A state appeals court has struck a blow for drivers of pickup trucks against Coral Gables, otherwise known as “The City Beautiful.” Lowell Kuvin, 43, got a $50 ticket in February 2003 after parking his 1993 Ford F-150 pickup in the driveway of his Gables rental. He was working then as a waiter at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach.
Other people would pay the $50 and move on, but Kuvin went to his brother, Palm Beach Gardens lawyer Spencer Kuvin, and fought back. That fight resulted in 48 pages of opinions about constitutional law Wednesday from the Third District Court of Appeal in Miami.
“Perhaps Coral Gables can require that all its houses be made of ticky-tacky and that they all look just the same, but it cannot mandate that its people are, or do,” Senior Judge Alan Schwartz wrote for the panel.
The court said it was OK to ban commercial trucks from city streets overnight, but not those used as personal vehicles. Coral Gables is known for strictly regulating the appearance of businesses and residences to create an upscale image.
Spencer Kuvin said the truck ordinance was driven by discrimination, not aesthetics. “It had entirely to do with the class of citizens city officials felt drove that type of vehicle,” he said. “They didn’t want those people in the city at night.” City Attorney Elizabeth Hernandez could not be reached for comment.
As for Lowell Kuvin, he graduated in May from St. Thomas School of Law and now lives  with his truck  on ritzy Venetian Island.
This story was originally published in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Story by Vanessa Blum
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