This story originally appeared Tuesday at StetNews.org.
It’s beginning to look like a lawsuit filed Jan. 5 will not stop the March 19 Palm Beach Gardens annexation election.
Quick catchup: Residents of Hidden Key sued to block the election involving the largest of five zones, Zone 1. The court did not issue its first order until Feb. 7, after Hidden Key filed a motion to speed things up.
Zone 1 has more than 7,000 residents. Overall, the city is seeking voter approval to annex dozens of neighborhoods in five zones with more than 8,000 residents, all east of Interstate 95.
In its Feb. 12 reply to the motion to expedite the proceedings, the city argued the issue does not require “immediate resolution,” as the four Hidden Key residents who sued will suffer no harm if the vote is held on March 19.
“However, harm may come … by denying 5,220 of their fellow voters residing in Area 1 the right to vote,” City Attorney Max Lohman wrote in the city’s reply.
On the dispute over voters asked to annex both into Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach, Lohman wrote: “That future litigation, if it were to occur, would be between Palm Beach Gardens and North Palm Beach, would not require the (four) petitioners’ participation, and would not be complicated to resolve.”
Background: The Hidden Key residents had argued there’s no precedent in state law for what happens if the same residents are annexed into different cities at the same time.
Finally, Lohman disputed the term “quagmire,” suggested by the four Hidden Key residents.
“The annexation referendum is scheduled; the ballots are printed; and the vote by mail ballots have been sent out. The expense of the referendum has been fully realized by the city of Palm Beach Gardens. Seeking to determine the will of the people, rather than just the will of the petitioners, does not constitute a quagmire,” Lohman wrote.
Of note: The city has $175,000 budgeted for election expenses through Sept. 30.
In a footnote, he added: “A referendum is pure democracy in action and is not a quagmire. A simple majority of the votes cast in Area 1 will determine the outcome of the proposed annexation. The petitioners dislike this because they want their votes to count for more than the other 5,220 voters in Area 1.”
The court could invalidate the results after the election, meaning the Hidden Key residents face “no irreparable harm,” he wrote.
What’s next: Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Cymonie Rowe will rule. If she agrees with the city, it means slow going. Both sides would be given time to file briefs before a court hearing, making it difficult to reach a decision before early voting begins March 9. Even at a faster pace, she’d still have to give the city time to respond to larger arguments made by the residents.
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Joel@OnGardens.org
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