- May 13, 2024
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A whirlwind of activity swirled around the proposed One Park condo development in The Quay last week. A hurricane-disrupted trial concluded, the scheduled Planning Board public hearing is set to resume, and a Sarasota city commissioner filed a misconduct complaint with the Florida Bar.
The 123-unit One Park has been at the center of controversy since the plan was revealed in December 2021 to build the project on blocks 1 and 9 connected above a breezeway over Quay Commons, the primary access street into and through The Quay. The development planned by Property Markets Group of Miami still faces legal and city policy hurdles regarding air rights above Quay Commons and whether blocks 1 and 9 can be developed as one building.
Opposition to the project has been primarily posed by a group of owners of the Ritz-Carlton Residences, collectively known as Block 6, on both legal and development policy grounds. The Ritz-Carlton building is the first and still only occupied condo tower in The Quay, with a second tower, Bayso, scheduled to begin occupant by the end of the year.
With a ruling over the rights expected perhaps by the end of September and a suspended legislative hearing before the Planning Board set to resume this month, here is a recap of last week’s events centered on One Park.
Commencing on the Monday prior to Hurricane Idalia, a bench trial before Judge Hunter Carroll of the 12th Judicial Circuit Court resumed last Tuesday with attorneys questioning witnesses and posing closing arguments for two days over ownership of the air rights above Quay Commons.
Much of the debate focused on the definition of “developed,” and whether that definition even matters in this case, citing the precedent of Bayso as an example of what One Park is proposing.
Attorneys for Block 6 argued that Quay Commons is developed, although not necessarily complete, because of frequent repairs made to the street caused by continuing construction, which is expected to continue for years. As such, according to their interpretation of the general development plan of The Quay, the private street must be conveyed to the master association — in addition to the sky above it — as common property.
Attorneys representing Property Markets Group and Quay master developer GreenPointe Developers counter that Quay Commons is not developed because of that frequent reconstruction, it may be sold by GreenPointe to the project developer and anyway the air rights above the street extend only to 14 feet in height, which is adequate — as intended — for vehicle, pedestrian and emergency vehicle access.
They also cited Bayso, which connects two blocks at the southern end of Quay Commons above a breezeway, as precedent for building in air rights over a piece of the street that has not been conveyed to the master association. Block 6 attorneys countered that Bayso does not set precedent because the street ends at its building, providing only pedestrian access to the multi-use recreation trail that runs along the south side of The Quay property.
Carroll set a deadline of Friday, Sept. 22 for attorneys to submit their written summaries and said he would render his decision as quickly as possible. Should he rule against GreenPointe and One Park it would, pending appeal, render moot the suspended Planning Board legislative public hearing on its request to amend the general development agreement of The Quay to combine blocks 1 and 9.
On April 12, the resumption of the Planning Board public hearing from its March 8 meeting ended abruptly when Assistant City Attorney Michael Connelly announced a criminal investigation had been launched regarding a potential inappropriate contact between an investor in One Park and a Planning Board member.
The investigation was turned over to the Florida Division of Law Enforcement, which on May 9 sent a letter to Police Chief Rex Troche indicating no wrongdoing.
The next day, the FDLE reopened the case, citing “new evidence,” which focused on a charity founded by City Commissioner Erik Arroyo to which a company owned by another One Park investor, financial education provider MoneyShow, donated $10,000. That investigation paused the hearing for several more months.
With the investigation concluded, on Aug. 3 the state attorney’s office finding insufficient evidence to pursue the case, PMG pressed to be placed on the Planning Board’s agenda at its earliest opportunity. And with 64 speakers still signed up to address the board — with perhaps more emerging — that will take an entire day.
During last week’s meeting, the Planning Board decided to resume the hearing at its regularly scheduled Oct. 11 meeting and move all scheduled matters on its agenda to its next meeting.
Although the Planning Board has replaced two members since the hearing started, it will pick up where it left off with new members Daniel Deleo and Shane Lamay instructed to view prior testimony to catch up. Even that is not without its measure of controversy.
Connelly said there remains a possibility of a 2-2 vote because Deleo will have to recuse himself as his law firm represents some potential buyers in One Park. Alternate member Doug Christy, whose wife, an attorney, also represents some buyers, would similarly be recused if pressed into service by an absence.
That pronouncement came as news to Deleo.
“I don't believe I do have the same issue,” Deleo told Connelly of Christy’s conflict of interest.
“I guarantee you do, and I guarantee you it's going to be litigation,” Connelly said. “I'm going to very strongly recommend that you not do it because if you do it, then I guarantee that we have litigation that I don't think we can win.”
“I would ask you actually have a conversation with me before you have a conclusion,” Deleo responded.
Connelly agreed to a discussion, but in private.
“I'm happy to have that discussion,” Deleo concluded. “But you coming in here without you and I having a discussion and giving me a conclusion is not good.”
The Planning Board’s decision is advisory to the City Commission. The commission will make the final decision regarding the general development agreement amendment request.
On Sept. 12, as the air rights case resumed, Arroyo filed a 25-page ethics complaint with the Florida Bar against Ashley Gaillard, an attorney with Bentley Goodrich Kison, the firm that represents Block 6.
Gaillard was previously an assistant state attorney.
Arroyo alleges the “new evidence” provided to the FDLE to reopen the investigation came from Bentley Goodrich Kison. The "new evidence" was related to the charity, Sarasota City Foundation, and funds raised at a Mayor’s Ball hosted by Arroyo in October 2022. Arroyo also characterized the allegations that required the FDLE to reopen the investigation as an effort to delay due process for the project.
“Over the course of her representation, attorney Gaillard and her colleague engaged in a course of conduct against the complainant whose primary purpose was to intimidate, embarrass and harass the complainant in order to delay proceedings and pressure and influence the outcome of these civil matters, which culminated in a baseless criminal complaint submitted and lobbied for by attorney Gaillard to former colleagues and others within multiple law enforcement agencies including the Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office, Sarasota Police Department and Florida Department of Law Enforcement,” the complaint reads.
It continues, “After four months and an additional allegation, an additional round of investigative interviews by FDLE, the involvement of two different circuit state attorney’s offices, an executive order from Florida Gov. DeSantis transferring the case, numerous subpoenas of dozens of records, countless hours of government resources expended, and the involvement of private attorneys that were retained by numerous parties to assist in answering requests, FDLE and the State Attorney’s Office released a statement outlining that ‘After a review of the evidence available and all applicable law, it was determined that no formal charges be filed in this case.’”
Morgan Bentley, a partner with the firm and lead attorney for Block 6, responded to Arroyo’s complaint.
“This filing proves what we have been saying all along: Mayor Arroyo is so aligned with One Park that he believes that any concerns about his behavior is the same as an attack on One Park,” Bentley wrote. “First, that is a weird way to view yourself. Second, now that we all know what we have been saying is true, Mayor (Commissioner) Arroyo should do the right thing and recuse himself from any further participation in this matter. And if he doesn’t understand why his behavior is problematic, he should consider resigning from the commission altogether.”
