Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet may have to answer a few questions as they continue with a lawsuit to recover valuable St. Petersburg waterfront property privately owned since 1883.
They not only have to answer questions from outsiders, but also from state legislators and the Cabinet itself.
“If it’s been good for 130 years, it certainly raises an interesting question why it’s not okay now,” Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam told WTSP/10 News.
Putnam told reporters he was not up to speed on the case filed by Attorney General Pam Bondi for the Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida. The Trustees are Scott and the Cabinet, comprising of Putnam, Bondi, and state CFO Jeff Atwater.
For more than a century, owners bought and sold the St. Petersburg property in accordance with local laws. Now the state says the Coffee Pot Bayou property belongs to them, and has since 1845.
The case centers on a 1,000-square-foot dock on the edge of Snell Island, owned by Rick and Kelly Ware. The two paid $142,500 for the dock in 2008 as one of 83 owners who have bought the property as separate parcels. The property, valued at $5 million on the city and county tax rolls. The city owns several other parcels, which are open to the public.
The government now says the property is over “navigable waters,” and Florida is the landowner.
St. Petersburg State Sen. Jeff Brandes has spent the last year working with the Wares. Last week he met with the governor’s staff, and is confident both sides can avoid going to court.
If successful, this potential land grab could have sweeping effects throughout the state. St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster is concerned one such action could be on the St. Petersburg Pier.
“A cloud on one title is a cloud on all titles” along the city’s waterfront, Foster told reporters.
