Bee's Auto, Inc. v. City of Clermont

927 F. Supp. 2d 1318, 2013 WL 764766, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27573
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedFebruary 28, 2013
DocketCase No. 5:11-cv-525-Oc-10PRL
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 927 F. Supp. 2d 1318 (Bee's Auto, Inc. v. City of Clermont) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bee's Auto, Inc. v. City of Clermont, 927 F. Supp. 2d 1318, 2013 WL 764766, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27573 (M.D. Fla. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

WM. TERRELL HODGES, District Judge.

This litigation arises from a dispute about whether Plaintiffs Bee’s Auto, Inc., and Wayne Weatherbee may operate an automobile repair shop and storage facility on a parcel of property owned by the Plaintiffs in Clermont, Florida. The case also involves a separate dispute as to whether the Plaintiffs can post signs on that property complaining about the City of Clermont’s government.

The Plaintiffs have filed a six-Count Amended Complaint against the City alleging constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for purported violations of the Plaintiffs’ procedural and substantive due process rights, violations of their First Amendment right to free speech, an inverse condemnation/unlawful takings claim under the Fifth Amendment, and a state law claim for equitable estoppel (Doc. 27). The Plaintiffs seek monetary damages as well as declaratory and injunctive relief.

The case is now before the Court on the City of Clermont’s motion for summary judgment (Doc. 53), to which the Plaintiffs have filed a response in opposition (Doc. 67), and the City has filed a reply (Doc. 67). For the reasons discussed below, the Court finds that the motion is due to be granted in part and denied in part.

Undisputed Material Facts

I. The Plaintiff’s Acquisition of the Subject Property

Plaintiff Bee’s Auto, Inc., (“Bee’s Auto”) is a Florida corporation with a registered address of 21919 U.S. Highway 27, Lees-burg, Florida 33748. Bee’s Auto is an automotive repair business that has been operating since 1982 at 899 West Montrose Street, Clermont, Florida 34711. The property located at 899 West Montrose Street is owned by Margaret Ann Weatherbee, the mother of Plaintiff Wayne Weatherbee. Mr. Weatherbee is the owner and president of Bee’s Auto.

The parcel of property at issue (the-“Subject Property”) is located at 898 West Montrose Avenue, Clermont, Florida, diagonally across the street from Bee’s Auto’s [1321]*1321current business address. The Subject Property is within the jurisdiction of the City of Clermont, and is subject to the City’s regulations, ordinances, Comprehensive Plan, and land development code. The Subject Property contains a building that is approximately 1,118 square feet in dimension, including two enclosed bays, an office, two bathrooms, and an open canopy structure.

The Subject Property was utilized as an automotive repair business from 1940 through March 2003, and title has passed through several different owners. The Subject Property was purchased by Charles Neimeyer, Jr. and his company A & S Automotive, Inc. in 1994, and was owned by them until February 28, 2006. Mr. Neimeyer operated A & S Automotive Center, an automobile repair business, on the Subject Property until March 2003, at which time he abandoned the business and the property. The utilities were shut off in May 2003, Mr. Neimeyer did not pay any occupational taxes after July 2003, and A & S Automotive Center did not possess an occupational license to operate on the Subject Property after August 2004. Mr. Neimeyer dissolved A & S Automotive, Inc. as of September 19, 2003.

The Subject Property remained abandoned and unused from March 2003 through February 28, 2006. During this period, Mr. Neimeyer allowed Mr. Weatherbee to park cars on the Subject Property in exchange for Mr. Weatherbee providing lawn maintenance service. The Subject Property was not used as the site of an automotive repair business during this time.

On February 28, 2006, the Plaintiffs purchased the Subject Property from A & S Automotive, Inc., which by that time was a dissolved corporation, for $250,000. The Plaintiffs intended to move Bee’s Auto’s automotive repair business onto the property (Doc. 27, Ex. A).1

II. The City’s Zoning of the Subject Property and Conditional Use Permits

The City of Clermont’s Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Element and Future Land Use Map dictate the allowable uses of a parcel of land located within the City’s jurisdictional limits. The City’s zoning code further dictates the allowable uses for a parcel, the conditions under which the parcel can be used, and prescribes the procedures under which the owner can use the property.

On August 13, 1991, the City of Clermont amended its Comprehensive Plan through Ordinance 230-M. At that time, the Future Land Use Element was amended to designate the property located at 898 West Montrose Avenue as “Central Business District (CBD) — Established Business District (EBD)l.” Property given this designation can be used for certain enumerated commercial business purposes, however, operation of an automotive repair business is not one of those purposes. In other words, after August 13, 1991, the Subject Property was no longer permitted to be the site of an automotive repair business.

At the time of the 1991 Comprehensive Plan amendment, however, an automotive repair business was already operating on the Subject Property, and had been since 1940. Under those circumstances, the City of Clermont considered the automo[1322]*1322tive repair business operating on the Subject Property to be an allowed “nonconforming use” of the property.

The City defines “non-conforming uses” as business uses that are not permitted under the Comprehensive Plan, but are allowed to continue operating (they are “grandfathered in”) because they were in existence prior to a Plan amendment. If the owner of property operating as a nonconforming use wishes to change or modify the property in any way, the owner must obtain a Conditional Use Permit from the City Council “for the reconstruction, enlargement or expansion of the non-conforming use where it is determined that such reconstruction, enlargement or expansion is not obnoxious or detrimental to the district in which it is located and where the denial of a Conditional Use Permit would create an unnecessary hardship on the owner.” See Affidavit of James Hitt, Ex. C, p. 3 and Ex. D (Doc. 54-4, p. 3 and Doc. 54-5).

A non-conforming use must continue to operate on the property without interruption in order to maintain permissible nonconforming status. Specifically, “no nonconforming use of land or building shall be changed to another non-conforming use. Any non-conforming use of land or building which has ceased by discontinuance or abandonment for a period of one (1) year shall thereafter conform to the provisions of this Land Development Code.” Id., Ex. D. (Doc. 54-5). Thus, if a non-conforming use is abandoned for one year or more, and the owner of the property subsequently wants to reinstate the non-conforming use, the owner must seek approval from the City of Clermont and obtain a Conditional Use Permit.

To obtain a Conditional Use Permit, the owner of a parcel of property files an application with the City and pays a fee, and then works with the City’s zoning and planning department to ensure that the site plans for the property otherwise comply with the City’s Ordinances and Comprehensive Plan. The City’s zoning and planning department will recommend modifications to the site plans to ensure compliance, and make further suggestions that would keep the proposed site plans in harmony with existing structures in the same area.

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Related

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
927 F. Supp. 2d 1318, 2013 WL 764766, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27573, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bees-auto-inc-v-city-of-clermont-flmd-2013.