Volusia County’s catfight ends $80K fine dropped; teacher can keep Pierson shelter

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON
Peace at last — Attorney Eric Latinsky and his client Kristy Grant await the Volusia County Council’s consideration of a settlement of a long-running legal battle over her animal shelter near Pierson. Grant, who operates Cat Tail Corner, won a lawsuit she filed against the county over zoning regulations. The County Council decided Dec. 17 not to appeal the court ruling.

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Dec 21, 2009 - 10:28:28am

The fur will stop flying, at last.

More than three years after she first sought Volusia County’s blessing for her cat sanctuary, a Pierson woman is at last savoring a legal victory.

Kristy Grant will be allowed to keep her home for unwanted cats, known as Cat Tail Corner. The County Council decided Dec. 17 to stop battling her in court and to make peace.

“That’s a huge relief for a schoolteacher,” said Eric Latinsky, Grant’s attorney.

The County Council opted to halt action against the animal shelter; a code-enforcement fine of more than $80,000 will be dropped.

Grant and Latinsky sued the county in 2006, after the County Council denied Grant’s request for a special exception to maintain an animal shelter on her 10 acres along Buckles Road. The property is zoned Forestry Resource.

Although Grant’s land is in a rural area and much larger than a typical residential lot, a county ordinance limited her to no more than four adult domestic animals, dogs or cats, unless she had a special exception for an animal shelter.

A special exception, which must be granted by the County Council, is special permission for an activity on one’s property that is not expressly prohibited by the county’s zoning law.

History

When she first asked for a special exception, Grant was keeping approximately 150 cats. A few neighbors complained about cats escaping from her property, and the County Council ruled Cat Tail Corner and its cats were a public nuisance.

Grant said she had established Cat Tail Corner to provide a home for cats that would otherwise live at risk in the wild and perhaps be picked up and euthanized.

A long legal battle ensued. Grant sued for the county to recognize Cat Tail Corner as a legitimate animal-rescue operation. Circuit Judge Robert Rouse last month ruled largely in her favor, but ordered Grant to shelter no more than 125 cats for the time being, and to reduce the maximum number of cats to 100 in two years.

Rouse determined Cat Tail Corner is “a lawful preexisting non-conforming land use.” The judge also ruled Grant is operating “a hobby breeder facility to shelter” the cats, and said Cat Tail Corner “does not constitute a public nuisance at the present time.”

While she was fighting the county in one court, Grant faced other woes. Shortly after Christmas 2007, her home burned, and that created a series of difficulties. An investigation concluded the fire had been accidental, related to an electrical problem.

Beginning in March 2008, Grant had to deal with the county’s Code Enforcement Board for allegedly violating building and zoning regulations. No longer able to live in her home, Grant had to make other arrangements.

“I moved into the shelter for the cats. I got a notice of a code violation for that, because it didn’t have a certificate of occupancy. They dropped it,” she said.

However, Grant’s code-enforcement problems weren’t over.

“I slept in my car. I got a fifth wheel. They told me I needed to get a mobile home or a manufactured home, and I did, but they told me if I rebuilt my house, I would have to get rid of the mobile home,” Grant said.

Cats, codes and courts

She incurred a $400 fine for living on her property without a county-approved structure.

Code officers also cited Grant for violating the zoning law by operating an animal shelter without county approval, and the Code Enforcement Board imposed a fine of $150 per day for as long as the violation persisted.

That fine became a lien of more than $80,000, which prevented her from borrowing money to fix her fire-damaged home.

Along the way, the stress took its toll on Grant, and she suffered a mild stroke.

Latinsky was especially critical of the code-enforcement process against his client.

“The Code Enforcement Board made a substantial legal error by not allowing us to complete the litigation which was pending before Judge Rouse,” he told The Beacon. “To fine a citizen on a daily basis before a court can consider the pending issues seems to be fundamentally unfair and violates the due process of law.”

Under the settlement between the county and Grant, “the code-enforcement lien will be quashed,” Latinsky said.

Grant’s lawsuit over Cat Tail Corner was separate from her Code Enforcement Board appeal.

The code-enforcement case was tried by Circuit Judge Randall Rowe. Grant asked Rowe to nullify the fine, but Rowe withheld ruling until the County Council decided whether to appeal Rouse’s ruling.

County Attorney Dan Eckert had advised the council to appeal Rouse’s decision. In a Dec. 1 memorandum, Eckert said the county should challenge the court’s “determination that Grant is a hobby breeder,” and “the determination that the county may not now limit the number of animals maintained by Ms. Grant.”

As day gave way to nightfall at the County Council’s final meeting of 2009, the council chose to settle the long-running case. The council voted 5-2 to cease court action against Grant.

Vice Chair Joie Alexander and Council Member Jack Hayman dissented.

As part of the settlement, Grant agreed to repair the fences and netting that keep her cats contained. The settlement now must have final approval by Rouse.

Although his client is now free to continue operating Cat Tail Corner, Latinsky said he and Grant would still like a chance to tell their story to the bigger audience.

“We’re still hoping Dr. Phil would do a program on her,” Latinsky said, referring to Texas psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw, who has a nationally syndicated television program.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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