Franklin County and St. Joe Company take next step in Bert Harris lawsuit

Franklin County has agreed to enter into mediation with the St. Joe Company over a lawsuit the company has filed over the removal of four future land use maps from the county’s comprehensive plan in 2009.

Franklin County has agreed to hire a mediator out of Tallahassee to meet with the two sides.         

The St. Joe Company is seeking 6 and a half million dollars under Florida’s Bert Harris law which is designed to protect private landowners from overreaching government intrusion.

The mediation is a required part of the process under the Burt Harris Act.

Mister Shuler said he would like to see the process happen sooner than later and its possible the county could get some useful information from the mediation should the litigation move forward.

The issue goes back to 2005 when county commissioners added 4 land use maps to the county’s comprehensive plan which set out areas east of Carrabelle where the St. Joe Company planned to build thousands of homes.

That was before the property market crashed.

In 2009 the county voted to remove the Future Land Use Maps to protect Franklin County property values from a glut of buildable lots in the future.

The county says that the St. Joe Company still has every right to build on its land; it’s just going to have to work with the county commission every step of the way to make sure the developments are right for the area.

http://live.oysterradio.com/