Beruff Appeals County's Victory on Long Bar

BRADENTON – The developers of the forthcoming Long Bar Pointe development have filed an appeal to the decision issued by 12th Judicial Circuit Judge John Lakin this month, which validated Manatee County environmental rules under its comprehensive plan by ruling in its favor after the developers challenged the rules in court.

Medallion Homes' Carlos Beruff and his Long Bar Pointe partner Larry Lieberman had challenged the constitutionality (both state and federal) of the comp plan policies related to dredging of canals, channels and marina basins and the construction of boat ramps and restrictions to protect our coastal wetlands, shorelines and submerged land.

The two developers are building a massive housing development on Sarasota Bay in southwest Manatee County and wanted to include a hotel and marina. The county was joined in defending the case by Suncoast Waterkeeper and the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage (F.I.S.H.).

"Contrary to the Plaintiff's assertions," wrote Lakin in his order, "Florida property law does not confer upon riparian owners a private property right to dredge channels or basins, but merely confers a constitutionally protected right to access adjacent waters," citing a decision in Graham v. Estuary Props, Inc. in which the ruling stated, "An owner of (submerged) land has no absolute and unlimited right to change the essential character of his land so as to use it for a purpose for which it was unsuited in its natural state and which injures the rights of others."

Lakin further ruled that the developer is not being asked to change the development plan to improve public waters but rather maintain their current condition to prevent them from being diminished. Lakin called the plaintiffs' allegations that the challenged coastal policies were too vague to be "misplaced" and their allegations that the policies have resulted in a "taking" of their submerged lands to fall short of the definition, as the comp plan allows them to access the submerged lands–just not in the way they choose. Lakin ruled for summary judgment in the county's favor and also ruled that they were entitled to recover costs from the plaintiffs.