Here Come The Coral Gables Zoning Officers . . .
The Miami Herald reported on October 29, 2010 that "Code enforcement officers will begin issuing warning notices this week for the overnight parking of trucks in Coral Gables residential areas."
"The law prohibits the parking of trucks in residential areas unless parked in an enclosed garage. It also prohibits the parking of trucks, trailers, commercial or recreational vehicles upon the streets or other public places in the City between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. of the following day."
This was of course expected, since the appeal court overturned its prior decision, and held the Coral Gables parking ordinance to be constitutional back in August. Additionally, this was also expected since the City of Coral Gables needs to raise revenue to pay for the $200,000 in legal expenses it has amassed defending the $50 parking ticket I was issued.
However, the good news is that today I filed my Notice to Invoke Discretionary Jurisdiction of the Florida Supreme Court. The Court does not have to hear the issue, however, I believe they will because in my opinion, the law is not rational.
Watch Coral Gables Zoning Office Clute's Deposition - Rational?
In order for the zoning ordinances to be held constitutional, they need to be rational and promote a legitimate government purpose. The City argued the ordinances help preserve the aesthetics of Coral Gables and therefore, keep property prices higher. However, if you watch the deposition of Officer Clute, a City Zoning Employee for more than fifteen years, you will see that the ordinances are not rationally related to the City's "purpose" of aesthetics and therefore, the laws are unconstitutional.
Is There Really A Difference?
I took this picture recently (December 2010) of a couple of cars outside a house in Coral Gables. If you cannot tell, there are two cars parked out in front which look very similar. However, because of the Coral Gables ordinances, which are to protect the aesthetics of the "City Beautiful" (only at night), one is allowed to park in the City at night, and the other is not. Based only on what the vehicles look like, can you really say there is a difference and one will lower property values simply because of the way it looks? Click on the picture for a larger photo.
We Are Looking For Our Next Case Against The City
I am looking for a specific set of facts that I believe will help us to have this archaic law finally held to be unconstitutional.
If you have a family member who visits you frequently in the City at night, and they receive a citation for parking their non-commercial, personal use pick-up truck, in violation of the City zoning code, I would like to speak with you and with your family member. I can be contacted at work at 305.358.6800.
City of Coral Gables Ban On Parking Personal Use Pickup Trucks Is Absurd
Coral Gables' ban on parking personal use pickup trucks outside in the city at night is absurd. City Commissioners as well as Mayor Don Slesnick refuse to rewrite the City's parking ordinances because they feel that pickup trucks are not esthetically pleasing and will have a negative effect on property values. However, there is currently no law or ordinance that would prohibit or ban cars such as this one from parking in the City at anytime of the day. As a matter of fact, I took the picture of this car, which was located at the threshold of the city on Granada and Bird Road, around noon time. The only thing missing was a "Welcome to Coral Gables" sign on the side.
In both cases, Kuvin and Kearns, Spencer Kuvin has asked that the City rewrite the truck parking ordinances to reflect the current trend of citizens in using their trucks as personal, everyday modes of transportation. However, the City and its attorneys have stonewalled all efforts to settle the issues. The effect of the City's litigious mind set has cost the taxpayers of Coral Gables well over $200,000 in legal expenses over the last five years.