MIAMI (VINnews/Sandy Eller) A lengthy dispute between the City of Miami Beach and a local congregation has finally been resolved, with officials agreeing to a pay out a $1.3 million settlement and lift violations on the property.
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Miami Herald reported (https://bit.ly/43mVHmQ) that Congregation Bais Yeshaya D’Kerestir charged the city with displaying a pattern of enforcement harassment and violating its first amendment rights.
According to a lawsuit filed by the 3401 Prairie Avenue congregation, Miami Beach sent officials to the property 126 times over the course of two years, and had installed surveillance cameras to monitor the property.
Miami Beach had countersued the congregation, saying that it was illegally using a family home zoned for residential use as a religious institution. The case had been set to go to trial on June 12th, with the city having already spent $1.7 million on legal fees.
The settlement will limit the number of cars parked in a shallow drainage area along the street and will bar the congregation from seeking any future religious tax exemptions, in addition to requiring the synagogue to repair its driveway and refrain from using outdoor speakers for prayers. The congregation still has open building violations that are not affected by the settlement, which once approved by the city commission, would require any new code violations to be reviewed by a special magistrate.
Mayor Dan Gelber appeared please with the settlement saying, “Even if we had gone to trial and won, it wouldn’t have felt like we had won anything. Ultimately, we do support the celebration of faith in our community.”