Legal expert says city defied judge's Tringali order

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By Mike Lednovich

A prominent George Washington University legal expert said the city of Fernandina Beach is defying a standing court order by its greenlighting construction of triplexes on contentious downtown property lots.

In a highly critical letter sent July 10 to interim City Attorney Harrison Poole, law professor Bradford R. Clark warned that the city probably violated a December 2023 court ruling by issuing permits for four new triplex units on the former Tringali property on Fourth and Third streets.
 

The city issued building permits for the construction to begin and work crews began clear-cutting the lots last week. The property prep work was halted when a litigant in the case filed an administrative appeal with the city and a stop-work order was issued.

 
Bradford Clark
Bradford Clark
 
Clark is the William Cranch Research Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School and is a longtime resident of Fernandina Beach. In his letter, Clark maintains the city is flouting a binding order from Circuit Judge James Roberson. That order, which was upheld last week by an appellate court, found that multifamily development such as triplexes on the property violated the city's Land Development Code (LDC).
 

“The City cannot, consistent with the LDC, issue any permits for the construction of anything other than single-family dwellings on the property in question,” Clark wrote.

According to Clark, the city is in error in recently issuing permits to Worthy Investment, the new owner of the property once controlled by the Tringali family trust.
 
Clark stressed that the city's issuance of permits contradicts Judge Roberson’s interpretation of Section 1.03.05 of the LDC, which he says clearly prohibits multifamily units on the parcel without a variance from the Board of Adjustment — a step the developer has not taken.
 

In an internal email to city commissioners explaining the rationale supporting issuing the permits, City Manager Sarah Campbell asserted that the city is not involved in the pending litigation — a claim Clark calls “patently false.”

“The City was, and remains, a party to the case,” he wrote, pointing out that Fernandina Beach not only participated in the case at the trial level but also filed briefs on appeal before withdrawing in December 2024.
 
“By withdrawing from the appeal, the City has tacitly accepted the Order,” Clark added.
 
The original dispute stems from a years-long neighborhood effort to block high-density development on the Tringali property, located downtown on Third and Fourth streets. Worthy had sought to build 12 townhouses on a subdivided Tringali property. But the LDC prohibits subdividing the lot unless a variance is granted by the Board of Adjustment. The BOA denied the variance by a 5-0 vote.
 
Residents, including Clark, have argued that allowing triplexes or townhomes on the site would alter the character of the area and violates zoning restrictions.
 

At last week's city commission meeting, Campbell was questioned about the building permits and asked to obtain a legal opinion from the city's contracted law firm Carr Allison regarding the triplex project. That opinion has yet to be made public.

Just days after the commission meeting, Campbell terminated the Director of Planning and Conservation Kelly Gibson, an 18-year city employee, in the wake of the current controversy.
 
The city has 30 days from the filing of the administrative appeal to hold a hearing by the Board of Adjustment to rule on the appeal.
 
No official response to Clark's letter has been released from the City Attorney’s office or City Manager Campbell.

Comments

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  • JJC919

    I don't know Ms. Campbell but the lack of logic that withdrawing from an appeal of a case you lost means you're not subject to the order of the court is analogous to taking your ball & going home because you're losing whatever game you are playing. There are some basic tenets to life in a civilized society, one of them is that the rule of law must prevail or we descend into anarchy.

    Brad Clark is a blessing to this community with his legal mind, writing skills and resume. I would venture a guess that no other place in Florida has someone with his background in the law that just happens to live there like he does in Fernandina. I prefer to follow his legal advice & not that of Ms. Campbell, hopefully the Commission will too.

    Perhaps The Observer might want to do a profile of Clark so our citizens learn of this gem amongst us!

    Monday, July 21 Report this

  • PaulaM

    The law seems pretty clear to me here and it also seems pretty clear that the developers are attempting a very poor end run around it. A single building that contains 4 dwellings within it’s walls is NOT a single family unit as stated in the requirements unless they are all 4 using the same utilities as would be the case in a single family unit . Of course they are NOT. This was a foolish attempt to skirt the law and an obvious attempt to set it in motion immediately which would make it impossible to undo. It appears as if those involved in this debacle believe the residents of Fernandina are stupid or blind..neither of which they are. Shameful behavior.

    Monday, July 21 Report this

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