SANDDOLLAR CONSULTING
Owners/operators of the Brian Dunwoody House at
520 N. Spring Street, Pensacola, Florida 32501
Attn: Warren Davis, Office of Citizen Services
The Honorable Rick Scott
Governor of Florida
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Fl 32399-0001
Dear Mr. Davis
Thank you for your email, dated March 3, 2011, in response to my email, dated February 18, 2011, Subj: Failure of FDLE to perform their job. Your finding was that it is a local zoning and code enforcement issue and a complaint about local government.
Mr. Davis, the real problem appears to be wide-spread corruption on the part of City Officials. When our business has operated for 25 years with no complaints or illegal closings, in the same location, and is closed down, without due process, the day before an astounding announcement is made (building the 40 million dollar Community Maritime Park at the end of our street); it is not a local zoning and code enforcement issue. Suddenly our property became very important and desirable and, apparently, had to be taken away from us.
City Officials are participating in what appears to be a conspiracy designed and developed to keep us from the legal use of our property in order to deny us the legal income from this income property in order to force us to sell. They appear to be committing theft from persons 65 years of age or older (Florida State Statute 812.0145) and extortion (Florida State Statute 836.05).
In 1998, my husband and I purchased the Historic property at 520 N. Spring Street, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was being used as an art gallery/antique shop holding functions (since 1980). We planned to restore it, according to the United States Secretary of the Interior Guidelines on restoring historic houses, and then continue using it as an art gallery/antique shop holding functions.
During the restoration, we appeared before the Pensacola Architectural Review Board, the Pensacola Planning Board, etc. at every step of the way from clearing paint colors, in compliance with the Heritage palette, to final completion of the restoration in May, 2000, and clearance for continued use as an art gallery/antique shop holding functions.
We complied with the strict requirements of the State and were awarded the Ad Valorem Tax Exemption for Improvements to Historic Properties which requires compliance with the guidelines and compliance with local zoning and construction codes. We won the North Hill Preservation Association Award for best restored house of the year, 2000.
We were vetted and authorized, under the grandfather application, to open in May, 2000, having been approved in every aspect, including meeting all codes and being in compliance with zoning and parking requirements. Even though our parking was grandfathered to the parking available in 1994, our current requirement is 14 spaces and we have 20 spaces, far exceeding the current requirement. We were on the Tour of Historic Homes for 2000.
We reopened and operated peacefully for almost 5 years. During this time, we received no complaints from the City, our neighbors or our clients. In fact, our neighbors frequently visited and especially enjoyed seeing the preparations for a function as we spruced up the landscape and decorated the house. Neighbors and guests have indicated that we have added greatly to the appearance of the neighborhood.
On March 19, 2005, a Saturday, we were interrupted and illegally closed down at 7:00 PM during a function, a wedding, by the Pensacola Police Department without due process, with no prior notice, from Code Enforcement or anyone, of a violation of any codes. The reason the police officer gave was that we were “not authorized” to have functions. I told him that we were officially authorized to have functions and he stated that we were closed down anyway.
The next day, on March 20, 2005, Pensacola City Officials announced they were spending 40 million dollars on building a Community Maritime Park at the end of our Street, Spring Street. As I stated above, suddenly, our property became very important.
After 25 years of peaceful operation of an art gallery/antique shop holding functions, in the same location, with no complaints from the City, our neighbors or clients, we were closed down by three Pensacola City Departments within 48 hours: the Police Department, the City Manager, and the Department of Community Development. We were told we would be charged with a crime if we held functions. As I stated above, this appears to be a conspiracy among City Officials especially since no valid reason has ever been given for our closing.
From then until now, 6 years, we have contacted Pensacola City Officials, the Mayors, Pensacola Council Members, the State Attorney, FDLE, DBPR, the Governor, the FBI, etc., and no one will stop the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us even though we are in total compliance with all zoning and code enforcement requirements. We filed a complaint with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, which we pay taxes to for that property, but they refused to investigate saying it was not in their jurisdiction, but apparently we are in their jurisdiction enough to pay taxes. We have gone up and down the chain of command several times with no one stopping the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us. Plus, we have informed the Pensacola News Journal many times about the apparent corruption, they ignore it.
We are both veterans, both retired professionals with a history of community service and obeying all rules and regulations. In fact, I wrote military rules and regulations for almost 30 years. My husband was an accountant and strictly followed all laws relating to that field. We have always been responsible citizens, parents and grandparents who abide by the law.
We finally realized, since we were an elderly couple, that City Officials were stalling us with false accusations until we both died and our heirs might sell our property, at a very low price. This appears to be right as my husband of 39 years, Gene, passed away last May after a long battle with cancer. One down and one to go (me).
While we have had no income from our business property for six years, the expenses continue: mortgage payments, insurance payments, property taxes, electricity, water, etc. Although we pay property taxes, we can’t use our property as we are legally authorized since we have been threatened with being charged with a crime if we do.
