ALERT. A potential new Bert J Harris claim has been raised by Qualcom Palmetto Bay Active Zone Business, LLC. This should be discussed Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Good Grief! Here we go again. Will Qualcom Palmetto Bay be LUXCOM part deux? Let's hope not. I wonder if there is blood in the water? Perhaps Palmetto Bay officials need to go back to zoning hearings rather than piecemeal by Bert J Harris litigation as LUXCOM is starting to appear to be merely the first of what is feared to be the start of a Bert J Harris litigation avalanche. Precedents are being set where zoning decisions are being taken out of the Village hands and determined by the courts, where our fellow village residents have essentially no input into the decisions. See: July 13, 2020, LUXCOM - Tuesday, July 14, 2020 is mediation day. a day that will set the future of development in Palmetto Bay. Some thoughts. for background information relating to LUXCOM.

Now there is the probability of rough water ahead for Special meeting - Tuesday, July 28, 2020: Zoning Hearing (Comprehensive Plan Amendment, FLUM, & DUV Zoning District). (CLICK HERE to view this 9 page agenda package - as it was posted as of 3:30 PM on Friday, 7/24/2020) This is scheduled to be the final hearing to pass the DUV changes on second reading. Anyone that has been following zoning hearings know that they have been held and then reset to a future date due to the pandemic and resulting difficulties in holding live hearings. This one looks like it will move forward (and it should as village business needs to move forward). However, this DUV code rewrite is not moving forward under the radar, without notice of at least some of the affected property owners. The entire 1,392 page agenda can be reviewed (it is a long download) CLICK HERE.

Property owners with objections - Attorneys for Qualcom Palmetto Bay Active Zone Business have raised multiple objections to the code rewrite, placing Village Officials on notice of potential lawsuit. The main claim is that the revisions violate the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act (“Act”). Their objections are discussed in detailed further on in this blog post, as well as providing a link to the actual objection letter.

CLICK HERE to read this letter for yourself

So here were are - days away from the potential LUXCOM part Deux. It really isn't hard to see these issues develop. That is for those who pay attention. And that is one reason why I continue to express my opinions in this blog. You are reading it here so you can truly be kept in the loop. Important information is not being passed on to Village residents. Palmetto Bay officials were recently served with a letter from Litigation Counsel for Qualcom Palmetto Bay Active Zone Business, LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability Company. The sale of this property was featured in a prior related post on January 8, 2020: More real estate sold for redevelopment while the council continues to neglect the promised DUV rewrite. Bellsouth Building, south of Palmetto Bay Park is sold to investment group

Review that prior post. You will see where I stated in the opening line of that blog post that "Private enterprise keeps moving while the Palmetto Bay government sleeps, perhaps trying to get in under the wire, before any new zoning restrictions take effect." I mentioned in that blog post that it "... is unfortunate that these moratoriums/ZIPS were allowed to expire under Mayor Cunningham as of February 2019, prior to any of the promised revisions." This was not a prediction, as the current state of disarray is far to easy to foresee. The shoes are now dropping from the sky. The subject property appears to be one of those properties traded during the lapse in the moratorium. Now what? More tough talk and political promises (specifically the 1 unit per acre promise on LUXCOM) only to be followed by hiding being the 'threat of lawsuit' to give the developer (such as LUXCOM) what the developer wants? Yes, 'new direction' - everything done under threat of lawsuit.

FAIR QUESTION: Why can't critical updates such as this demand letter and the threat of pending litigation be disseminated to fellow residents at all, forgetting for the moment, as quickly as notification of an official village celebratory birthday or graduation drive by? Distraction over business. Village notifications demonstrate that news can be disseminated, but current officials instead have chosen to dull residents with 'bread and circuses' rather than actually keeping people in the loop and allowing for public discussion on matters of great public importance. 

There was a Committee of the Whole meeting held Tuesday evening, 7/21/2020. Another Special Council meeting was held Thursday evening, 7/23/2020. Nothing was said in public regarding this new probable lawsuit. This is important. This is a matter of public importance. Regardless, it appears that once again my fellow village residents will be treated like mushrooms and remain in the dark regarding this latest festering matter until village officials can figure out how they can best spin it. Drive by party caravan anyone?  Officials hoping things go away is no way to run a government!

Back to the developing litigation demand: The property owners object to the Revision as applicable to the Property, alleging that the village's recent changes to the code "...unreasonably, arbitrarily and detrimentally burdens (their) Property.” 

Specifically, the property owners allege that:

A. The Revision violates the provisions of the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act (“Act”). The Act is a mechanism to protect and compensate any Landowner whose Property is affected by Government action not rising to a taking. See Florida Statute Section 70.001. It is our position that the Revisions inordinately burden our Client’s existing use of the Property and/or a vested right to a specific use of the Property under Section 70.001(2) of the Act.

There are additional objections alleged by the property owner in addition to the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act (“Act”) claim. Other objections include impermissible spot zoning; violation of Equal Protection, as well as the length of the moratorium (which actually was 'accidentally' dropped for a period of time, which many other property owners used as an opportunity to rush development plans into the Village Planning office, before that window of opportunity closed.Counsel for ended their correspondence stating that "We hope the Village will take our concerns seriously and modify the Revision accordingly. In this regards we are ready to meet with the Village at any time. If our Client’s concerns are not resolved we will have no alternative but to pursue our legal remedies. PLEASE GOVERN YOURSELF ACCORDINGLY."

Stay tuned and we shall see what develops.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Is this the new normal for Palmetto Bay? Is there sufficient monies put aside to cover the expected litigation expenses for the remainder of this budget year? How large will the village litigation budget be for the upcoming 2020-21 budget year. Is this the REAL reason why the Cunningham Administration is seeking to raise taxes?