- November 21, 2024
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Dear Editor:
On Friday, Feb. 18, the Fifth District Court of Appeal struck as “untimely and unauthorized” motions filed by the developer’s lawyers and Orlando attorneys representing Flagler County.
Both the developer’s and the county’s attorneys filed motions in the appellate court opposing Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek’s request that the court hear oral argument. The court rejected the developer’s objection as “untimely” (filed 11 days late). The court also struck down the county attorney’s attempt to join in the developer’s objection, ruling that joinder was “unauthorized.”
Preserve’s attorneys, S. Brent Spain and I, asserted that the appellate court’s decision will have a significant impact upon every citizen’s rights to oppose irresponsible or unlawful land developments that adversely affect them. One of the issues on appeal is Circuit Judge Terence Perkins' ruling, in this case, that property owners residing within 300 feet of the Hammock Beach River Club Development (formerly known as The Gardens) did not have the right to seek court protection.
At a town hall meeting in July 2019, this developer presented his plans to build nearly 4,000 single-family homes, high-rise condo/apartments and 550,000 square feet of commercial development along the Intracoastal Waterway and John Anderson Scenic Highway. The attending citizens of Flagler County overwhelmingly opposed the plan. For the past 2 1/2 years, the nonprofit Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek has continued, on behalf of the citizens, to oppose this mega-development.
John W. Tanner
Editor's Note: John Tanner is an attorney for Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, a Florida not-for-profit.