If City Officials had obeyed the law, our final years together could have been spent doing what we wanted, operating our business and occasionally traveling, instead of spending our precious time constantly battling corruption and coping with the hardship caused by City Officials illegally cutting off our income from our investment property.
On Aug 15, 2005, Mr. Cowper sent an email where he put in writing what we had been told from the night of March 19, 2005, that we were not allowed to operate an art gallery/antique shop and were not allowed to have functions:
“we have no record that a conditional use permit was ever approved by the planning board and city council for an art gallery.” And, “While I do not wish to see you sell your property I’m sure that you can understand that I must enforce the applicable zoning regulations. I encourage you to review the applicable zoning regulations and to restrict the use of your property to those allowed. “
On September 01, 2005, Mr. Cowper sent an email where he finally realizes we are grandfathered but still illegally refuses to let us have functions.
“Based upon information and evidence presented by you along with city records that I have reviewed I am convinced that the use of the property for an antique store / art gallery is indeed grandfathered. …
As I told you on the telephone, I am very impressed with your building renovation and I think it adds greatly to North Hill.”
On Apr 25, 2008, Mr. Cohen, the new Director, Department of Community Development, sent an email, in answer to mine, regarding the City’s illegal restrictions placed on our property:
“. . .That same connection is not apparent for weddings and other similar social functions which tend to have a large attendance and a greater requirement for the availability of off- street parking; and therefore is not permitted.” Our parking was previously approved and we never received a complaint from anyone about parking as there was never a problem. Also, our contract calls for a maximum of 99 persons at an event – we don’t want large crowds in our beautifully restored historic building.
Mr. Cohen, his Department and City Boards routinely violate City Ordinances.
One example: Mr. Cohen, his Department and the Planning Board requested approval and argued for a property, owned by the Bank of Pensacola, to receive a conditional use on DeSoto Street as a commercial property. This property is in a residential area, does not have adequate parking (at least one vehicle was to be parked on the lawn in the front yard of the North Hill Historic District), and since it is on a narrow road clients will park in the road blocking traffic – very dangerous for children in the residential area. Council Member Nobles is affiliated with the Bank of Pensacola. It should never have gotten to the City Council as it was against the law. At the same City Council Meeting of May 8, 2008, Ms. Wilhelm, President of the North Hill Preservation Association, of which we are members, stated that there was no problem in the North Hill Preservation District with businesses which had been grandfathered and especially those on major arteries in North Hill. That described us.
I reported this situation to the FDLE and asked that they investigate. Mr. Ramage, FDLE, contacted Mr. Wells, Pensacola City Attorney, for a statement and Mr. Wells’ email, dated 09/09/2010, to Mr. Ramage is filled with false statements. Mr. Ramage quoted these false statements to me in his response.
Mr. Wells stated, “Ms Mead’s building was conditionally permitted as an art gallery and an antique shop with no outside displays permitted when she purchased it and it still is today.” That is not true as you can see from Mr. Cowper’s statements above that we do not have a Conditional Use. The facts are that the building was used as an art gallery/antique shop holding functions since 1980, before the current zoning and Conditional Uses came into effect and was grandfathered as such. Mr. Wells accused us of violating a Conditional Use. We don’t have a Conditional Use so we can’t possibly violate it. I emailed Mr. Ramage and told him the true story, with accompanying documentation. He chose to believe Mr. Wells’ false accusations even though Mr. Wells made false accusations against us and presented no documentation. FDLE took no action to stop the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us. The FDLE Commissioner, Mr. Bailey, has not even answered my correspondence pointing out his error.
As you can see from the above, false charges and false accusations have been used to illegally close us down and illegally keep us closed down.
Mr. Davis, I am again requesting an investigation of FDLE’s role in my complaint about our illegal closing as they should do their job and not just protect the local government officials.
The State Attorney’s office should also be investigated as it appears that they helped Mr. Wells prepare his statement to FDLE which defamed me and made false accusations against me. Officials should not be lying to FDLE. That seems serious to me. It appears that the State Attorney’s office also sent false accusations to the FBI when we asked for their help as no one else would help us.
The State Attorney’s Office wrote us, on May 22, 2008:
“The complaint you have submitted is not actionable by our office since it has previously been reviewed by the Office of the State Attorney, determined not to be criminal, is outside the Statute of Limitations and appears to involve a private civil dispute not a public interest. Accordingly we will be closing the file.”
The FBI stated to us, on Sep 22, 2009:
The FBI has reviewed all the documents you have sent via US Mail and e-mail since July 2009. However, this matter is outside the jurisdiction of the FBI and beyond the Statute of Limitations.
The complaint is not actionable and does not show evidence of criminal wrongdoing and appears to involve a private civil dispute. Therefore, the FBI will not be initiating an investigation.
