✏️ Settling scores
Tuesday, news day. For you, what looks like payback in West Palm, submerged land ruling in Riviera, fewer suits in Delray, a council we didn't vote for, quiz answer and something for your bucket list.
Today’s newsletter is a 6-minute read.
First up: A mayor, an alley, a question of blowback
The party’s over. In Palm Beach Stories, Joe Capozzi writes that with a few swipes of the bureaucratic pen, West Palm City Hall gut-punched downtown businessman Rodney Mayo, Mayor Keith James’ only recent political opponent.
Mayo was the lone candidate to challenge James for reelection in March. The mayor sued, successfully arguing that Mayo could not run because he did not live in the city. James stayed in office.
Mayo said he shrugged off warnings that he would face blowback.
Then came the eviction. On April 2, the city ordered Mayo to remove $35,000 in seating from an alleyway Mayo and the city had long collaborated to redevelop.
The Einstein mural stays, but the city’s action ensured the popular seating and gathering place was returned to an empty alley where vagrants and trash ruled.
Also: cars, not people. Starting in 2019, Mayo secured permits to stop traffic on the 500 block of Clematis on weekends, creating a street party atmosphere and drawing customers to downtown retailers and restaurants — including his — even during the pandemic.
The city told Mayo it will not renew his request to extend the street closures through November. They will end the last week in April.
City Hall is tight-lipped on specifics, including questions about the appearance of political payback.
James was criticized for it before. In 2015, developer Michael McCloskey told The Palm Beach Post editorial board his request for James’ support on a project elicited this response:
“What f******* universe do you live in that you think that after ... raising as much money as you did for my opponent … that you could ... ask for my support of your project?”
James told The Post he said no such thing.
McCloskey said he would swear to it under oath. He didn’t get his project.
Read: Joe Capozzi explains what the alleyway and street decisions mean for downtown, what you can expect at an April 17 city commission meeting and much more.
🏛️ Swimming? Yes; Home-building? No
To all those speculators thinking they can build on underwater land in Palm Beach County, watch out.
Riviera Beach-slayer Fane Lozman has lost his lawsuit.
At least at the trial court level. A federal judge ruled April 3 that the government has the right to keep homes off submerged lands, dealing a blow to Lozman’s plans to build on 8 acres off Singer Island.
Why it matters: Developers are increasingly eager to fill up privately owned underwater land near shorelines and build docks and high-end homes. The ruling sends a clear signal to other developers pitching submerged land for luxury housing: Depending on local rules, it’s unlikely to fly.
But Lozman is undaunted: The millionaire, who has taken Riviera Beach to the U.S. Supreme Court twice and won both times, expects to appeal — and win again.
The ruling: U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks ruled that Lozman knew restrictions were in place in 2014 when he plunked down $24,000 for the property that includes a narrow strip of dry land along Ocean Boulevard. But most of the land is submerged, under shallow water adjacent to the shore.
“(Lozman’s plan) would impact the public's historic right to use and enjoy these waters and could harm threatened and endangered species like manatees and sea turtles, which rely on this area for habitat.” — environmental land use lawyer Lisa Interlandi.
See Stet contributor Jane Musgrave’s story explaining why Lozman thinks the judge is wrong.
😇 Delray Beach embraces a lawsuit-settling state of mind
Once one of the best-managed munis in the county, Delray Beach has been paying a high-profile price for booting employees in both legal fees and bad publicity.
But it has struck surprise settlements in four long-running suits, all within a few weeks of each other.
Michael Coleman and Jamael Stewart were forced out the same day in 2019 after the assistant city manager they had criticized became their boss.
A judge overseeing Stewart’s case wrote the city recommended firing Stewart before an investigation was finished.
Mayor Shelly Petrolia announced the settlement on March 28, saying she was “heavy-hearted” about doing so. But a city press release praised the men, writing that Delray “appreciates (their) positive contributions,” and wished them “the best of luck in future endeavors.”
Wastewater whistleblower Christine Ferrigan sued in 2022. The city employee had told anyone who would listen that partially treated sewer water was flowing into the city’s drinking water.
The state fined Delray $1 million. Ferrigan sued, saying she was passed over for advancement and finally fired in 2022. Delray settled for a reported $818,500.
