HomeMy WebLinkAbout2697 the east and north is a large recreational area owned by the
City, which has basketball courts, tennis courts, swimming pool,
baseball field and an open area for trails and dogging. The i
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City Commission and the complaining neighbors are afraid that f
if an Action Mart convenience grocery store is allowed on this
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property, it will attract many young people who will buy beer and
wine to .take over to the recreation area, causing trouble,
littering, and that the streets will be blocked with automobiles
and people like Action Mart No. 1. It is regrettable that this
property was zoned commercial in 1976, and that the City issued
a building permit to Plaintiffs before an application for zoning
change was made. However. C-1 zoning not only allows convenience
grocery stores to sell beer and wine for off-premise consumption,
but this zoning even allows package liquor stores. Proper law
enforcement should be able to prevent much of the problems which
the City Commission and concerned citizens are worried about,
since the beverage license applied for is for off-premise con-
sumption only.
This is clearly a case of equitable Pstoppel, as all
three essential elements were met, i.e., (1) Plaintiffs, property
owners, acted in good faith in purchasing this property and check-
` ing with the City as to the zoning; (2) Plaintiffs relied upon
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the actions of the City of Fort Pierce by first checking with the
Building Director to determine that this property was zoned
' commercial before they purchased this property, and then obtained
a building permit from the City which allowed them to construct a
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convenience grocery store for the sale of beer and wine; and (3)
Plaintiffs made a substantial change in their position and incurred
extensive obligations and expenses by purchasing this property for.
$5,000 cash, obligating themselves to a note and mortgage in the
amount of $70,000, spent approximately $3,000 to $4,000 for re-
z novations, and an additional amount for paving of a driveway. All
of these actions were done by Plaintiffs riot to the City's
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actions to rezone this property.
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