Two days after Fort Lauderdale agreed to combat a state order to take away a rainbow satisfaction flag and three different artsy designs painted on an area avenue, the state fired off a letter itemizing seven extra websites that must be eliminated.
The letter, despatched Friday at 6:32 p.m. and signed by Florida Division of Transportation District Secretary Steven Braun, offers the town a listening to date of Sept. 15 to make its case for preserving the road artwork, however warns there might be no change of coronary heart.
Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steve Glassman recommended the state discover higher issues to do than crack down on avenue artwork.
“That FDOT would ship an emailed letter at 6:32 p.m. on a Friday evening of a vacation weekend tells you all it’s essential know,” he stated. “Each resident ought to be saddened and outraged at this state overreach. The state ought to be working on daily basis on behalf of cities, not losing workers time, assets and vitality on being punitive.”
Delray Seaside is preventing an identical state order and has been given a listening to date of Sept. 2.
Some cities, together with Boynton Seaside and West Palm Seaside, have agreed to take away their LGBTQ+ rainbow markings after getting ordered to by the state.
“The overwhelming majority of Florida’s cities and counties have labored expeditiously to treatment any noncompliance of their respective areas,” Braun wrote in his letter to Fort Lauderdale. “Sadly, we now have realized that the town of Fort Lauderdale has publicly acknowledged that it doesn’t intend to conform.”
The state had already recognized 4 avenue artwork places in Fort Lauderdale it desires eliminated in a letter dated Aug. 21: Sebastian Avenue close to A1A, the placement of the satisfaction flag avenue artwork; Breakers Avenue and Riomar Avenue; Breakers Avenue and Terramar Avenue; East Las Olas Boulevard and Almond Avenue.
The most recent letter despatched Friday provides seven websites to the listing: NE Fourth Avenue and North Flagler Drive; SE fifteenth Avenue and Miami Highway; SE fifteenth Avenue and SE tenth Avenue; East Las Olas Boulevard and SE Third Avenue; NE fifteenth Avenue and NE eleventh Avenue; NE fifteenth Avenue and NE twelfth Avenue; and NE fifteenth Avenue and NE thirteenth Avenue.
Fort Lauderdale’s listening to will happen on Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. on the Florida Turnpike Enterprise’s places of work in Orlando.
“Extra particulars might be offered must you elect to proceed with a listening to,” Braun wrote. “Please be suggested that the listening to is not going to contain a request for an exception or waiver to allow the nonconforming pavement markings to stay in place. The Division has already reviewed the pavement markings on the places talked about above and decided that the pavement markings is not going to be allowed.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis defended the statewide order, declaring that cities might be pressured to heed the order in an effort to make roads safer and freed from distractions. He additionally warned towards permitting “state roads to be commandeered for political functions.”
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis presided over a packed emergency assembly he referred to as Wednesday evening to debate whether or not the town ought to cave to the state’s demand or combat it.
Greater than 40 folks spoke on the assembly, urging the town to face as much as the state.
After greater than three hours of spirited dialogue, the fee voted 5-0 to request a listening to earlier than the state.
Through the assembly, the mayor made it clear the town had gotten approval from the state earlier than it painted a satisfaction flag on a metropolis avenue close to the seaside two years in the past.
“It’s not like we went on the market willy-nilly in the midst of the evening and began portray streets,” Trantalis stated. “It’s type of a little bit draconian to take this strategy that suddenly the streets will not be protected. However it’s what it’s. It’s politics, proper of us.”
Susannah Bryan could be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Observe me on X @Susannah_Bryan