Resolved in Riviera Beach

November 21, 2006 | By PACIFIC LEGAL FOUNDATION

Busy times indeed in Riviera Beach, Florida.  Last week the city council passed a resolution declaring an "intention" to comply with Florida's new eminent domain law.  Yet as the linked article states, the mayor, who is the straw that stirs the drink in Riviera Beach, remains publicly defiant in asserting his own intention to see the illegal project move forward.

The AP article also quotes Dana Berliner of the Institute for Justice as saying of the resolution, "It doesn't make any difference."  She's right.  The resolution is non-binding, and the city's language is such that it looks to provide wiggle room for a future reversal of course.

At the meeting where the resolution was passed, resident Fane Lozman–whose persecution (there's really no other word for it) by the city we have written about on several occasions–was arrested for having the nerve to question a council member on the eminent domain scheme.

All in all, good faith does not quite abound in the Riviera Beach council chambers.