A special master, finding the matter was outside her authority, dismissed an appeal of Bradenton Beach’s approval, with restrictions, of a temporary use permit for parking at the Bungalow Beach Resort.
In an Aug. 11 order, Bradenton Beach Special Master Marisa Powers said she lacked jurisdiction to resolve an appeal filed by Luper Enterprises Inc.
Powers held a hearing July 29 at city hall on the dispute over the status of the resort’s parking availability at 2000 Gulf Drive N.
In her determination, she wrote that the city commission’s action being appealed had been a quasi-judicial decision that would be subject to court review not an administrative matter for a special master.
After the resort’s Gulffront bungalows, damaged by hurricanes Helene and Milton last fall and the parcels, were demolished, owner Gayle Luper applied for a temporary use permit for a parking lot.
On April 17, the commission approved the permit with conditions that prompted Luper’s legal team to appeal. The legal team challenged the requirement to obtain a parking permit for the razed parcel, the conduct of the hearing, the city’s prohibition of paid parking at the site, the limit to 17 parking spaces and the restriction of parking hours to 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
During the July 29 hearing, the city’s attorney, Robert Lincoln, argued the special master lacked authority.
Powers agreed with the city’s position and rejected the appellants’ contention that the city had tacitly recognized special-master jurisdiction by forwarding the appeal for hearing.
She found there was “no legal precedence to support the argument that the city can waive subject matter jurisdiction of the special master in this instance.”
Powers also determined the appeal was improperly directed to the special master because the commission’s vote was a quasi-judicial action not a staff-level administrative decision and because no written determination by the city’s building official existed to appeal.
In her determination, Powers said that with no final action by a city official to affirm, reverse or modify, the special master lacked authority to act.
The order leaves Luper to pursue a challenge in circuit court via a petition for writ of certiorari.
Luper responded to an Aug. 13 inquiry from The Islander with a statement from her attorney, John Anthony: “Our client wishes to express heartfelt gratitude to the special master for the care that went into her handling of the hearing and the rest of the process. However, we believe that the process has produced an error that requires further correction. We do not see this as a victory. When the federal and state governments have stepped up to help AMI and related coastal communities, the response of the city has been completely shocking. When so many businesses have found themselves underwater in multiple senses of the word, the city has pushed Ms. Luper underwater even further. This is not a reasonable decision for the city. The reconsideration order gives too much credit and deference to the city commission for a decision like this one.”
According to Manatee Clerk of the Circuit Court records, Judge Edward Nicholas signed an order Aug. 1 scheduling a nonjury trial in the Luper case.
The two-week trial period is set to begin at 9 a.m. Dec. 7 at the Manatee County Judicial Center, with a pretrial conference at 9 a.m. Nov. 30 via Zoom.
The Islander reached out to Mayor John Chappie by phone on Aug. 13 and he declined to comment.