A Miami Shores resident is suing the village over a change of rules that he deems unfair and unlawful.
Miami Shores resident Salim Chraibi contends that the Miami Shores Planning & Zoning Board (P&Z) is overstepping its power over the design of new homes in the Village. This time, the board has drawn the council into a lawsuit that could cost the Village over $2 million if lost.
A previous Biscayne Times report detailed new regulations in the Village’s zoning code that went into effect on July 26, 2024. One key aspect of the updated code aims to restrict certain design elements in site applications of new single-family homes, including limiting the construction of larger houses in Miami Shores.
(Courtesy Salim Chraibi )
A rendering of the proposed design for Salim Chraibi's 78 NE 98 St. property.
Before that, the Village enacted a Zoning in Progress resolution on June 4, 2024, that froze the approval process for future applications of single-family homes. Most importantly, the resolution stated the updated code would not apply to any application that was submitted before the June date.
With the New Zoning Ordinance timeline in mind, Chraibi couldn’t have imagined that the two homes he submitted for site plan approval before the June deadline would require a complete redesign and costly setback.
RULES UNAPPLIED
(Courtesy Salim Chraibi)
A rendering of the proposed design for Salim Chraibi's 9305 NE 98 St. property.
When Chraibi purchased his first property at the Shores at 9305 NE 9th Ave., he saw it as an ideal home for his family. Not long after, he acquired a second larger property at 78 NE 98th St. to better suit their needs and chose to develop the first property as a spec home.
Under the development company Bluenest, where Chraibi is the chief executive officer, he submitted his first property’s site plan application on May 10, 2024, and the second one on June 3.
Though Chraibi took a modern approach in designing his homestead property, both homes fully complied with the Village’s existing zoning code and were recommended for approval by Village staff. Expecting only minor adjustments from the P&Z Board, he anticipated beginning construction soon after.
(Courtesy of Salim Chraibi)
Salim Chraibi, a Miami Shores resident suing the Village.
“We did everything by the book, paid an architect almost six figures per house to do a beautiful design, and were open to comments for changes they wanted us to make,” Chraibi said.
On June 27, upon reviewing the first application, the P&Z Board deemed the property "inharmonious" with the surrounding neighborhood, chose to table it, and requested modifications.
“They wanted us to add some windows on the side for both houses. They also wanted to change the design to a more Mediterranean design, and we would have been very happy doing that,” said Chraibi.
By agreeing to table the item and accept the board’s changes, Chraibi was unaware that his resubmitted application would also be required to comply with the new code once enacted – contradicting the board’s Zoning in Progress Resolution and reducing the property’s allowable size. Now, his only path to approval includes significantly shrinking the size of his homes.
(Courtesy Google Maps)
Salim Chraibi's first property at 9305 NE 98 St. in its current state. The house has no AC and has outgrown mold. After a call from the police about squatters inside the home, Chraibi spent extra money on hiring people to keep the house safe.
When Chraibi originally submitted plans for his first property, the existing code allowed a 5,054-square-foot home with an estimated sales value of $6 million. Under the new code, he is restricted to 4,036 square feet, resulting in an estimated $2 million loss in value.
For his second property, Chraibi originally designed a 6,404-square-foot home with an estimated value of over $7 million. The new code reduces the allowable size to 5,688 square feet, leading to an estimated $600,000 loss.
On July 25, the board voted to table the second property's application and refused Bluenest’s request to reconsider the first application, shutting down both projects during a public hearing.
“They ended up tabling us so that they would push us to submit under the new code and completely redesign the house,” said Chraibi, who feels deceived that the board never intended to allow him to make their modifications and bring back the application under the old code.
“The whole time, we tried working with the city and neighbors to design a house that fits and is harmonious in the neighborhood, such as making it more Mediterranean as long as we are judged by the old code, which would allow us to build bigger homes,” he said.
Chraibi is now filing a lawsuit against the Village, that he said is due to the unlawful enforcement of the new code on their timely submitted property applications. The council agreed to move forward with the lawsuit during a Feb. 18 meeting,
“There’s case law that says that because we submitted during the old code and complied with everything, we are grandfathered in the old code, and we should be judged by the old code,” said Chraibi.
