RIVIERA BEACH --

This case is the latest chapter in a political saga relating to the operation, use and future development of the City of Riviera Beach’s municipal marina and surrounding property. The Plaintiff, Riviera Beach Citizens Task Force (the “Task Force”), is a not for profit corporation. The Task Force is made up of, and represents, citizens in the City of Riviera Beach (the “City”) who are opposed to the leasing of public land to private marine interests, primarily Rybovich Marine (Rybovich Riviera Beach LLC). More specifically, the Task Force seeks to prevent the use of City property for an industrial commercial boat repair operation.

To prevent the City from moving forward with plans to allow the use of municipal property for commercial boat repairs, the Task Force successfully placed a charter question on the ballot for the November 2, 2010 general election. The charter question called for an amendment to Article VII, section 3.5 of the City’s charter.

On January 10, 2011, before the Fourth District decided the appeal in City of Riviera Beach v. Riviera Beach Citizens Task Force, the City held a closed door executive session to discuss the appeal and to discuss the City’s challenge to the charter amendment. In this action, the Task Force alleges that the actions taken by members of the City council at this January 10 meeting violated Florida’s Sunshine Law. The gravamen of the Task Force’s allegation is that the City council began a surreptitious plan to undo the results of the November 2, 2010 general election by proposing a new charter amendment designed to repeal the charter amendment successfully championed by the Task Force.

ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED, in part, and the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment is DENIED. The City of Riviera Beach is enjoined and restrained from implementing the changes to Article VII, Section 3.5 of the City’s charter approved in the March 8, 2011 election and is restrained from deleting from the charter the amendments to Article VII, Section 3.5 approved in the November 2, 2010 general election. Nothing contained herein shall be construed as a limitation on the City, or on the electors of the City, to seek a future amendment of Article VII, Section 3.5.

Notes:

1. Great friend of the blog, US Supreme Court case winner, and overall bad ass Fane Lozman was one of the principals behind the first referendum.
2. Lozman and I were two-thirds of the unsuccessful Recall Riviera effort.

Riviera Beach Citizens Task Force v. City of Riviera Beach – 11-1501 – Order on Cross Motions for Summary J… by