Miami Beach is laying the groundwork for a potential court battle with Tallahassee over state legislation tailored to benefit billionaire Jeffrey Soffer’s plan to upgrade Fontainebleau Miami Beach’s pool area with new cabanas and waterslides.
The Miami Beach City Commission voted 4-1 Wednesday to authorize Mayor Steven Meiner to potentially sue the state to challenge a bill that would allow Soffer’s Aventura-based Fontainebleau Development to sidestep the city’s historic preservation board.
City Attorney Ricardo Dopico is determining whether suing the state is Miami Beach’s best option. Meiner can then either greenlight litigation himself or call a special commission meeting within 24 hours so commissioners can collectively decide whether to sue.
Commissioner Alex Fernandez, one of the most vocal critics of the state’s Fontainebleau measure, sponsored the litigation resolution. He said the legislature intruded on what “is fundamentally a local decision that falls under the jurisdiction of the historic preservation board.”
The Tallahassee measure, tucked into a broader land use bill, forces municipalities to administratively approve variances and special exceptions that apply to 20 percent of land occupied by “large destination resorts,” which are defined as hotels with more than 500 rooms and an average occupancy rate of at least 70 percent for the past three years. The description applies to Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
The bill’s sponsor, Doral State Rep. David Borrero previously told the Miami Herald that a Fontainebleau Development lobbyist helped him draft the resort carve-out. Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law.
“It is clear to anyone who is following the issue that this was crafted very specifically with Miami Beach in mind,” Fernandez said at Wednesday’s city commission meeting. “[The resolution] ensures that the city attorney has flexibility to explore all appropriate legal actions, whether that involves litigation or any other type of legal remedy.”
In a statement, Fontainebleau Development disputed Fernandez’s characterization of the state legislation. It “applies broadly to qualifying destination resorts in South Florida, Orlando and beyond,” the statement said.
“Its passage underscores the Legislature’s strong support for the hospitality industry, which plays a vital role in driving jobs, investment, and local economies across our state,” the statement said.
Despite the standoff, the city commission also voted to allow Meiner, the city attorney, the city manager and representatives of the Mid Beach Neighborhood Association, to attempt negotiations with Fontainebleau Development to further tweak the pool upgrades project.
Residents and community activists have vehemently opposed a plan to add water-park style amenities to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.
Designed by the late Art Deco architect Morris Lapidus, the 1,593-room historic hotel is at 4441 Collins Avenue. In response to the criticism, Fontainebleau Development reduced the height of a proposed two-story cabana structure by 30 percent and reduced the height of a planned waterslide tower from 131 feet tall to 99 feet tall, updated renderings and plans show.
However, the opposition persisted and grew to include Miami Beach elected officials, including the mayor. In February the city’s historic preservation board delayed for the third time voting on Fontainebleau Development’s plan at the developer’s request.
At Wednesday’s meeting, City Commissioner Tanya Katzoff Bhatt blasted Fontainebleau Development for going to state legislators to override Miami Beach’s local review process.
“People are supposed to abide by local decisions and I fully support giving our city attorney [authorization] to try to nip this in the bud,” she said. “Not just for this, but for anything that might come down the pike. Once one developer sees this, I think that it’s going to stir up a lot of very unfortunate, unintended consequences.”
But a lawsuit could put the city at risk of jeopardizing roughly $5 million in state appropriations Miami Beach is set to receive this year, said Commissioner David Suarez, who voted no.
“This governor has a reputation for retaliatory political engagements,” Suarez said. “I think we’re going down a really dangerous rabbit hole here on challenging this, especially with so much money that is potentially coming to us that our city depends on.”