The City of Miami vs. the City of Miami

The Home Depot Debate Pits City Commissioner Against City Attorney

By Ryan Brown - Sun-Post

Home Depot at SW 8th Street in Miami. File photo by Mitchell Zachs/MagicalPhotos.com.

The new Home Depot in Coconut Grove, a project that has met adamant resistance from Grove residents since it was first conceived, is scheduled to open this week. But the fight has not stopped, and the commissioner of the district in which the project wishes to locate faces a battle not only with the retail giant, but the city of Miami as well.

Currently, a group of Coconut Grove residents is pursuing a case against the city of Miami, claiming that the City Commission did not follow the law when it approved the Home Depot at 2999 SW 32nd Ave.

“There’s a lawsuit filed by some residents that live next to the Home Depot,” says District 2 Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, one of the project’s biggest opponents. “They don’t think the city followed the law.”

“They [the city of Miami] have not interpreted their laws correctly,” says Sue McConnell, a Grove resident and plaintiff in the case. “There’s an ordinance that says no big box can ever come into Coconut Grove. There’s also an ordinance that says anything over 20,000 square feet requires a class two special permit … the city didn’t require that of the Home Depot.”

Sarnoff raised zoning questions that apply to the Home Depot project, without ever mentioning the improvement store chain specifically, at the May 10 commission meeting, asking for a written response from the Planning and Zoning Department.

This request was met with resistance from City Attorney Jorge Fernandez.

“All of the questions that the commissioner [Sarnoff] has asked, either he or someone involved in the litigation process has already asked,” said Fernandez. “The city, under the direction of the City Attorney’s Office, has chosen not to answer.”

The city attorney added that he would advise the city’s administration not to answer the questions.

According to Fernandez, the zoning issues in question were already submitted by the plaintiffs in the case to the Zoning Department, which, after consulting with the City Attorney’s Office, refused to answer them.

“To circumvent that process and to put the administration in a position of having to answer those questions, which are technically legal questions that are the subject matter of the lawsuit, I think places the city and places your city attorney in an awfully precarious situation,” said Fernandez.

Fernandez went on to say that “we are being sued by interests adverse to the city. Then … we have a commissioner [Sarnoff] who identifies with those interests.… I am really in a pickle.… I would beg for some time so I could seriously obtain the wise counsel for some ethics direction from the Florida bar.”

Commissioners Joe Sanchez, Tomas Regalado and Michelle Spence-Jones suggested that Sarnoff and the city attorney have a closed door “shade meeting” in which Sarnoff’s questions would be answered.

The city attorney indicated he would be willing to have a shade meeting, provided that Sarnoff is not allowed to relay the information to others afterward.

“I have reason to believe that Commissioner Sarnoff, being allied with the forces that are suing the city, will of course share all that information with them,” says Fernandez.

As of this writing, no shade meeting has been set up between Sarnoff and Fernandez.

“I’ve written a letter demanding an explanation as to why no meeting has been set up,” says Sarnoff.

Prior to being elected, Sarnoff headed Grove First, a coalition of concerned Coconut Grove homeowners who were opposed to the establishment of a Home Depot in their neighborhood. Many residents believe the Home Depot is industrial in nature and will ruin the character of the surrounding area.