Motion to enjoin waterfront project

There is a court hearing, Thursday, October 31, regarding the Grove Bay Waterfront Project. 

Activist Grace Solares, has filed a petition regarding potential violations of the City Charter and Comprehensive Plan relating to the referendum on the current ballot. There was a lawsuit filed last week.

There is a motion to enjoin, which includes many issues, including the semi-preapproval of gambling in Coconut Grove and the vagueness of the whole ballot question. The issues do not involve the merits/demerits of the project itself. She would like the whole question removed from the ballot.

The lawsuit states: "The City’s voters approved Revisions and Amendments to several and distinct provisions of the City Charter during a City-wide Special Election on November 6, 2001. Charter Amendment No. 3 limited and restricted the authority of City officials to lease City-owned property, and imposed specific limitations, restrictions and conditions on their authority to lease City-owned waterfront property."

The lawsuit goes on to state: "The ballot title and summary are clearly and conclusively deficient. They fail to inform the City’s voters of the chief purpose of the enabling Resolution. Relevant and material information is omitted from the ballot summary which renders it misleading and deceptive and the voters are not being provided fair notice of the sweeping effect of the public measure. The “wordsmithing” employed in the ballot title and summary is misleading, designed only to encourage an affirmative vote. And, the ballot title and summary are affirmatively misleading. Finally, identification of Section 29-B as the sole basis for seeking voter approval during the November 5, 2013 Referendum Special Election
knowingly undermines the integrity of the election process."

It goes on to state that the public is not informed of what is on the property now, that functioning businesses, although now without a lease, are already there. It's not barren land that is being built on.

The hearing is in Judge Jerald Bagley's courtroom, room 1202 at the Dade County Courthouse.

You can see the lawsuit here.