Fish Island denial headed to court

Fish Island denial headed to court

City backs planning board in rejecting project

MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/12/07


The next time the issue of a massive dock and marina for a development on Fish Island comes up it will probably be before a judge.

The St. Augustine City Commission, by a 5-0 vote Monday night, backed a decision by the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board to deny the dock that opponents say will destroy one of the last unspoiled vistas in the area.

The commission was serving as an appellate court so there was no public hearing.

"We will be going on to court with this," said Fred Halback of Halback Design Group, who has been working with developer Jim Young, designing landscaping for the upscale project.

Court was almost inevitable no matter which way the vote went.

Opponents of the development indicated earlier they would fight the dock in court if the city approved it.

City Attorney Ron Brown told commissioners that, in making their decision, they needed to be able to show a court they had allowed due process, complied with essential elements of law for development criteria and that there was "substantive and competent evidence" to support the decision of the PZB.

Fish Island Development Inc. sought the dock and marina as part of its planned upscale development. The dock was to be more than 1,200 feet long and about 10 feet wide in order to accommodate golf carts. The marina was to hold 100 50-foot yachts.

The marina would have allowed most of the residents in the 177-unit development to have a boat slip. Without it, only about 30 of the units are waterside and eligible for individual docks.

Opponents said they were concerned about safety, erosion, destruction of the environment and loss of the Fish Island vista to the public.

Richard McGuire, attorney for the development, said at Monday's meeting that his client had done his homework, obtained state and federal permits, had a right to the dock because of the zoning and was "making a good faith effort to develop the property."

He argued the commission had to use fact-based evidence in making their decision and said the question of vista had been addressed.

Vista, public benefit and the environment were the three major issues addressed.

The issue of vista -- or the view -- came up several times as commissioners discussed their options.

Mayor Joe Boles said while there were no statutes defining what a scenic vista was, he thought it was like the obscenity case once before the U.S. Supreme Court. As one justice said, he might not be able to define obscenity but he knew it when he saw it.

Commissioners also stressed it would not be the first time a dock was denied.


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