And this surprise: Both sides were prepping in March for trial when the city settled with Old School Square Center for the Arts. The city had ousted the nonprofit from managing the Old School Square properties.
Did the March elections have consequences?
“The temperament of the new commission is much different,” Old School Square attorney Marko Cerenko told Boca Magazine columnist Randy Schultz.
One commissioner vocal about “ridding” the city of the nonprofit was term-limited out. Another lost to Rob Long in last month’s elections. He supported settling the suit.
Long also was a critic of Delray water treatment, prompting the mayor and the commissioner he defeated to call for his ouster from the Planning and Zoning Board.
He is now the commission vice chair.
Electing the unelected
Wellington had one last year. So did Jupiter. Delray Beach in March had a barn-burner of one.
Heck, this year’s town election in Ocean Ridge got so heated, two incumbents resigned their seats last week.
In most cities, March is the time when residents get to pick their town councils. Not so this year in two of the region’s biggest cities, Palm Beach Gardens and West Palm Beach.
In Palm Beach Gardens, we find five elected officials who took their current seats without facing voters. West Palm Beach is close to that unusual election-free status. Four of five West Palm commissioners, plus the mayor, hold their seats based upon the certain path of no opposition.
Many say they run unopposed because they keep constituents happy. Critics say it’s because they keep big campaign donors happy.
Where major issues galvanize the electorate, such as in Delray Beach with the city’s takeover of Old School Square, contested elections can get ugly. By reducing friction, downplaying controversy and lining up financial supporters, elected officials can avoid the hit-or-miss uncertainty of election day.
Yes, but: One place we can expect a robust contest next year is the race for Palm Beach County sheriff. While incumbent Democrat Ric Bradshaw has not yet filed to run, his onetime chief deputy, Mike Gauger, has — as a Republican.
Read: How Palm Beach Gardens got a city council that no one voted for.
🧸 Quiz answer: Putt, putt
Last week we asked: What pro golfer’s company designed a local mini-golf course? Jack “Golden Bear” Nicklaus? Greg “Great White Shark” Norman? Corky “Stuck a glow stick in a golf ball and invented night golf” Newcome?
The answer: Everyone’s favorite Bear.
Before Golden Cub Mini Golf opened in Jupiter in 2018, “We went through the same thought process in the design as we would on a full-sized course,” Nicklaus Design Associate Chad Goetz told WPTV.
It showed: Nicklaus went through several swings before landing a putt in the first hole.
Now Lighthouse Cove Adventure Golf, the course still feels more like grown-up putting greens.
👩🏻🌾 561 insider: Put U-pick on your spring bucket list
There’s still time to grab a pail and head into the fields for a farm adventure.
What’s happening: We are in the final weeks of the U-pick season at Bedner’s west of Boynton Beach.
Why it matters: It’s a chance to experience Palm Beach County’s agricultural landscape. Take home fresh, fragrant produce straight from the field or update your social feed with selfies among the sunflowers.
Details: The fields are open for picking from Wednesday through Sunday. The market is open, but the fields are closed for picking on Tuesday.
Coming out of the ground now:
🌻Sunflowers - October - April
🥒 Cucumbers - March - April
🍅 Tomatoes - December - May
🍓Strawberries - November - April. (Bedner’s reports the crop could be finished any day now.)
Bedner’s Farm Fresh Market, 10066 Lee Road. (561) 733-5490
In Martin County, a new crop of tomatoes will soon be ready at 710 U-Pick. Available to pick now: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, greens and eggplant. The fields are open from 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday. Bring a bucket, clippers and wagon if you have them.
710 U-Pick, 25801 SW Warfield Blvd., 10 miles northwest of Indiantown. (772) 597-4510. Cash or check only.
🛒 Carolyn wants to know: Have you heard about Hotbins? What's your hottest Hotbins buy? Tell her at StetMediaGroup@gmail.com.
🦉 Perhaps you went mad for the locals in the men’s NCAA Tournament without ever watching them in person. You can see the scrappy FAU Owls basketball team get the key to the city during a ceremony starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Mizner Park Amphitheater in Boca Raton.
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