Florida garage closed over zoning laws

The "Disney World for Volkswagen enthusiasts," Tampa Bay's Sunray Bugs, has been shut down after a legal battle with Dade City county over zoning laws.

That means the hundreds of assorted vintage Beetles, Karmann-Ghias and Microbuses owner Leroy "Corky" Yager had on the property had to be crushed, reports the Tampa Bay Times.

The "VW graveyard" opened in 1986, but in 2009 a neighbour, who thought the junkyard an eyesore, complained to the city.

Apparently Sunray Bugs was built on a piece of commercial-zone property, which is A-OK for auto repair shops, but not for scrapyards.

The 83-year-old Yager had two heart attacks during the ensuing four-year legal battle over whether the business could stay.

Yager knew the end of Sunray was in sight, and sold off as many restorable cars and good condition parts as he could. But he missed two deadlines to clear out the property, so eventually the city did it for him.

In December they collected around 400 of the 800 vehicles Yager had left on the property. The city didn't charge him, they just kept the scrap fees.

His new deadline to clear out the rest is February 15. Yager plans to meet it, to prevent the loss of any other rare or remarkable vintage VW parts.



(YouTube and Tampa Bay Times via AutoBlog)