DOT wins court round over parkway
The victory involving the extension of the Suncoast Parkway means that planning might soon resume.
By CATHERINE E. SHOICHET
Published April 21, 2006
Florida Department of Transportation officials may soon be able to resume planning for a possible $600-million extension of the Suncoast Parkway into Citrus.
In an order issued last week, Leon County Circuit Judge Terry P. Lewis sided with the DOT in the latest legal battle over Suncoast Parkway 2.
DOT officials "made a good faith effort" to comply with the terms of a mediation agreement with Citrus County property owners Teddi Bierly and Bobby Roscow, the judge wrote.
Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, a DOT division, is studying whether the existing tollway, which stretches between Tampa and U.S. 98 near the Hernando-Citrus county line, should be extended north and connect to U.S. 19 near the Citrus-Levy county border.
In 2003, a group of several local, state and government agencies - known as the Environmental Resource and Regulatory Agency Group - began meeting in private to discuss the possible extension.
Bierly and Roscow sued the DOT to open the meetings, and a judge sided with them in August 2004. The plaintiffs and the state entered into mediation and agreed to hold two "curative" meetings, which were held June 28 and Aug. 29.
But in a motion filed on behalf of Bierly and Roscow in October, Tallahassee attorney Ross Burnaman said the DOT breeched the terms of that agreement. He noted that several agencies did not send the "most knowledgeable person from the agency" to the public meetings, which the mediation required.
And all the agencies present at the private meetings did not participate in the public meetings - another violation of the agreement, Burnaman wrote.
He asked Lewis to sanction the department and to order officials to disregard information discussed privately between Jan. 7, 2003 and Aug. 6, 2004.
In response, DOT assistant general counsel Robert D. Vanhorne said the meetings "effectively carried out the letter and spirit" of the judge's ruling and met the terms of the agreement. He asked Lewis to deny the request for sanctions and close the case.
Lewis denied Burnaman's motion in his order last week, though he noted that Bierly and Roscow "have some legitimate concerns in terms of the inadequacies of the procedures to fully re-create what occurred at the meetings that were not held in public."
Burnaman said Thursday that exactly where things stand is unclear.
He said he planned to file a motion asking the judge to enter a subsequent order clarifying the status of the case. And he said he also wanted to make sure Lewis considered parts of Bierly and Roscow's motion that the judge's order does not address.
Regardless of the outcome, he said, further legal challenges to the possible toll road extension are likely on the way.
The Florida Turnpike Enterprise's tentative five-year plan includes more than $163-million earmarked for the project. That number included funding for engineering and acquiring right of way, but not for construction. Earmarking the money is not an indication that the state intends to extend the road. The state still hasn't decided whether it will build, Turnpike spokeswoman Joanne Hurley said.
"We were pleased with the judge's decision," she said. "This is a long process. ... We're going to work through the process and resume as soon as we are able."
Catherine E. Shoichet can be reached at cshoichet@sptimes.com or 860-7309.