The FBI is authorized to investigate state and local government corruption however, the complaint, as received, does not indicate criminal intent on the part of the parties you have identified. . .
It seems to me that our situation is exactly what the FBI is tasked with investigating, state and local government corruption, but Mr. Casey, Special Agent in Charge, refused to do so. These are the only two agencies that cited Statute of Limitations as an excuse to do nothing and both are wrong, as I wrote and told them, since the apparent crimes committed against us are ongoing. Neither did anything to stop the actions against us.
There appears to be a curtain over the City where underneath the curtain, City Officials are breaking the law and harming citizens, and outside the curtain, the local officials are giving a false picture of what is happening underneath, that City Officials are obeying the law when they are not. My late husband said that it feels like a pit bull (City Officials) has us by the throat and is pulling us down to our death while the officials who are in a position to stop this appear to condone the illegal action.
City Officials appear to be in violation of City Ordinances, State Statutes and Federal Regulations. This should be stopped immediately but all agencies I have contacted refuse to. One of the major tools City Officials and Council members use, illegally; to get around or defy the law is by the use of Pensacola City Advisory Boards.
Florida law states:
The 2010 Florida Statutes, Title X PUBLIC OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND RECORDS
Chapter 112 PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES: GENERAL PROVISIONS
112.313Standards of conduct for public officers, employees of agencies, and local government attorneys.—(1) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires, the term “public officer” includes any person elected or appointed to hold office in any agency, including any person serving on an advisory body.
(7) CONFLICTING EMPLOYMENT OR CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.—
(a) No public officer or employee of an agency shall have or hold any employment or contractual relationship with any business entity or any agency which is subject to the regulation of, or is doing business with, an agency of which he or she is an officer or employee, . . .
During this ordeal, we have repeatedly been told by City Officials and City Council members to appear before the Pensacola Zoning Board. The main reason for this is because the City of Pensacola is in violation of Florida State Statutes regarding conflict of interest on Advisory Boards. Even though Florida State Statutes prohibit members (or their employers) of Advisory Boards from doing business with the City, almost all members, or their employers, of Advisory Boards here in Pensacola have contracts to do work for the City. Almost all board members are snugly attached to the City coffers by an umbilical cord of City contract deals. The state requires that Advisory Board Members be impartial and independent but City Council Members appoint and reappoint individuals who depend on the City for income, in violation of Florida State Statutes. It appears that since the majority of members are in violation of the Conflict of Interest laws, no quorum can ever be reached and the members should not have discussions or make rulings – but they do, almost always deciding in favor of the City (as expected as they get money from the City) and pretend this is legal.
I have brought this illegal situation to the attention of Pensacola City Officials, Pensacola Mayors, Pensacola City Council Members, the State Attorney, FDLE, and the FBI but this illegal situation still continues. It appears that the law means nothing here, not even the U.S. Constitution.
Mr. Davis, remember Governor Scott’s campaign, “let’s go to work”? City Officials forced us out of work in 2005 and have refused to lift the prohibition even though I have proven, repeatedly, that we are in compliance with all regulations. Our clients hired caterers, photographers, limo drivers, etc. and visitors stayed in the local motel. I supplied work for upholsterers, picture framers, etc. Local artists displayed and sold their work from our art gallery. Now, my granddaughter, a talented artist, must show and sell her work from another gallery. If Governor Scott is serious, he should stop the apparent illegal/criminal actions against us so we can go back to work as we want to.
We just elected a new mayor, Mayor Hayward. I contacted him right after the election, November, 2010, and asked to meet with him. I received an email from his assistant, Allee Blay, yesterday, “Your meeting request is being processed along with the document that you dropped off. Which district are you located in?”
He appears to be following the previous mayors’ motto, “stall them till they die.” The stalling routine is: City Officials give a reason for our closing - no Conditional Use, and I counter with the reason we are legal - we are grandfathered. Then City Officials think of a new reason for our closing - no parking - and I counter with the reason we are legal - our parking is grandfathered to 1994 and, in addition, we exceed current requirements. The current reason for our closing is that we are violating our Conditional Use and I have countered with the reason we are legal - we don’t have a Conditional Use. Even though I have proven that the current reason is as false as previous reasons, City Officials won’t remove the illegal prohibition of our operating, as authorized, and FDLE won’t investigate these apparent illegal/criminal actions. It seems they’re still stalling until I die.
Our blog sites are pensacolanewsletter.blogspot.com (instances of sweetheart deals to a favored few) and pensacolanewsletter2.blogspot.com (concerning our property). Please email me or call me if you have any questions (850 492-1962).
Mr. Davis, I am again asking that Governor Scott stop the apparent illegal/criminal actions on the part of local officials especially as it pertains to us and our property, identify and investigate everyone committing illegal/criminal offenses and prosecute all to the full extent of the law. It is important that our local governments obey the law and not harm private law-abiding citizens as they are doing here.
Sincerely,
Mary Mead
