances or changes in zoning would have on the value of surrounding properties. The sole question in issue is whether or not on the record before the Board, the operation of the Petitioner constitutes a restaurant within the meaning and legislative intent of the zoning ordinance.

'At the hearing before the Board of Adjustment, the Board properly sought the advice of the able and learned City Attorney, who refered them to his written opinion earlier given to the Building Inspector of the City, which opinion was made a part of the record. Said City Attorney's opinion, although different from the judgment and opinion of this Court, is a classic masterpiece in the English language, and points up very directly the problem to be rsolved. Said opinion reads as follows:

"I have your inquiry pertaining to the above, and have examined the building plans referred to.

"The question, of course, is whether the proposed enterprise would constitute a 'restaurant' within the meaning of the zoning ordinance.

"The question is not without some difficulty and can be determined only by ascertaining the legislative intent as manifested by the zoning ordinance in its entirety.

"The ordinance clearly recognizes the proposition that while every restaurant is an eating establishment, every eating establishment is not a restaurant.

"It is, of course, unnecessary for a food establishment to be an Antoine's or a Maxim or to reflect the aura of candlelight and the restle of silken gowns to achieve the status of a restaurant.

"However, the concept can scarcely be expanded to include an operation devoted to the mass production and consumption of the commodity known as the hamburger. The circumstance that the item is possessed of qualities of superb merit, and is purveyed in surroundings of lavish decor must be regarded as adventitious. Bereft of those qualities such an establishment would not be in harmony with virtually the highest type of business zoning in the City of Miami Beach, within which the desired location is situate.

"I conclude, and it is my opinion, that the proposed operation would not constitute a 'restaurant' as the term is used in the ordinance, and therefore the request for a building permit should be denied.'

'An examination of the record made before the Board of Adjustment, and certified to this Court, shows beyond any question that the the manner and method in which Petitioner intended to conduct its Royal Castle restaurant business on the lot zoned 'BAA' constituted a restaurant specifically and directly permitted by the zoning ordinance of the City of Miami Beach. The minutes of the Board reflect the following:

* * *

* * *

"In response to a suggestion by Mr. Wanick, the Board interrogated Mr. Stone as to the exact nature of the business and its operation. Mr. Stone replied that most of the food preparation was done on location, and the menu consisted of orange juice, tomato juice, prune juice, cereals, eggs, bacon, coffee, milk, root beer, hamburgers, chili, danish pastries, pies, donuts and soup. He added that the preparation and packaging of much of the food was done at a food commissary in Hialeah and is delivered in the early morning hours where the employees would prepare the food for actual consumption.

He went on to say that the building is air-conditioned, that all service is within the building and that the people must leave their cars and come into the building to be served by countermen or waiters. He added that it was a twnety-four hour operation, that there were ten seats available at the counter and more than adequate parking facilities.'

'In considering the zoning ordinance...