Dock decision delayed -- More info wanted on Fish Island case

Dock decision delayed -- More info wanted on Fish Island case

By MARCIA LANE
marcia.lane@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 06/23/09

St. Augustine City Commissioners want more information before deciding how to proceed in the Fish Island dock and marina case.

"I have some concerns. ... I want a little more time to investigate," Vice Mayor Errol Jones said at Monday's city commission meeting before making a motion to delay a vote on a settlement offer by Fish Island Development LLC.

The developer has filed a $9 million lawsuit against the city in an ongoing dispute regarding a dock and marina. The structures are part of an upscale development planned for Anastasia Island south of Mickler-O'Connell Bridge on State Road 312.

Jones quickly got a second for his motion from Commissioner Leanna Freeman. She earlier attempted to get fellow commissioners to go to a judge with the issue but that motion failed on a 2-3 vote.

All five commissioners agreed to hold off on a decision until they could hear a presentation at the next commission meeting from Lewis, Longman and Walker, the Tallahassee law firm that represented the city in a hearing before Circuit Judge Michael Traynor in 2008. Traynor ruled the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board's and the City Commission's denial of the dock was legally sufficient.

The city won that round, but officials are concerned what could happen in the $9 million lawsuit.

The lawsuit was filed under the Bert J. Harris Act, a private property rights protection law which requires that both the city and the developer first show they attempted to find a compromise before a lawsuit is filed.

Under the act if a property owner can demonstrate that a governmental action "inordinately burdens" their property, they would be entitled to some form of compensation.

The decision to wait came after a lengthy presentation by City Attorney Ron Brown on the city's options regarding a settlement offer from the developers. He and attorneys for developer Jim Young of Jacksonville have been negotiating a deal for several months.

The developer agreed to go from a 10-foot-wide walkway and 100 slips to an 8-foot-wide walkway with 70 slips for residents and five for the public.

At one point Monday night most commissioners seemed to lean in the direction of settlement as Brown cited legal cases where municipalities lost cases filed by developers using the Bert J. Harris Act. He also set out the monetary consequences for the city if they lost. Brown pointed out there was no guarantee the city would be able to settle if they lost.

That was before attorney Ralf Brookes from Cape Coral spoke. Brookes was hired by a group of local opponents. He told commissioners on Monday he filed a motion to intervene on behalf of his clients. That gives them the right to be heard.

"You're skipping too many steps," Brookes told the commission as he offered counter arguments to many of Brown's points and cited additional cases.

Brookes warned them accepting the offer now could open up the city for future lawsuits from anyone who was ever denied a project approval "even if there is no evidence."

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