BY TANNER ANDREWS
Many industries have no conflict of interest problems. Bars serve players on both the home and away teams. A restaurant can serve both citizens and politicians.
However, lawyers are not supposed to work both sides. They avoid even the appearance of conflict. Florida has a rule about that. There are, however, bad actors who try to skirt the rules.
Bad actors are common in many lines of work. Some restaurants are lax about cleaning the silver. There are bars that pour cheap stuff into the good bottles.
Attorneys are supposed to have higher standards. Many do. Others simply avoid getting caught. Who, for instance, would happen to find Volusia Case #2024-10007-CIDL? And, who would also dig up the Volusia Growth Management Commission (VGMC) packets to see who was general counsel? Almost no one, is my guess.
A little background suddenly becomes necessary. Volusia has what is called the Growth Management Commission. It is right there in the charter. The VGMC is mostly decorative. It decides whether city and county comprehensive plans are compatible with each other. There is nothing about managing growth in its remit.
The VGMC could be an impediment to growth, as a paper tiger could scare children. It takes time to push paper through this extra layer of bureaucracy. And, the county has to pay an attorney for the VGMC.
By strange coincidence, the firm the county hired for the VGMC is also the firm suing the county over the now-failed moratorium on fuel terminals near Ormond Beach. I suppose it is efficient. The firm has experience dealing with Volusia, zoning and growth management.
In fairness, I should point out that the county’s ban on applications for permits in I-2 zoning only applied to one parcel in the entire county. That parcel, intended for a fuel terminal, is right beside the railroad and next door to an asphalt plant. The only better place for a fuel terminal would be along a railroad where I own stock.
The problem is not that the fuel-terminal developers are suing the county. They have a reasonable beef, and the lawyers appeared to do a good job.
The problem is the appearance of working both sides of the street. When the county picked developer-oriented counsel for the VGMC, you have to wonder what they were thinking — perhaps if a firm works both sides, everyone will be familiar with the file!
— Andrews is a DeLand-area attorney and a longtime government critic. For purposes of the column, he finds it convenient that there is so much government to criticize.
