Miami broke its laws by approving the sprawling Magic City Innovation District development and ignored case law when it shot down a resident's push to formally object, opponents claim in a lawsuit.

A petition asks the court to overturn both City Commission approval of the project in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood and rejection of resident Warren Perry's request to intervene.

The City Commission approved the project in June even though it's not in line with the broad Miami 21 zoning code and other documents guiding growth, the Miami-Dade Circuit Court complaint said. The challengers said the process and proposal also broke city regulations.

Miami City Attorney Victoria Mendez said in an emailed statement that the city is “disappointed” a lawsuit was filed, especially because the project will benefit the city.

“We will defend the city's interest and look forward to a swift resolution,” she added.

The lawsuit insinuated city officials are partial to well-heeled developers and snub residents who question to new projects.

“The equity-centered directives are too often treated by city officials as lofty ambitions that stand in the way of 'progress,' ” attorneys say in the complaint.

Meena Jagannath, co-founder of the nonprofit Miami public interest law firm Community Justice Project Inc., and Miami attorney David Winker filed the lawsuit.

Community Justice Project represented residents on the intervenor applications. Winker figures prominently in other real estate-centric litigation including lawsuits against the David Beckham soccer stadium at the city-owned Melreese golf course.

Winker said the dynamic in the city results in “ special deals for special people,” eroding “communities' trust in democracy and the commitment of elected leaders to uphold the law.”

City Commissioners Willy Gort, Manolo Reyes and Keon Hardemon on June 27 gave final approval after rejecting Perry's application to intervene. Commission Chairman Ken Russell and Commissioner Joe Carollo left the meeting before the 1 a.m. vote after a four-hour review at the end of a daylong commission meeting.

Perry lives less than 300 feet from the project and claims he will be impacted by noise, traffic, decreased walkability and other negatives.

Hardemon, who represents Little Haiti, said at the June meeting that Community Justice Project attorneys failed to prove Perry, a tenant in a rent-controlled building, has legal standing. Hardemon didn't respond to a request for comment by deadline.

Noting Perry rents his home was a way to minimize his position in the development dispute, Jagannath and Winker said in the complaint. A Florida Supreme Court decision and even the city itself in an unrelated case have said proximity is closely related to standing.

“Finding that he is not an 'aggrieved party' entitled to standing creates an inherent illegality or irregularity,” the complaint said.

The complaint said the city approved the project even though developers and their representatives didn't submit required application documents, made presentations with little input from experts and the building plan fails to provide for buffers and transitions between Magic City and its neighbors. The commission also ignored calls from the planning department to offer affordable housing either in the new development or nearby.

The 17-building Magic City district is planned in an area dominated by two- and three-story warehouses, shops and residences where construction up to 10 stories is allowed.

Buildings up to 24 stories were approved under a special area plan, which allows more intensive development in exchange for public benefits like parks.

Developers Plaza Equity Partner, Metro 1 and Dragon Global as well as Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte as an investor tout Magic City as a district that will offer educational and training opportunities in the communications, technology and creative industries. The project also will include residential towers, a hotel, offices and retail.

Opponents say it will intensify gentrification by increasing property values and pushing out existing residents.

The developers pledged $31 million for a Little Haiti Revitalization Trust for affordable housing and other community needs in lieu of a previous commitment to build affordable and workforce housing on and near the site.

The design will isolate neighbors and “create an unwelcoming environment to those who do not fit the target population for the development,” the complaint said.

Neil Fairman, a project partner with Plaza Equity, in an emailed statement called the lawsuit meritless, adding that it hurts the community Perry and the Community Justice Project “profess to help.”

The suit delays the over $40 million the project will give to the community, including $6 million out of the $31 million that's to be paid soon.

The court will side with Magic City and developers are moving forward as planned, Fairman added.

“For over two years, MCID has worked to develop a plan in conjunction with the community that will redevelop obsolete, industrial warehouses and vacant land, while ensuring the project creates jobs, provides the largest community benefits package ever provided to Little Haiti, and preserves and enhances the Haitian and Caribbean culture that has thrived in the community for decades,” Fairman said.

The suit counters the notion that the site is “obsolete,” which proponents have made previously as well. The Magic City trailer park once was on the site but then demolished to make room for the innovation district, displacing about 40 families, according to the complaint.

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