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Treasure Island served with lawsuit
By BOB McCLURE
| Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010 |
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TREASURE ISLAND – After a month-long delay, a lawsuit filed by residents of Sunset Beach was served Feb. 3 to Treasure Island officials and the owner of Caddy’s on the Beach.
The suit, which was filed Jan. 29 in Circuit Court by 16 Sunset Beach homeowners unhappy with neighborhood conditions related to Caddy’s, 9000 W. Gulf Blvd., names T.I. Holdings Inc., Gulf Sands Properties LLC and T.A. Holdings Inc., the corporate entities of Caddy’s owner Tony Amico; along with city of Treasure Island, City Manager Reid Silverboard, building official Neal Schwartz and city planner Lynn Rosetti as defendants.
The plaintiffs are Andrew and Mary Beth Becker, Mike and Mary Daughtry, R.B. Nicholson, Raymond D. Green, Catherine J. Rezak, Randy and Dee Dee Kah, Robin Welborn, William Fowler, Michael and Kathy DeLong, Stephen Poohar and Jeffrey Warner. The group is represented by St. Petersburg attorney Tony Battaglia.
The suit does not seek monetary damages but instead seeks a writ of mandamus and declaratory relief to “compel” the city, Silverboard, Schwartz and Rosetti to “exercise their ministerial duties to enforce the city’s LDRs and other ordinances ... to prevent violations relating to defendants T.I. Holdings, Gulf Sands and T.A. Holding.”
Mandamus is a judicial remedy, which generally comes in the form of an order from a higher court to a government or lower court forcing the lower entity to do a specific act that is required by law.
The question to be determined is (1) whether Caddy’s is in violation of the city’s LDRs and zoning ordinances, and (2), if so, has the city and its officials been negligent in the enforcement.
Green said the action is designed to “seek the intervention of a judge to make a determination of the lack of action by the city on its zoning and land use regulations.”
The lawsuit also seeks temporary and permanent injunctive relief “to prevent further and continuing recurrence” of the alleged violations.
The plaintiffs contend that large groups of young patrons who frequent Caddy’s and the nearby public beach interfere with their property rights, which in turn lowers property values.
The lawsuit goes on to say Caddy’s attracts crowds that exceed the restaurant’s occupancy, parking and restroom capacities; it causes unreasonable amounts of pedestrian and vehicular traffic in the area, improper parking on neighborhood streets, excessive noise from music and disorderly conduct by customers.
Treasure Island Mayor Bob Minning preferred to not comment on the lawsuit but said “people have to remember it takes time for government to find remedies” to negative situations and “you can’t get things done overnight.”
The city is currently in the process of redesigning its land development regulations and parking ordinance. It also is in the beginning stages of a charter review and a long-term vision plan.
Sunset Beach has long been a destination location for local residents and vacationers. At one point the neighborhood had four bars and now has two.
A restaurant/bar has been in existence at the site of Caddy’s since 1946.
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Article published on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010
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