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A Florida judge blocks Miami Dade College from transferring a piece of its land to the Sunshine State Donald Trump’s Presidential Library,
According to court filings, the federal government requested that 2.6 acres of land owned by the public college be transferred to the state, which would transfer it to Donald J. The Trump Presidential Library will be handed over to the Foundation. The parcel, now a parking lot, has been valued at at least $67 million.
A Florida judge temporarily blocked the transfer Tuesday. “This is not an easy decision,” the judge said, according to the Associated Press. “At least for this court this is not a politically motivated case.”
The case stems from Marvin Dunn, a political activist and local historian, who sued the college and its board of trustees last week.
Last month, the Miami Dade College District Board of Trustees voted to give the land “for nothing” to the state of Florida, which would then give it to the Trump Library Foundation, the complaint says.
Dunn argued that he was not taking a political stance, but rather was focusing on Florida’s violations sunshine lawWhich requires that public boards provide “reasonable notice” before meetings. According to the AP report, in a departure from the board’s normal procedure, the meeting was not even telecast live.
The complaint states, “This action has nothing to do with whether the District Board of Trustees made a wise decision. It is not brought to register a political protest. Rather, it concerns the fact that, in making its decision, the District Board of Trustees unquestionably violated Florida’s sacred government mandate in the Sunshine Act.”
On September 16, the college only described the agenda for the September 23 meeting, where “the District Board of Trustees will discuss potential real estate transactions.” The board voted unanimously to award the land.
Dunn’s lawyer called the description “inadequate”, adding: “The proposed gift cannot even be charitably described as a ‘transaction’.”
Lawyers for the college argued that the board fully complied with the Sunshine Law. On Sept. 16, he wrote, the school “received a request from the Executive Office of the Governor of the State of Florida to transfer a parcel of land to the State” and then posted a notice of a meeting to be held the following week.
The lawyers argued that the land has been vacant for years and that the college had “no immediate plans” to use the space as a parking lot beyond its existing use.
Before Tuesday’s hearing, Dunn’s attorney Richard Brodsky stressed the “significance” of the exchange, telling the AP: “People have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when a transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives students and the college of this land.”
However, an attorney for the school argued in court: “There is no requirement under Florida law to have exclusivity on the notice, because those trustees can come into that room and talk to each other all they want.”
Another lawyer for the school argued that the delays caused by the injunction could cost Miami Dade College up to $300,000, the AP reported.
Following the original vote in September to transfer the land to Trump’s library, several notable Republican figures praised the decision.
“Having the Trump Presidential Library in Miami will be great for Florida, the city and Miami Dade College,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a statement after the vote last month.
Eric Trump, one of the president’s sons, wrote On social media: “In line with our [family’s] “DNA, it will be one of the most beautiful buildings ever built, an icon on the Miami skyline.”
Eric Trump, Michael Boulos – husband of the president’s daughter Tiffany Trump – and James Kelly, the president’s attorney, serve as trustees of the library foundation.