Case Name: Victorien T. LEE, a personal representative of the estate of Kah Lee, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a municipal corporation, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2001-07-20
Citations: 793 So. 2d 62
Docket Number: No. 1D00-870
Parties: Victorien T. LEE, a personal representative of the estate of Kah Lee, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a municipal corporation, Appellee.
Judges: LEWIS, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 793
Pages: 62–67

Head Matter:
Victorien T. LEE, a personal representative of the estate of Kah Lee, Appellant, v. CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, a municipal corporation, Appellee.
No. 1D00-870.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
July 20, 2001.
William S. Graessle of Winegeart & Graessle, P.A., Jacksonville, for Appellant.
Richard A. Mullaney, General Counsel, and Tracey I. Arpen, Jr., Deputy General Counsel, Jacksonville, for Appellee.

Opinion:
KAHN, J.
In this case, appellant raises three arguments for reversal of the trial court's order in a declaratory judgment action involving the City of Jacksonville's tree ordinance, section 656.1201 et seq. In particular, appellant argues that (1) the ordinance does not apply to the property in question; (2) the facts conclusively demonstrate that appellant was entitled to an exemption; and (3) the City of Jacksonville (City) is estopped from enforcing the ordinance because of its inconsistent positions. Because appellant did not raise the third issue before the trial court, it is not properly before us. See, e.g., Ward v. Ward, 742 So.2d 250, 255 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996) ("Since the function of this court is to review possible error committed by the trial court, absent jurisdictional or fundamental error, a legal argument must be raised initially in the lower court before it can be considered on appeal."); Abrams v. Paul, 453 So.2d 826, 827 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984) ("[I]n the absence of jurisdictional or fundamental error, it is axiomatic that it is the function of the appellate court to review errors allegedly committed by trial courts, not to entertain for the first time on appeal issues which the complaining party could have, and should have, but did not, present to the trial court."). We affirm on the other two issues.
Contrary to the assertion made by the dissent, the equitable estoppel issue was not tried by consent. Moreover, appellant has never made the argument, advanced by the dissent, that the issue was tried by consent. Council Bros. v. City of Tallahassee, 634 So.2d 264 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), cited in the dissent, could not control the present issue because, in Council Brothers, the sole issue raised before the trial court was whether the City would be equitably estopped from imposition of certain charges on Council Brothers. During closing arguments in this case, counsel for the City strenuously objected to any consideration by the court of equitable estoppel contending that appellant had never raised the issue in the pleadings and, had the issue been raised, the City would have had its former employee, Mr. Bagwell, present to counter appellant's assertions. At that point, the court ruled very clearly that the question of estoppel would not be considered because the matter had never been previously raised. In the words of the trial judge, "I'm not going to do it." In light of this ruling, the suggestion that the issue was tried by consent simply ignores what happened. At no point did appellant contest this ruling or move to amend the pleadings. The trial court's ruling, in response to the City's objection, must stand undisturbed. See, e.g., Flemming v. Flemming, 742 So.2d 843, 844 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999)("The issue of rotating custody was not tried by implied consent because former wife raised a proper objection."); Todaro v. Todaro, 704 So.2d 138, 139 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997)(finding that issue of child support reduction was not tried by implied consent where ex-wife objected at hearing when ex-husband argued basis for modification that differed from that argued in pleading); Griffin v. Griffin, 463 So.2d 569, 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) ("In the absence of a motion to amend the pleadings, the trial court erred in ruling on an issued that had not been raised in the pleadings and to which timely objections alleging prejudice had been made."). Although the dissent complains that the City did not object when "testimony about Mr. Bagwell's representation" came in, nowhere does the dissent suggest that the testimony, presumably elicited from Kah Lee, was not relevant and admissible for a proper purpose based on the issues actually raised before the trial court. As explained below, we affirm on the other two issues.
First, appellant argues that the trial court should not have accepted the City's definition of the term "lot" because, under that definition, "any parcel of property regardless of size can constitute a 'lot'.... " The City's ordinance defines "lot" in various ways:
Lot means a parcel of land of at least sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements for use, coverage and area and to provide the yards and other open spaces herein required; provided, that the portion of a lot lying within a street or other right-of-way or access easement shall not be included in determining whether the lot meets minimum lot area requirements. The lot shall have frontage upon a publicly maintained or approved private street and may consist of:
(1) A single lot of record.
(2) A portion of a lot of record.
(3) A combination of complete lots of record, of complete lots of record and portions of lots of record or of portions of lots of record.
(4) A parcel of land described by metes and bounds; provided, that, in no case of division or combination, shall a residual lot or parcel be created which does not meet the requirements of this Zoning Code.
Jacksonville, Fla., Ordinance Code § 656.1601 (2000). The trial court found that appellant's property satisfied this definition of a "lot" because "(a) it is of sufficient size to meet minimum zoning requirements, (b) it has frontage on a publicly maintained street, and (c) it is described by metes and bounds." Appellant does not argue that these findings are not supported by competent substantial evidence. This court will not construe or refine the definition of "lot" contained in the ordinance because, although the definition is broad, it is clear. See, e.g., Baker v. State, 636 So.2d 1342, 1343-44 (Fla. 1994) ("Where the legislature has used particular words to define a term, the courts do not have the authority to redefine it."); Holly v. Auld, 450 So.2d 217, 219 (Fla.1984) (explaining that when language of statute is clear, no need to resort to rules of statutory interpretation and construction); Southwest Fla. Water Mgmt. Dist. v. Save the Manatee Club, Inc., 773 So.2d 594, 599 (Fla. 1st DCA 2000) ("A court may resort to extrinsic aids in determining legislative intent only if the language used in a statute is ambiguous.").
Second, appellant argues that, contrary to the trial court's determination, the property at issue qualified for an agricultural use exemption. The trial judge set forth and appropriately analyzed the factors contained in the ordinance regarding the exemption for property used for "bona-fide agricultural purposes." Because appellant does not argue that the judge's findings are not supported by competent substantial evidence, we are not at liberty to revisit these findings.
AFFIRMED.
LEWIS, J., concurs.
BROWNING, J., dissents with opinion.