Coconut Grove Chamber Of Commerce: The Playhouse Is Back IIn Play Again

Press release from Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce:

April 23, 2021

Yesterday, April 22, the City of Miami filed a motion with the 11th Judicial Circuit for a rehearing or clarification of the court’s April 7 decision regarding the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Anyone hoping the Playhouse matter was fully resolved by the court’s most recent decision, which favored the “County Plan” in the ongoing battle over Mayor Francis Suarez’ veto of that plan in May of 2019, will have to wait a while longer. It’s unlikely the case will come before the court in less than a month or two.

Currently the case revolves entirely around questions of who said (or wrote) what to whom and whether or not it was in the public record. The legal issue is “ex parte” communications. The County has accused Mayor Suarez of engaging in such communications when he received emails about the Playhouse matter from constituents. The court ruled that such communications are not allowed by law, leading to the conclusion that Suarez’ veto of the County Plan should not be permitted to stand. Mayor Suarez contends that he did nothing wrong. Responding to yesterday’s motion, the court will decide.

Attorney David Winker, who has intervenor status in the case because he represents Grove residents opposed to the County plan, believes the court will have to decide on the question of whether or not residents have the right “to send emails to their elected officials.” If the court upholds the April 7 decision, says Winker, “It sets up a situation where a veto can be intentionally sabotaged by sending an email to the Mayor.”

All this jockeying for position on legal technicalities will give the key decision-makers in the matter some time to work out a deal. Responding to a request for comment from the Spotlight, District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado, perhaps the most important one at the table, said, “My intention is to find a compromise that will allow this project to move forward. Everyone can agree it would be a tragedy if we don’t figure that out before either the structure itself becomes a case of demolition-by-neglect or the State reclaims their property. I have been in conversations with [County Director of Cultural Affairs] Michael Spring and Mayor Levine Cava and will be engaging with Mayor Suarez and Commissioner Russell on all the critical elements of the plan. The Grove deserves a historic theater that is fully funded, viable, and sustainable over the long term.”

Read the Spotlight’s report on the April 7 court decision here.

Read a recent summary of the importance of full restoration of the Playhouse by local activist Marlene Erven here.

This press release was produced by Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce. The views expressed here are the author’s own.