Opinion ID: 4231250
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the property and underlying zoning dispute

Text: This saga began when May purchased a parcel of lakefront property in Morgan County intending to build a vacation home. She planned to use the house for short term vacation rentals in order to allay the cost of its construction. May started renting it out in 2008. At the time, the County’s zoning ordinances applicable to May’s property allowed only those uses that the ordinances listed as “permitted” or “conditional.” Short term rentals of single family dwellings were not listed as either a “permitted” or a “conditional” use. In 2010, the Morgan County Board of Commissioners adopted Regulation 15.35, which explicitly bans rentals of single family dwellings for less than thirty 2 Case: 17-11030 Date Filed: 12/21/2017 Page: 3 of 13 consecutive days in the zoning district for May’s property. 1 Because May continued to rent her property on a short term basis, in August 2011 she was given a criminal citation for violating Regulation 15.35.