Statement regarding public meeting regarding Cutler Plantation Property, 6 PM, 11/30/2017

I have received several questions and have come across several comments on various social media sources that I would like to address publicly.  At 6:00 PM tonight, I will hold my first-ever meeting with a developer outside of a zoning hearing. I called this meeting having it publicly noticed, inviting the public to be present, as I personally do not believe that any member of the village council should have ex parte communications on quasi-judicial (zoning) matters (see my prior post (CLICK HERE) on the "Jennings Rule". 

Other members of the council have met or will be meeting with the developers (and have on past issues – which I have not done in the past).  I do not want to be left out and I will NOT meet in private with any developers. I have therefore called this meeting held in public view (discussed at an open meeting).  Any/all village residents are invited to sit in and observe my meeting regarding this property.  You will be able to see any and all materials, including any plans and renderings presented so that Palmetto Bay residents are in the know as to what is presented to me.  This meeting will be the first of its kind, so I am looking forward to the cooperation of the presenters as well as those in attendance. 

I believe this is the only way to preserve transparency in government.  This provides additional public communication on an issue - and should prevent surprises.  Again, I have not and I will not meet in private with any developers on any issue that comes before the Village Council.  This meeting has been noticed as a Sunshine Meeting between Mayor Flinn and representatives of Florida Power & Light and CalAtlantic Group, Inc. See official Meeting Notice for details. (CLICK HERE) for official notice)

I look forward to seeing many residents in attendance. The meeting will be held in the council chambers.

And please note – this meeting is not a replacement for any other community workshops that this, or any other zoning applicants will hold relative the land use issues.

Your Mayor,

Eugen Flinn

Coral Gables officials explain silence on Matheson Hammock project - Coral Gables - MiamiHerald.com

Coral Gables officials explain silence on Matheson Hammock project - Coral Gables - MiamiHerald.com

What can an elected official do with 400 e-mails on a very hot topic slated for a future zoning hearing? Just about nothing, except acknowledge receipt and send them on to the City Clerk for disclosure and record purposes.  This is the latest example of the "Jennings Rule" in action.

The Matheson Hammock project creates antagonisms and frustrations both for those concern as well as the elected officials who want to be responsive. The frustrations created were discussed in a prior South Dade Updates blog post: ‘Jennings Rule’ protects everyone’s due process rights, April 23, 2011 Click on the article title to re-review the full rule.

“The commission and the city manager have received many letters from members of the public related to this matter, and that’s understandable as it’s an important matter to the city, but they cannot respond,” City Attorney Craig Leen told the City Commission at its meeting Tuesday. “They can acknowledge receipt, but I’ve asked that those letters be forwarded to the city clerk and so placed into the record...."

The reason: The city will have to decide whether to approve the $18 million structure, and part of this approval process will be “quasi-judicial,” meaning that commissioners must act like judges and make their decisions without pre-judging and based only on information provided at a public hearing. And, as the Coral Gables City attorney says, "Everyone is entitled to due process and fair process.”

Every involved person will have to be patient and work hard to achieve a result in their favor, whichever side they are on.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/14/2641736/coral-gables-officials-explain.html#storylink=cpy

‘Jennings Rule’ protects everyone’s due process rights

The goal of every elected official should be constant accessibility to you to discuss any and all issues, especially those items that impact our quality of life. So you can imagine the difficulty for those same elected officials to do the exact opposite on zoning matters; to advise that they cannot talk to anyone about a development project.

I penned an article that appears in the Palmetto Bay News regarding the rational behind the “Jennings Rule” and how it affects the relationship between elected official and concerned residents.  Please click "read more" below and check out this entire article as well as a link to the actual written ‘Jennings Rule’ opinion .  I have also reproduced the full Palmetto Bay ARTICLE IV.  QUASI-JUDICIAL HEARING PROCEDURES ordinance.