FORT MYERS, Fla. – Lawyer Jason Gonzalez of Lawson Huck Gonzalez, PLLC praised Florida’s Voice for spotlighting efforts by Manatee County commissioners to push ahead with land-use proposals that he mentioned would violate state regulation.
Talking on Florida’s Voice Radio with Drew Steele, Gonzalez mentioned he started listening to from involved residents shortly after studying a Florida’s Voice report detailing the controversy. Residents have been contemplating authorized motion to cease proposed complete plan amendments, which he mentioned battle with state regulation.
“It was proper across the time I used to be studying a Florida’s Voice article about this that I used to be getting calls from some involved residents that needed to convey a lawsuit to cease the county from doing what they have been proposing to do,” Gonzalez mentioned.
WATCH: Lawyer Jason Gonzalez PRAISES Florida’s Voice for calling consideration to and exposing efforts by county commissioners to violate state regulation pic.twitter.com/hOr8z4hesn
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The county’s proposals included doubling wetland buffer zones, including new litigation necessities and introducing extra restrictions on land use. Gonzalez argued these measures defy state legal guidelines enacted to offer aid from restrictive land-use guidelines in areas impacted by pure disasters.
“Manatee County was impacted by these storms, and so they have been within the emergency declarations, and so they’re positively topic to this regulation that claims you can not cross these extremely restrictive land use laws,” he mentioned.
Gonzalez emphasised that commissioners appeared to acknowledge the battle with state regulation however pressed ahead till Florida’s Voice’s protection introduced the difficulty to mild. He credited the reporting with mobilizing public pushback.
“I shared your article on social media and had potential shoppers name and say, ‘We wish to do one thing about this,’” Gonzalez mentioned. “The Legislature additionally put within the new regulation of an legal professional price provision. So in the event that they’re going to interrupt the regulation, they’re going to lose, and so they’re going to finish up paying my legal professional’s charges — which is okay with me, however it’s not nice for the taxpayers of Manatee County.”
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