TAMPA — More than three years after it denied a proposal for a group home in the Oakford Park neighborhood, the City Council today will consider paying $250,000 to settle a federal lawsuit alleging the denial violated the rights of the applicant.
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Bernard Rock and his company, Lincoln Rock LLC, proposed putting a 21-bed residential treatment facility for people suffering from drug and alcohol addiction in an 8,900-square-foot home at 3303 W Lemon St.
Rock needed a special use permit from the city but was not asking the council to waive any city rules regarding parking or buffers from neighboring properties. As proposed, the home wouldn’t have had any signs or external indications that it was different from other houses nearby.
On June 13, 2013, the night of the public hearing, Oakford Park residents and officers of the neighboring Sons of Italy lodge turned out in force, wearing red shirts and arguing against the proposal.
At the end of a three-hour hearing, council members voted 6-1 to deny the petition. Voting against the group home were current council members Mike Suarez, Harry Cohen, Charlie Miranda, Frank Reddick and Yvonne Yolie Capin, plus then-council member Mary Mulhern. Voting against denial was then-council member Lisa Montelione.
Rock sued the city in federal court in 2015, contending that council members based their decision not on legitimate concerns about the compatibility of the project or traffic, but on fears about the people who would be living there.
Rock’s lawsuit contended that the company spent more than $1 million preparing the property, only to see the council deny its proposal because of the disabilities — that is, the addictions — of its residents.
City attorneys argued that the suit should have been dismissed and continues to deny any wrongdoing by the city, but they recommend that settling the case is in the city’s best interest. The council is scheduled to consider the settlement at its 9 a.m. meeting.
Contact Richard Danielson at rdanielson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3403. Follow @Danielson_Times
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