Chraibi is suing the Village under the Bert J. Harris Private Property Rights Protection Act in Chapter 70 of Florida Statutes which grants property owners a legal remedy when government regulations excessively burden their property rights – potentially requiring compensation for any loss in property value.
“They are impacting us over $2.5 million, which is what we are suing them for,” said Chraibi. “They are responsible for reimbursing us for that cost.”
A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE
(Courtesy Nicholas Rodriguez-Caballero)
Nicholas Rodriguez-Caballero, experienced zoning, land use, and environmental law attorney at the Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes firm.
In an interview with the Biscayne Times, Nicholas Rodriguez-Caballero, an associate attorney with Bercow Radell Fernandez Larkin & Tapanes, a Miami law firm that specializes in zoning, land use and environmental law, said the Bert J. Harris Act is a powerful tool.
“It puts local governments in a position where they have to feel the risk of their actions and understand that if they proceed, they are doing so at great risk,” he said.
Caballero deals with similar cases often, where developers are burdened by new ordinances that negatively impact their plans. He explained that what typically ends up happening is a negotiation with local officials to adjust legislation, so it doesn’t affect his client but still allows the government to make the changes, thereby preventing a lawsuit and allowing for compromise.
“These cases are often resolved this way because elected officials, many of whom are homeowners themselves, understand the real-life impact and prefer to avoid putting people in such difficult positions,” he said.
Rodriguez-Caballero said it is uncommon for local governments to move forward with a lawsuit, especially when there is a lot of money involved, However, he added that the act still allows for a compromise.
“The act fundamentally works as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism, intended to force the parties to come to the table and settle,” he said. “It also allows local government to bend their zoning rules where they wouldn’t normally do so, to settle the case.”
The Biscayne Times contacted the Village’s P&Z Board director, John Bolton, for comment on the lawsuit, but he declined a response due to the ongoing litigation.
RISKING TAXPAYER MONEY
In response to Chraibi’s claims, filed by his attorney Pedro Gassant of Holland and Knight LLP, the Village issued a statement expressing confidence that the case will be decided in their favor, enabling the council to require Bluenest to develop under the new code.
“The court issue is a matter of fundamental fairness,” said Gassant. “The Village had issued a resolution that stated that any applicant that submitted their application prior to or on June 4 of 2024 would not be subject to the new code, and so they can’t subsequently apply the new code to everybody and change the rules after our client invested substantial sums in getting their projects to abide by the old rules and getting staff approval. That is the core issue.”
(Courtesy of Miami Shores)
Katia Saint Fleur, a Miami Shores resident expressing disapproval for the city’s stance in going through with the lawsuit during the Feb. 18 council meeting./
When the lawsuit came up during the Feb. 18 council meeting, Katia Saint Fleur, a Miami Shores resident, expressed disapproval for the city’s stance in going through with the lawsuit.
“We are making decisions that have consequences for the entire village,” Saint Fleur said. “And I don’t think the entire village is aware that it could potentially cost us $2 million. The money we are spending on this stuff could redo roads, we can go from septic to sewer, we can build a gymnasium. There are different ways we could be spending this money, and some of this feels like bullying. It sounds like people are pulling things out of the air on what it should and shouldn’t be.
“These folks purchased a particular property under a code,” Saint Fleur continued, “and under no circumstances would any one of us feel that it’s okay for someone to change the rules of the game, when we have that much money invested.”
Nevertheless, the council then voted to fund the application fees for Bluenest’s applications and go forward with the lawsuit.
Chraibi revealed that he filed a public records request to uncover how much the city has already spent on attorney fees for the ongoing case.
“Attorney fees go up very quickly,” he said. “The city is completely frivolous about how they use taxpayer dollars. They are exposing the city to a $2.5 million dollar lawsuit and are paying a lot of money in attorneys just to prove a point that doesn’t make any sense instead of working with us and trying to find a solution that’s equitable.”