CAO claims need to review every email manually to review for possible exemptions.  (note:  all exemptions can be sorted electronically, or through staff's email file folders) (READ MORE)

 (Read More...including the original letters....)

RELATED ARTICLE in TALLAHASSEEREPORTS.COM:
Another Public Records Request "Refused"--more City Attorney's attempts at withholding public records.  (Click to go....)

This certification form was provided by the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation, a City Contractor, to Mr. Jim Pfost of 510 Beard Street, Tallahassee for his signature on the application they were preparing for Lafayette Park Neighborhood.  He signed it.  The Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation willingly used it.

This outright lie, by Mr. Jim Pfost,  that he was the "official representative" of the legal owners of approximately 500 properties in Lafayette Park was accepted by Mr. Michael Wing (Executive Director employed by the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation) and used to prepare the Nomination for Historic Preservation for the Lafayette Park Neighborhood, with The Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation as the co-applicant.  By Tallahassee Land Development Code, section 318b, "The Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation or the architecture review board may initiate placement on the local register, but only with the advice and consent of the property owner."

By accepting and using this patently false certification in lieu of legal owner permission, on what ultimately became a public document, the Executive Director, Michael Wing, of the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation began a process that harmed hundreds of owners and residents of Lafayette Park, and continues to this day, years later, as a second substitution of the application continues on it's legally-deficient journey through to the City Commissioners of Tallahassee for approval.  In the first substitution, Mr. Jim Pfost, once again, claimed a fact that was untrue:  he was not a legal property owner in Lafayette Park Neighborhood.

This journey includes a substitution of the original substituted application with a new application containing, once again, a revised applicant name and revised Owner Awareness Form, in order to continue to evade the property owner requirement as mandated by code for an application originated by the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation originated this application.  Their name was on the original.  The process originated with them.  By Tallahassee code, each owner's permission is required on that application.  Switching names does not change this legal requirement.

We resoundingly condemn the Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation for the lack of integrity of their Executive Director, their weasel-like substitution of a different application in place of the original, with no legal notice, and their continued indifference to the codes of the City of Tallahassee and Leon County, as long as they seem to be able "to get away with it."

Furthermore, we resoundingly condemn the City of Tallahassee City Attorney, Mr. James English and his staff members, primarily Linda Hudson and Hetal Desai, for continuing to support flagrantly illegal practices on this application and process to the severe detriment of  our City of Tallahassee and Tallahassee Citizens.  Mr. English, your department, your reputation, and legacy are badly soiled by your repeated and continuing failure to serve the citizens of Tallahassee responsibly.

In a final meeting marred by casual substitution of two members, the COT Historic Preservation District Ordinance Revisions Workgroup voted against any provision to allow property owners to opt out of any proposed rezoning overlay. 

During the June 23rd meeting, the member who entered the workgroup via "Meyers Park HOA", (but who, in reality is a board member of the the city contractor, Tallahassee Trust for Historic Preservation) went on an interesting rant to convince members that the US Constitution prevented anyone from opting out of a rezoning in Tallahassee. 

How did George Washington and Thomas Jefferson know this was going to come up, so as to put it in the Constitution?  And, how come they printed two copies of the Constitution, one with and one without this clause for Tallahassee?  I ended up with the copy that doesn't mention Tallahassee HPO anywhere.  Darn my luck.

Mr. Michael Hines, the representative of over 300 Lafayette Park property owners representing approximately 67% of properties within the proposed Lafayette Park Historical Preservation District, wrote the following to Assistant City Manager Jay Townsend:

"Based on final meeting of subject working group and recommendations voted on, I doubt very seriously that I can support any proposed Ordinance that is designed solely from Group's work.  As I suspected, the level of support for due process rights of private property owners was spurned...."

There was non-committal response from Mr. Townsend.

The ordinance revisions are now in the hands of the City Attorney Office.  We know how they manipulated property rights in Lafayette Park three years ago, so we can realistically expect a code carefully designed to strip all property rights from every owner who happens to own property anywhere in Tallahassee that someone in the TTHP covets..