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Published by the Indiana Office of Court Services

Siwinski v. Town of Ogden Dunes, No. 64A03-0909-CV-429, __ N.E.2d __ (Ind. Ct. App., Mar. 16, 2010)

March 19, 2010 Filed Under: Civil Tagged With: Appeals, J. Kirsch

KIRSCH, J.
In the present case, the Ordinance does not expressly prohibit short-term rentals, but merely restricts the use of property in an R District to that of a single-family dwelling, which is defined as being “occupied exclusively as a residence by one family.” Appellants’ App. at 40. Previous Indiana cases that have analyzed the language of restrictions on land use regarding residential uses have determined that such language was concerned with the physical activity conducted upon the property and not the profit-making intentions of the homeowners. Applegate, 908 N.E.2d at 1219; Lewis-Levett v. Day, 875 N.E.2d 293, 296 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied; Stewart, 635 N.E.2d at 192. As in Applegate, the renters of the Siwinskis’ property used the house for eating, sleeping, and other activities typically associated with a residence or dwelling place. Nothing in the designated evidence established that any commerce or other activities not associated with a residence were ever conducted on the Siwinskis’ property. Nor did the evidence show that, at any time, the property was occupied by more than a single family simultaneously. Under the trial court’s overly broad construction of the Ordinance, the Siwinskis would be prohibited from, and subject to substantial fines for, such things as having weekend guests or allowing family members to use the property while they were away as the property would then not be occupied exclusively as a residence by one family. We conclude that it was error to find that the Siwinskis’ occasional short-term rental of their property was a commercial and not a residential use. The trial court erred when it granted summary judgment in favor of the Town and denied the Siwinskis’ motion for summary judgment. We reverse the summary judgment entry in favor of the Town and the trial court’s injunction and fine and remand to the trial court with instructions that summary judgment should be entered in favor of the Siwinskis.
DARDEN, J., and MAY, J., concur.

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