Court Upholds Miami Shores' Ban On Front Yard Veggie Gardens

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) - A constitutional challenge to a Miami Shores ordinance that bars residents from planting vegetable gardens in their front yards has been rejected by a state appeals court.

Hermine Ricketts and Tom Carroll filed the lawsuit after a code inspector issued a notice of violation because of their front-yard vegetable garden.

Represented by attorneys from the Institute for Justice, a national legal group, the couple argued that the ordinance ran afoul of the Florida Constitution, including that it violated their privacy rights and their right to acquire, possess and protect property. But a Miami-Dade County circuit judge ruled that the ordinance was constitutional and a three-judge panel of the appeals court has now agreed.

For example, the appeals court said the ordinance "only prohibits vegetable gardens in a front yard, not anywhere or everywhere on a residential lot." Also, it pointed to legal precedents upholding zoning regulations based on aesthetics.

The News Service of Florida contributed to this report