Miami-Dade Property Owners
Florida abolished Mayor’s Courts. Miami-Dade rebuilt one for our homes.
In 1972, Florida voters ended mayor-driven local courts. Today, Miami-Dade Chapter 8CC Hearing Officers — appointed and removable by the Mayor’s administration, with the County Attorney as their counsel — decide contested code cases that can fine you daily, lien your home, freeze permits, and open a path toward jail under the County’s general-penalty rules. Homeowners do not get the automatic new trial the U.S. Supreme Court required in North v. Russell. We are assembling affected owners to petition for a constitutional tribunal — not special treatment, due process.
Why we call it a Mayor’s Court
Three facts from the brief — then take action. The full constitutional argument lives in the PDF.
Property is not a second-class right beside liberty. The Supreme Court has said the liberty/property split is a false dichotomy (Lynch), refused to treat the Takings Clause as a “poor relation” of the First and Fourth Amendments (Dolan), and — with Chief Justice Roberts in Knick (2019) — again spoke of restoring takings claims to full-fledged Bill of Rights status.
Who controls the hearing
Hearing Officers are appointed and may be removed by the County Mayor or designee. The County Attorney’s Office is their general counsel — while County lawyers also prosecute in front of them.
No automatic new trial
North v. Russell was a criminal / jail case: a nonlawyer police-court judge was allowed only because the defendant got a brand-new trial de novo before a lawyer-judge. Circuit Court challenge here is typically narrow review — not that second full trial. Chapter 8CC fails North’s measuring stick.
Civil ticket, criminal runway
An 8CC “guilty” finding plus failure to correct can trigger § 1-5: fines up to $500, jail up to 60 days, or both — each day a separate offense. Homes and liberty are both on the line.
Also on the law
Zoning penalties — dual track
Under Miami-Dade zoning Chapter 33, a conviction in County Court can mean a fine of up to $500 and/or jail of up to 60 days (or both). The same chapter is also subject to Chapter 8CC civil fines. Each day a violation continues can be a separate offense.
Chapter 33 covers ordinary property issues people actually get cited for — chickee huts, RVs, carports, sheds, and more — and shows the dual path: Article V County Court and the 8CC civil track.
Municode — Chapter 33 / § 33-39 (County Code)
Not legal advice.
Home-based businesses
Florida already limited how counties can police home-based businesses.
In 2021, the Florida Legislature enacted section 559.955, Florida Statutes. It says local governments may not enact or enforce ordinances that license or regulate a qualifying home-based business in violation of that statute. A qualifying home-based business may operate in a residential area if it stays secondary to the home, keeps a residential look from the street, limits on-site nonresident workers (up to two), and does not generate parking, noise, or similar impacts beyond what a normal residence would.
Miami-Dade’s section 33-25.1 “home occupation” rules still describe a tighter local system — including size caps, special Certificate of Use / licensing practices, and other operational limits. Where those local rules go beyond what section 559.955 allows, they are open to challenge. Section 559.955 even lets an adversely affected home-based business owner challenge violating local action and allows the prevailing party to seek attorney’s fees.
We are documenting how County home-occupation enforcement stacks against Florida’s home-based business statute — and demanding that Miami-Dade follow state law.
Fla. Stat. § 559.955 · Miami-Dade § 33-25.1
Not legal advice. Signing a petition does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Property Owner Bill of Rights
Florida law requires each county property appraiser to publish a Property Owner Bill of Rights. It is not a full guide to property law, and it does not create a lawsuit by itself — but it names rights that matter when County code enforcement hits a home.
Among them: the right to due process; just compensation when property is taken for a public purpose; and relief or compensation when a new law, rule, regulation, or ordinance of the state or a political entity unfairly affects your property — plus the rights to acquire, use, enjoy, exclude others from, and dispose of your property.
We point owners to that state Bill of Rights because due process and unfair regulatory burdens are exactly what this petition is about.
Not legal advice. Informational only — § 70.002 creates no civil cause of action.
Sign the Property Owner Petition
Been cited? Appeared before a Hearing Officer? Facing penalties, a lien, or a permit hold under Chapter 8CC? Or standing with someone who has? Add your name. We are building an owned list of affected Miami-Dade property owners — so counsel can evaluate a constitutional case, and so we can petition elected officials together.
