Castro v. Miami-Dade County Code Enforcement
Docket: No. 3D03-92
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; May 14, 2003; Florida; State Appellate Court
Luis R. Castro and Ofelia Castro sought certiorari review of a circuit court decision that upheld a Miami-Dade County hearing officer's finding of a code violation concerning the illegal storage of their boat in front of their home on December 15 and December 21, 2001. The Castros, who normally kept their boat at a Coast Guard facility, parked it in front of their house to be readily available for Coast Guard orders. The relevant county code, Section 33-20(e)(1), permits the storage of boats under certain conditions, specifically requiring that they be stored behind the front building line of residential properties. While the county argued that the boat was "stored" in violation of this provision, the Castros contended that the boat was merely parked and not in "storage." The court concluded that the terms "stored" and "in storage" lack a specific definition in the code and should be interpreted according to their plain and ordinary meanings. Citing dictionary definitions and case law, the court distinguished between "parking," which implies transience, and "storing," which suggests a degree of permanency. Ultimately, the court found that the Castros’ actions constituted parking rather than storage, thus ruling that the circuit court had applied the incorrect legal standard. The petition for writ of certiorari was granted, the circuit court's decision was quashed, and instructions were given to quash the hearing officer's decision. The record showed no evidence of other violations aside from the cited dates.