Meeting today on Fish Island development

Meeting today on Fish Island development



By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 04/16/08

Opponents of the proposed dock at Fish Island fear the developer and the City of St. Augustine could strike a compromise today that would permit a dock to be built in exchange for the developer dropping its $9 million lawsuit against the city.

A group of roughly 80 residents who live nearby the project don't want that to happen and is seeking to put pressure on the city.

"We hope the city doesn't cave in to the developer," said Ken Bryan, chairman of the residents who meet regularly and call themselves the Fish Island Group. "We don't want the developer to use this lawsuit as a way to scare the city."

Fish Island Development LLC will go before St. Augustine's Planning and Zoning Board today to discuss alternatives to the owner's originally proposed dock. The meeting is required by law before the developer, Jim Young of Jacksonville, can proceed with his $9 million lawsuit against the city, City Attorney Ron Brown has said.

Planning and Zoning could offer new ways for the owner to use the property, or suggest modifications to the original plan.

Planning and Zoning denied the original project twice and the City Commission supported the board's denial.

The dock was to have been more than 1,200 feet long and about 10 feet wide, Mark Knight, city planning and building director, has said. It would have been part of an upscale development on Anastasia Island south of the Mickler O'Connell Bridge (S.R. 312).

Bryan's group has been meeting since the dock first went before the city a year and a half ago. Ponte Vedra Attorney Deborah Andrews has done pro bono work for the group and sent a letter to the Planning and Zoning Board asking that they continue to deny the project.

The city has already won a round in court against the developer.

Circuit Judge Michael Traynor ruled in February that the Planning and Zoning Board's and the City Commission's denial of the dock in May and June was legally sufficient.

"The city was found to have complied with the law," said Bryan, a candidate for the St. Johns County Commission. "If the developer wants to take this to the next level then he should go ahead, not use it as a way to threaten the city."

Fish Island gave the city notice on Jan. 17 of the potential lawsuit, and the city has 180 days to either settle with the developer or look at other ways the developer can use the property.

If a resolution is not found during that time, the developer can then move forward with his lawsuit.

Fish Island could also offer a proposal for new dock to the Planning and Zoning Board, Brown said.

The developer claims the city's denial of the project will cause $2.7 million in value loss to the property and $6.2 million in value loss of future marina sales, totaling $8.9 million, according to court documents.

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

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