On Tuesday, November 7th, the Third District Court of Appeal heard oral argument in the case of: The Village of Palmetto Bay, Florida v. 17777 Old Cutler Road, LLC (the Village Center property.)
The hearing before the three judge panel was an appeal filed by the Village from a Circuit Court's initial decision which had previously ruled in favor of the developer of the property. That initial decision reversed the Village Council's denial of the site plan for four hundred eighty-five (485) units for the property, of which eighty-five (85) are additional units that otherwise not be permitted.
Those extra 85 units were to be "transferred" from a twenty-two (22) acre site along Old Cutler Road which fronted the developer's property. The Village argued that the developer had to first apply for and be granted both Comprehensive Plan and Zoning amendments, as the 22-acre site was zoned "park/interim" and had no development units to be "transferred" under the Village's "Transfer of Development Rights" Ordinance. This is commonly referred to as the "TDR" Ordinance.
The Third District Court focused on previous actions of the then, Village Council taken over seven years ago. The Court reviewed the 2016 resolutions and ordinance, which first established the transfer of the 85 units, as well as reviewing the Village's TDR Ordinance. The only current member of the Village Council who was also a member of the previous Council, which decided on the transfer is Mayor Karyn Cunningham. Mayor Cunningham voted "no" on that original transfer.
The oral argument lasted a bit over one-half hour. There is no timeframe in which the Third District Court must issue a final decision. The public will of course be advised as to the decision and the resulting future actions that could take place.
John Dellagloria, JD
Village Attorney
Village of Palmetto Bay
