Posted on October 17, 2018
A judge has tossed out a lawsuit by a Siesta Key group seeking to block the city’s planned dredging of Big Pass to rebuild parts of critically eroded Lido Beach.
Circuit Court Judge Andrea McHugh on Friday granted the city of Sarasota’s request to dismiss a suit brought by the Siesta Key Association in March 2017, alleging the city was required to seek and obtain approval for the project from the Sarasota County Commission as required by environmental chapters of the comprehensive plans of both jurisdictions.
“Because the county plan is most like a ‘conceptual framework’ in its form and purpose, it cannot also qualify as an enforceable ‘law,’ ‘rule,’ or ‘regulation,’ as defined under the terms of Florida’s Environmental Protection Act,” McHugh wrote in her 10-page ruling, adding that even the county never issued an order challenging the project.
“The plaintiffs fail to state a legal cause of action pursuant to Florida Statute 403.412 and there is no legal authority under the laws of the state of Florida to support their claim,” McHugh also wrote, referring to the state’s Environmental Protection Act, which permits citizens to seek judicial enforcement of an environmental law, rule, or regulation. Both governments’ comprehensive plans, however, don’t qualify as a law, rule or regulation under the state act, McHugh stressed.
Source: Herald-Tribune
