Lawsuit amended to remove ex parte communication violation charges [PREMIUM CONTENT]

By DOTTY NIST

Members of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) are generally required to disclose in writing their contacts or discussions prior to the meeting in connection with the matter to be considered. Such contacts or discussions are known as ex parte communications.

A recent lawsuit filed against Walton County had alleged that two county commissioners, Cecilia Jones and Tony Anderson, had filed ex parte communications disclosures that did not specify with whom those commissioners had communicated on the issue, the date or the substance of the communication, thus allegedly denying opponents of a development proposal the opportunity to present evidence in rebuttal.

However, these charges have now been removed from the petition, which had been filed by the Historic Inlet Beach Neighborhood Association (HIBNA) to challenge the Oct. 5 BCC approval of the development known as Summer House Bed and Breakfast. The ex parte communications claims were omitted in an amended Dec. 1 petition by HIBNA. The amended petition followed the filing of documents by Walton County since the neighborhood association’s bringing the original petition on Nov. 8.

In the amended petition, it is noted that the additional documents furnished by Walton County had not previously been provided by the county in response to a public records request by HIBNA.

In a unopposed notice of filing dated Nov. 17, Walton County Attorney Sidney Noyes explained, “Due to a miscommunication between counsel for Petitioner (HIBNA) and the clerks fulfilling the records request, Petitioner was not originally provided with the attachments to the Ex Parte Disclosure Forms of Commissioners Jones and Anderson. Counsel for Petitioner received copies of the attachments to the Ex Parte Disclosure Forms of Commissioners Jones and Anderson on November 13, 2017.”

Summer House Bed and Breakfast had garnered approval in a 3-2 vote at an Oct. 5 BCC special meeting. As approved, the development consists of a three-story, 13,130-square-foot, 25-guest room business to be constructed on a 0.65-acre site on the north side of U.S. 98 in Inlet Beach, across the highway from Walton Rose Lane.

In the amended petition, the neighborhood association continues to seek that the court “quash” or negate the final order of approval for the development, maintaining that, due to the Oct. 5 hearing being held as a “continuation” hearing, not a quasi-judicial hearing, and no evidence being taken, “the Neighborhood Association was denied its due process to present evidence.”

The petition also includes allegations regarding the manner in which the Oct. 5 hearing proceeded, maintaining that, as conducted was not authorized by Florida Statutes, case law, the Walton County Comprehensive Plan or Land Development Code. The case continues to proceed in Walton County Circuit Court.

The petitioners are represented by Destin Attorney Jennifer Sullivan.