The settlement rejection came after more than a dozen Hollywood Hills residents took turns urging city leaders to continue their efforts to oust the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch from a residential neighborhood.
Commissioners then announced they would reconvene today at 1 p.m. for negotiations with Chabad officials.
UPDATE: Hollywood rejects Chabad offer
Hollywood, FL – After rejecting a proposal that would’ve ended a federal lawsuit accusing them of discriminating against a synagogue, city commissioners Wednesday night said they planned to keep negotiating to avoid a trial that could come next week.
The settlement rejection came after more than a dozen Hollywood Hills residents took turns urging city leaders to continue their efforts to oust the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch from a residential neighborhood.
Commissioners then announced they would reconvene today at 1 p.m. for negotiations with Chabad officials.
The Chabad sued in 2004 when it lost its special zoning permit to operate. The U.S. Department of Justice joined the suit last year.
The proposed agreement would have allowed the Chabad to stay permanently at its Hollywood Hills location and receive a $2 million payment from the city’s insurance company for damages. The city would also have had to rewrite a series of zoning laws that a federal judge has already ruled unconstitutional.
In return, the Chabad would drop its suit against the city and Commissioner Sal Oliveri, who is accused of leading the charge against the synagogue.
Attorneys representing the city and the Chabad drew up the deal over the weekend and announced it before a federal judge on Monday while a jury waited nearby.
Commissioners now say they were left out of the loop. They spent Wednesday night bashing the attorneys in the case, including the lawyer hired to represent the city.
“I am tired of being backed against a corner by attorneys taking charge,” said Mayor Mara Guilianti. “I still think that if we were to sit with the Chabad without attorneys and their egos, we could’ve come up with something better a long time ago.”
Guilianti at one point held back tears, saying the issue and allegations of anti-Semitism made against the city have offended her personally as a Jewish woman.
The lawsuit revolves around the city’s attempts to oust the Chabad from the single-family home it converted into a synagogue in 1999. The suit claimed the city showed bias when it yanked a special permit allowing the Chabad to operate in a residential neighborhood while allowing other religious groups to do so.
Oliveri is accused of personally commissioning police and code enforcement officers to crack down on the Chabad. The synagogue’s leaders have complained that officials visited the Chabad almost on a daily basis.
Oliveri maintains he was responding to his constituents’ concerns and only asked for written updates on the Chabad.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard hampered the city’s case last week by ruling the current ordinances governing the special permits are too vague and are unconstitutional. Lenard also said Oliveri can’t receive immunity as a public official.
By going to court, the city risks losing the discrimination case and having to pay for damages with taxpayer money instead of through its insurance.
The Chabad, for its part, will have to prove the city’s efforts were discriminatory and caused the synagogue millions in damages.
Unless a settlement is reached, a federal jury trial could start in Miami as early as next week.
Before Wednesday’s meeting began, Oliveri excused himself and left. He said he did not want to debate and vote on an issue that would affect him legally.
Other commissioners reminded him that he had voted repeatedly on the issue, including last week when he urged for a settlement.
“I feel very frustrated and exasperated to sit here and watch,” Oliveri said.
Residents complained about parking violations, noise and trash from the Chabad.
Jamie Mardis told officials he moved out of the neighborhood because of the Chabad.
“I want to hire the Chabad’s attorney because he’s got you guys running scared,” he said. “Sometimes, you have to fight for what is right. We’ve come very close to throw away this five-year fight.”
Hollywood, FL – Hollywood commissioners are expected to take up the controversial settlement that could resolve a religious discrimination lawsuit with an Orthodox Jewish synagogue on Wednesday.
On Monday, lawyers for the City of Hollywood told a federal judge in Miami that the city had agreed to pay the Hollywood Community Synagogue Chabad Lubavitch $2 million dollars and will allow it to continue operating in two residential houses.
Now, some Hollywood commissioners are saying they were unaware of the terms of the deal and say they won’t approve it.
The city called a special meeting Wednesday night to discuss the matter. If commissioners reject the deal, the trial would continue in July.
“I think we got attorneys and not clients in the driver’s seat,” said Hollywood Mayor Mara Giulianti. “We got to bring it back to the clients; we need to be in the driver’s seat.”
If the deal does go through, it would be a decisive victory for the Chabad.
The congregation would be exempt from any city zoning laws that might prohibit it from operating out of its two houses on North 46th Avenue. They could expand anywhere on the block without getting the special permit normally required to operate a house of worship in a single-family district.
The U.S. Justice Department added its own conditions, requiring city staff and commissioners to attend religious land use planning training that the city would pay for.
City Attorney Dan Abbott said the compromise would not enable other houses of worship to set up shop in neighborhoods without city approval.
