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Court says no to Watermark
development
By Christine Braden
cbraden@keynoter.com
New plans being drawn
Following a year of tug-of-war, the
formerly approved Watermark condo development is dead before it ever
began.
To the relief of the would-be neighbors, the
Third District Court of Appeal in
Miami denied the Watermark developers' current proposal for a
redevelopment at Key West Bight.
“Finally, [Wednesday] night, Goliath died,” said
Bob Goldman, attorney for neighbors of the proposed development. “The
neighborhood is thrilled and anyone who cares about
Key West or the Keys should
be thrilled that the developer has to follow the letter of the law.”
However, “My client has, for the
past two months, been working on a revision [to the proposal,” said Jim
Hedrick, attorney for the developers, the Caroline Street Partners.
The new design will call for a reduction of the
number of units and a lowering in the height of the building.
According to Goldman, his
“rag-tag” team of concerned residents won despite being up against what
he called a well-financed organization.
The development could have been
more than just financially high-cost.
Many neighbors, who would have had to deal with a
towering structure, declared the decision by the Historic Architectural
Review Commission to disregard a 2.5-story height restriction in
Old Town as unfair.
HARC had approved the
developers' plans to build 25 luxury condos under a roofline with
proposed peaks of 40 feet, exceeding written limitations by almost two
stories.
Circuit Court Judge Richard Payne
agreed with the neighbors last August and ruled the developers must
scratch current plans.
At the time of Payne's ruling, the developers
filed a petition asking the appellate court in
Miami to overturn the decision. The petition was
not granted, to Goldman's delight.
“Every resident of
Key West that wants to preserve
their [part of the city] is a David in this matter,” he said. “It
doesn't make a difference if you are a resident, owner, Conch or
snowbird, Latino, black or white. This is a win for the neighborhoods.”
Goldman
credits the notable win to the involvement of many individuals,
including his co-counsel Eric Dadd, who “came along at the right time
with a fresh, objective approach.”
Additionally, Goldman also had the help of
attorneys Lee Rohe and John Myers, as well as architects Burt Bender,
Sullins Stewart and Michael Miller.
“These are a lot of people who donated a lot of
time,” he said.
Payne's halt to the Watermark redevelopment is
similar to the freeze of the proposed
Atlantic Shores redevelopment last year.
A November ruling by Payne stated
Atlantic Shores' owners
could proceed under their current proposal. However, after further
review, Payne reversed himself and said the city officials had not been
in the wrong when they initially allowed the added height and
interpreted the building guidelines to allow 2.5 stories above parking. |
