rejected - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T07:48:31Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/rejectedGulf Stream: Judge cites ‘bad faith’ and rejects O’Hare records lawsuithttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/gulf-stream-judge-cites-bad-faith-and-rejects-o-hare-records-laws2017-02-01T18:36:54.000Z2017-02-01T18:36:54.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Steve Plunkett</strong><br /><br /> A circuit judge has rejected a public records lawsuit against Gulf Stream after an attorney for the town mounted a defense that accused the plaintiff, town resident Chris O’Hare, of “bad faith.” <br /> “There seems to be a national awareness that Florida and now other jurisdictions that have liberal public records rights are in fact ripe and becoming the source of abuse for lawyers and individuals to just generate litigation to obtain attorney’s fees,” outside lawyer Robert Sweetapple told town commissioners at their monthly meeting Jan. 13.<br /> The case was about “very important public policy,” Circuit Judge Thomas Barkdull III said in a 90-minute hearing Jan. 12.<br /> “This was clearly a bad faith attempt and gotcha request, and an attempt to generate litigation and fees, which is inappropriate,” the judge said in rejecting O’Hare’s claim.<br /> At issue was O’Hare’s request — made after business hours May 14, 2014, a Wednesday — for “all records in any way related to any correspondence between Jones-Foster on behalf of the town and Martin O’Boyle and created or received during the period of time from March 1, 2014, through to the moment you receive this request.” <br /> Jones, Foster, Johnston & Stubbs PA is Town Attorney John “Skip” Randolph’s firm, with about 40 lawyers in its West Palm Beach office. O’Boyle began flooding the town with public records requests in spring 2013 after he was refused variances for work on his Hidden Harbour home.<br /> The flood of requests soon turned into a tsunami, trapping the town in a years-long battle. <br /> In this case, the records O’Hare wanted “include but are not limited to notes, memos, letters, emails, phone logs, phone messages, photos, files, folders, labels, sketches, drawings, layouts, plans, invoices, statements, reports, correspondence, reference material, minutes, audio, video, manuals, drafts and any other record in any way responsive to this request.”<br /> The town answered him that Friday, saying it was “working on a large number of incoming public records requests” and would use “its very best efforts to respond to you in a reasonable amount of time.”<br /> O’Hare filed suit 46 days after he made his request, on July 1, 2014, asking a judge to declare the town was making an “illegal withholding” of the records and seeking attorney fees. <br /> “After more than 45 days following plaintiff’s original request, defendant still has yet to produce the records requested,” said O’Hare’s lawsuit, filed by the O’Boyle Law Firm, which O’Boyle’s son Jonathan heads.<br /> But Barkdull said Gulf Stream was coping not only with records requests but also with creating new parking regulations, deciding what to do about signs on a candidate’s vehicle, fighting a number of lawsuits and holding an election. The town, he said, made “a good faith effort” to answer a “voluminous” request that was “not clearly worded.”<br /> Barkdull also said O’Hare was “angry with his past dealings with the town” and that his suit was “clearly intended to harass and intimidate the employees of the town.”<br /> The judge decided O’Hare deserved nothing and the town could ask that he pay its attorney’s fees. Before his ruling, a municipality that successfully defended itself against a public records dispute still had to pay its own legal bill. <br /> Barkdull anticipated O’Hare’s appealing his decision to the 4th District Court of Appeal. “I look forward to reading the 4th DCA’s opinion after it comes out on this case,” Barkdull said.<br /> O’Hare promised as much during the public comment portion of the commission meeting before Sweetapple spoke.<br /> “I disagree with the ruling. So do my attorneys, and of course we’ll appeal that. My attorneys seem to think that it’s very ripe to go all the way to the Supreme Court because of the issues raised,” said O’Hare, who stepped outside the commission chamber during Sweetapple’s presentation.<br /> Barkdull also ruled in favor of the town in two other public records lawsuits.<br /> O’Hare began asking Gulf Stream for public records in 2013. From late August through December that year, he made more than 400 requests, Sweetapple has said. Together, he and Martin O’Boyle have filed more than 2,000 requests and dozens of lawsuits. <br /> The May 14, 2014, request was one of 10 O’Hare made that day which resulted in seven lawsuits, Sweetapple said.</p></div>Manalapan: Developer to revise Publix plaza plans at town’s requesthttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/manalapan-developer-to-revise-publix-plaza-plans-at-town-s-reques2016-06-29T18:05:02.000Z2016-06-29T18:05:02.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960665695,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960665695,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960665695?profile=original" /></a><em>The proposed site plan for the revamped Plaza del Mar.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960665871,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960665871,original{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="7960665871?profile=original" /></a></em><em>The proposed facade of the new anchor grocery.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><em>Watch a video walk-through at <a href="http://www.thecoastalstar.com">www.thecoastalstar.com</a>.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Renderings and video provided by Cuhaci & Peterson</strong><br /><br /></p>
