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Oldsmar's leader says he's convinced the city would lose if it went to court with Wilson Co. over a proposed low-income apartment project.
By ROBERT FARLEY
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 17, 2001
OLDSMAR -- Two weeks after drawing cheers from residents when he handed over the gavel to lead the charge to reject a compromise on the controversial Westminster apartments project, Mayor Jerry Beverland on Friday said he might consider a deal after all.
The City Council is scheduled to discuss a proposed settlement to the dispute between the city and the Wilson Co. at 7 p.m. Tuesday. City Attorney Tom Trask said the city, county and developer were still negotiating the terms.
Beverland has opposed any settlement that would allow construction of the 270-apartment complex, but he said the prospect of expensive litigation against the city is testing his resolve.
"I've got a real war going on inside me," he said Friday.
After talking to several people this week, including attorneys for the city and the Florida League of Cities, Beverland said he has become convinced the city would lose if the Wilson Co. sues Oldsmar in federal court.
That is where the battle over the affordable housing project appeared to be headed after the council voted 3-2 Nov. 7 to reject a compromise to the dispute crafted by the Pinellas County Commission.
Later, however, Trask approached Wilson Co. attorney Tim Johnson and asked if it was still possible to resolve things.
It was, Johnson said, but only if they move quickly.
This week, a Washington, D.C., law firm hired by the Wilson Co. sent the city a "courtesy" copy of the federal lawsuit it intends to file against the city. Also named as prospective defendants are Beverland, and council members Don Bohr and Marcelo Caruso, who voted against the compromise, and several Oldsmar residents who have opposed the project. The suit would allege that by opposing a project designed to benefit renters with low or moderate incomes, the defendants have violated federal fair housing laws.
The city's legal position was undermined by the county, Beverland said, which proposed that the city create a "density bonus" program for affordable housing projects. The bonus would allow the 270 units proposed for Westminster instead of a lower number set by county development regulations.
"With what the county did to us, we can't win," Beverland said. "There is no way on God's earth we can win.
"Let me tell you what happens if we lose," Beverland said. "If we lose -- and everyone has tried their damnedest to convince me we will -- we could lose anywhere from $15-million to $52-million on compensatory damages, and up to triple that in punitive damages."
Beverland said he believes the city has done nothing wrong and would prevail in a lawsuit, but, "I keep thinking about this: O.J. Simpson walked free."
Beverland said he would like nothing more than to tell those making the settlement offer "they can all go to hell," but the potential liability to the city is staggering. He said he has not made up his mind on how he will ultimately vote.
"I don't want calamity to come upon this city because of me," Beverland said. "If we lose this thing, we're going to have to assess $200 to $300 a year to every homeowner due to a lawsuit from the Wilson Co. I can't allow that to happen. I can't take that chance.
"I'm in a real major dilemma," Beverland said. "How can I take that chance with the citizens of this town just because I want to cloak myself in integrity and be bull-headed? I can do that for myself. But how do you do that with the people who trust you? It's gone beyond me and my feelings."
Though still being negotiated, Beverland said the settlement agreement would likely not be much different than previously proposed. The offer at the Nov. 7 meeting included a $135,000 payment from the Wilson Co. to the city and an agreement from all sides to drop all the lawsuits against one another.
Meanwhile, the Oldsmar Community Alliance, which opposes the project, has come up with a compromise of its own, one in which the developer could keep the proposed 270 units provided the apartments be designated as affordable housing for people ages 55 and older. That would alleviate the burden to the roads and schools that have been neighbors' chief concerns, said Karen Manning, secretary of the alliance and one of those named in the Wilson Co.'s threatened lawsuit.
Beverland said he proposed that the settlement include a promise from the developer to build a privacy gate between Westminster and the neighboring subdivisions.
Beverland also would insist that any cash given to the city be handed over to Forest Lakes and Oldsmar elementary schools for "something that is going to help the kids."
"We're not going to keep a penny of it," Beverland vowed. "Anyone fighting me on that, I'll bury them."
Trask said many of the proposed changes to the settlement agreement have not even been posed to the developer yet.
"There are a lot of things under consideration," Trask said. "At this point there is no agreement."
Johnson said he's still hopeful a settlement can be reached.
"We want to bring this thing to a peaceful conclusion," Johnson said. "But if not, we'll have to pursue other means."
Trask said it's hard to guess which way the City Council will go on Tuesday.
"You don't know from day to day where council members are at," Trask said. "But we're going to give this one more shot. If it works, it works. If not, the case will be litigated."
-- Staff writer Julie Church contributed to this report. Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sptimes.com.