On December 15, 2023, the charter officers of St. Pete Beach discussed and determined the best way forward for the City. This came after learning days before that four out of five commissioners might resign due to a new law that required more financial disclosures in their Form 6 annual filing with the Florida Commission on Ethics – a law that was later halted by the U.S. Federal District Court of Florida in a separate lawsuit filed by over 170 elected municipal officials across the state.
The main topic of the discussion was how to ensure the continuity of St. Pete Beach city government based on provisions in its Charter under very unusual circumstances. Anticipating that their recommendation would face opposition and possibly legal action, the City Attorney advised the then City Commission, at the December 18th special meeting, that resigning Commissioners had to resign on or before December 30th and stagger their resignations, allowing the remaining commissioners to fill the vacancies. Otherwise, there would not be enough commissioners to form a quorum and hold public meetings to conduct public business. Subsequently, the four commissioners resigned, and the new commissioners were appointed, based on the legal interpretation of the City’s Charter.
On January 3, 2024, an organization called “Protect St. Pete Beach Advocacy Group” and several individuals sued the City alleging violations of the City Charter, State Constitution and asking the court to invalidate all Commission actions since the appointed Commissioners were sworn in.
After months of expensive litigation paid by the citizens of St. Pete Beach, on July 2, 2024, Circuit Judge Michael F. Andrews issued his order in favor of the City’s process to preserve law, order and a functioning local government. According to Judge Andrews, “any reading of the Charter to prevent interim appointments…would be an absurd conclusion clearly not intended by the Charter.”
The Advocacy group has also appealed conditional use permits approved by the Commission for the Sirata and Tradewinds resorts, repeating the allegation that Commissioners were illegally seated and should not decide on the resort expansions. Judge Andrew’s order confirms the Commission’s authority to exercise its approval of the redevelopments along with the numerous other decisions they have made since being sworn in.
This ruling supports the City’s commitment to maintaining the integrity of its local regulations and ensuring that all actions are done in compliance with the law. The decision hopefully marks the end of a long-fought battle, showing the City’s resolve to uphold its codes and charter for the benefit of the community. The City of St. Pete Beach remains committed to serving its residents and visitors with transparency and fairness. We will continue to enforce our regulations to protect the public interest and maintain the high quality of life that our community enjoys. There is a special election for commission seats 2 and 4 to be held August 20, 2024, after which the commission will once again be fully elected.