Fort Lauderdale has fired back a legal response in the turf war over a tiny piece of land south of the New River, saying the tree-dotted parcel is not a park but a public thoroughfare.
Just one-third of an acre, the land is at the heart of a contentious legal battle between Fort Lauderdale and the property owners who live on either side.
The homeowners filed a lawsuit in late March claiming they are the rightful owners of the land now known as Francis L. Abreu Place, located in the upscale Rio Vista neighborhood at 899 North Rio Vista Blvd.
Plaintiffs Andrew and Lauren Sperber live to the east of Abreu Place and plaintiff Colgate Darden IV lives to the west.
The land was dedicated to public use as a thoroughfare more than 100 years ago, but the city has been using it as a park and has therefore lost claim to the land, their lawsuit claims.
Fort Lauderdale denies that assertion.
According to the city’s response to the lawsuit, the parcel remains a thoroughfare and is part of the public domain.
“The subject property has been consistently used as thoroughfare in accordance with its dedication in that it allows pedestrian and/or vehicular access to SE Ninth Avenue and the New River,” the city said in its response.
The land contains both private and public utilities, consistent with the parcel’s dedication as a thoroughfare, the city says.
“Florida Power and Light Company has infrastructure and equipment in the subject property, and the court cannot grant the relief sought in the complaint without affecting FPL’s interests,” the city’s response states.
In addition, Fort Lauderdale says it has never abandoned the land as a right of way.
“The subject property’s use as a thoroughfare has never been ‘discontinued by law’ as required by the dedication,” the response states. “As a municipal corporation, the city acts through majority vote of its Commission and has never gone through the formal process in its Unified Land Development Regulations to vacate or abandon the right of way known as SE Ninth Avenue where it meets the New River.”
The case has been assigned to Broward Circuit Judge Michele Towbin Singer.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan