Florida residents can attest to the invaluable service local fight fighters provide to their communities. A fire department in another state is currently entangled in real estate disputes. A town home building company is reportedly trying to impede a city council-approved purchase of a particular parcel of land where a new fire house is to be built.
City officials say the current fire house is located in an area that is prone to flooding. The building itself is reportedly old and undersized as well. City council members were set to approve the purchase of a $9 million, 1.8 acre of land to relocate the fire house; however, a townhome builder is filing a lawsuit to try to stop the deal.
The builder has been actively seeking needed permits for three years to build row houses on the same piece of land for a nearby Google campus. He claims his own partner had a hand in preventing permit acquisition and, in the meantime, worked to sell the land out from under him. The builder said he is filing in injunction because evidence shows there has been a conspiracy against his project.
An attorney speaking for the city said that plans to purchase the land were made after the building project had already fallen through. When real estate disputes such as this one arise in Florida or elsewhere, state laws (which vary from state to state) apply. Those seeking to protect ownership or purchasing power are wise to enlist the support of an experienced real estate law attorney before heading to court.
