I just finished my article on last night’s tiering-system workshop.

Try as I might, I could not convince myself that I was justified in using “Tiers of a clown” as the story title.

City staffers, press, members of the public, all gathering in the lobby at the City Hall Annex as the council debates within chambers. The usual scene right before a meeting on executive session nights, and not as crowded as some I’ve seen.

The attorney for the Inn at Crystal Beach homeowners association says the council approved the proposed settlement, so it’s now a matter of ironing out all the details in the agreement and presenting the finished draft for a vote.

I guess Beach Walk patrons can sleep easier tonight.

The James Dular suit concerns a debate over a building permit some seven years ago.

Someone says there’s a “last minute twist” in the Crystal Beach case.
I have a feeling the regular meeting may not start right on time …

I’m here at council, but sitting outside the chambers as they prepare for an executive session, one of the exceptions to the Sunshine Laws. Three different lawsuits are under discussion:
•The Inn at Crystal Beach wants an old legal settlement amended to reflect that Beach Walk Cafe is larger than the settlement says (500 square feet, I think). The city has been arguing for several years that the Inn doesn’t have enough parking spaces for the size of the restaurant, the Inn disagrees. Tonight, they’ll make the same argument over.
•Tamtech owner James Dular has a lawsuit of several years standing against the city. To my shame, I must admit I don’t have the details off the top of my head, but I’ll spell it out in Saturday’s paper.
•Frogs to Dogs Veterinary Clinic went to court during the city’s Legion Drive/Main Street widening project because of the city’s insistence it needed a right of way easement over part of the clinic property. They reached an compromise on the property taken, settled on the price, but they still have lawyers’ fees, engineers’ fees, appraisers’ fees to resolve.

Show’s over. The waiters want to go home. And so do I.

A harborside Holiday Isle resident said the city doesn’t do enough to cover the full range of pollutants, such as heavy metals, that get washed into Destin harbor. To say nothing of the thousands of cigarette butts he says wash into the harbor after a rain from various parking lots.

“We’ve been working on comp plans, tiering plans, multimodal plans for five years now … you have a moratorium. Look at the level of development on the harbor in the past five years. The past six years. It does not exist.”
Breitenfeld said changes in the rules and the uncertainty landowners had has resulted in several projects already being pulled and cancelled.

“I wish I’d had one the last two hours.”