Rival developers file suit over Airport lease

Oh, snap.

Rick Outzen is reporting that PNS Hotel Group, Ltd., a consortium of developers, has filed suit against the City of Pensacola over its lease of property at Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport to Sandspur Development, LLC for the purposes of developing a hotel and other commercial properties.  PNS Hotel Group is comprised of Bob Cleveland, Dave Cleveland, Jim Cronley, Tony Terhaar, Darryl Lapointe, and John Connell, and owns and manages three hotels in the Airport area.

Dave Cleveland lays out their complaint in a press release:

As our legal research has revealed, we believe the City failed to adhere to some basic constitutional requirements when they decided to allow the use of public property for private profit. This lawsuit requests the Court to declare the Lease to be in violation of Florida Statutes and the Florida Constitution.

Outzen lays it out in more detail:

• The duration and term of the Agreement are in excess of legal allowances.
• The City failed to provide the required public hearings and notices to allow public input.
• The Lease constitutes illegal contract zoning which obligates the City to approve automatically any of the future development plans of Sandspur Development, LLC.
• The City has provided for an unconstitutional conveyance of public funds and financial support o a private business, with no paramount public purpose.
• The City has violated its own written policies regarding the leasing of airport property.
• The Agreement provides for the illegal special private use of public property, regarding the placement of directional signage to a privately owned hotel, throughout the airline terminal facility.
• The City, by and through its designated staff, has acted either fraudulently, arbitrarily, illegally, or dishonestly in negotiating the Lease and Development Agreement, and hastily submitting it for approval, despite serious errors, misstatements, miscalculations, and amendments.

Regardless of whether or not PNS Hotel Group have a case, their true motivation is clear. They simply don’t want the competition. The airport lease isn’t perfect, but it’s development, it’s jobs, and we need both.