<p><strong>By Dan Moffett</strong><br /><br /> Manalapan commissioners got their first official look at plans to add a 27,000-square-foot Publix supermarket to Plaza del Mar and decided the center’s landlord has more issues to resolve before the project can move forward.<br /> After three hours of discussion in a packed Town Hall chamber June 21, commissioners rejected two development requests from Kitson & Partners and told the landlord to come back in July with more details and solutions.<br /> Commissioners balked at approving Kitson’s site plan for the project, saying there were too many uncertainties about the impact increased traffic would have on motorists, pedestrians and the environment.<br /> Commissioner Basil Diamond questioned how large semi-trucks would be able to navigate the tight quarters when delivering to the supermarket and how much noise residents behind the revamped mall would have to endure. He said mixing trucks and pedestrians is problematic.<br /> “There are thousands of items that are coming to that store,” Diamond said. “There’s going to be some buildup of trucks waiting to offload.”<br /> He said the plan should include a sound wall, perhaps as high as 12 feet, behind the building to block trucks’ noise from neighbors.<br /> Commissioners also turned down Kitson’s request to add a separate package liquor store to the project, worrying that selling carryout alcohol across from the beach is likely to cause problems, especially during spring break.<br /> “Having a liquor store so close to the beach really does bother me,” Vice Mayor Peter Isaac said. “We’ve never had a liquor store in Manalapan.”<br /> An attorney for Kitson, James Crowley of Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, told the commission that the landlord would provide security on the premises. Crowley said that the package store was important to ensuring the success of the renovation and reviving a shopping center that has languished for years.<br /> “The economic vitality of the town is something you should consider,” he told the commission.<br /> Mayor David Cheifetz told Kitson’s representatives to work with town staff during the next month to try to resolve security concerns about the package store.<br /> Commissioners voted 4-1 to reject the site plan proposal (with Isaac dissenting), but rescinded the vote when Crowley requested permission to bring back a revised plan to the July 19 meeting. Kitson needs approval of the site plan in order to begin demolition.<br /> Kitson’s Matt Buehler declined to identify the center’s prospective tenant, but town officials have confirmed that Publix has been negotiating with the landlord to put a store in the plaza for more than year.<br /><br /><span class="font-size-3" style="font-family:georgia, palatino;">Increased traffic raises concerns</span><br /> The redevelopment plan calls for dividing the center with a north-south roadway running from East Ocean Avenue to the back of the property. The package store would go in the space currently occupied by Jeannie’s Ocean Boutique. A half-dozen merchants with businesses in the heart of the plaza would be uprooted by the supermarket.<br /> Crowley said concerns that the supermarket is too large for the center are unwarranted because Kitson intends to tear down 47,000 square feet of retail space to build the 27,000-square-foot store.<br /> “We’re demolishing more than we’re adding. We’re taking the approved use and then subtracting from that,” he said. “We’re not redeveloping the plaza — just modifying what’s there.”<br /> Cheifetz argued that the retail space that would be eliminated is “lightly used” and a Publix could generate a large increase in traffic. <br /> Resident Michael Gottlieb said traffic bottlenecks would be inevitable when the Ocean Avenue drawbridge goes up.<br /> “I would like to see a Publix here,” Gottlieb said, “but I would also like to get back to my house.”<br /> Commissioner Simone Bonutti said it’s likely a traffic light would be needed at the proposed plaza entrance in front of Thaikyo restaurant, and she supported requiring a traffic study to find out for sure. <br /> Commissioner Clark Appleby also supported requiring a study: “I want to see something.”<br /> Lantana Mayor Dave Stewart spoke on behalf of his constituents who live behind the plaza. The Lantana Town Council unanimously approved a resolution to oppose the plans.<br /> Stewart said residents in his town had a long list of concerns about the supermarket, among them: drainage problems, dumpster issues, hours of operation, unauthorized beach parking, noise, architectural features, evacuation snarls, electromagnetic fields and easterly wind obstruction.<br /> “Thanks for listening,” Stewart told the commission. “Don’t kick the can down the road. For everybody’s sake, make a decision.”<br /> Buehler said Kitson’s project “complies fully with the town’s code as it exists today,” and his firm is making a long-term commitment that would benefit the community.<br /> “Literally, we are putting our money where our mouth is,” he said. “We’re investing additional funds into the town of Manalapan because we believe in this. We are not timid about this. We are going to move forward with this. We’ve been residents of Manalapan for 10 years as well. We’ve been the longest owner of this shopping center.”<br /><br /></p></div>