STAR (Save the Ag Reserve) Alliance, Inc. is a Florida corporation, document N26000015104, organizing efforts concerning Palm Beach County Agricultural Reserve land-use procedures.
STAR is evaluating possible litigation related to the Palm Beach County Board of Commissioners' conditional approvals granted in September 2023 for a school and daycare development in the Agricultural Reserve (application SV/CA-2022-01490; Resolutions R-2023-1419 and R-2023-1420).
The proposed claims concern governmental notice, transparency, and public participation, not religious beliefs or anyone's right to worship. The same notice rules should apply to every land-use applicant, regardless of religious affiliation.
Together, let's safeguard our community's rights. By joining the STAR Alliance, we will be united through a shared purpose: protecting the land we cherish, preserving what makes our community special, and safeguarding this remarkable legacy for generations to come.
Background and selected land-use matters
David J. Winker is a Florida attorney, admitted to the Florida Bar in 1996 and a graduate of the University of Florida College of Law. His work includes representing residents and community groups in zoning and land-use disputes, including public-notice and local-government approval challenges.
Winker represented residents challenging the approval of a 550-home development on the former Calusa golf course. The Third District Court of Appeal granted relief based on a defect in required public notice for a rescheduled hearing, leading to reversal of the challenged approval. This is a verified successful appellate notice challenge.
Winker represented residents and parents contesting local approval of a proposed Wawa convenience store and gas station near an elementary school. Litigation raised issues about the municipal approval process and opportunity for public participation. Residents obtained a favorable court ruling, and Wawa ultimately abandoned the location. This was not the same appellate notice holding as Save Calusa.
Winker represented neighboring residents objecting on land-use grounds to a proposed Muslim cemetery in Miami-Dade County's Redland agricultural area. A local zoning appeals board voted 5-0 to deny the application in December 2024. The reported favorable outcome was an administrative vote, rather than a verified final court judgment. The dispute concerned land-use compatibility and approvals, not a legal rule about religion.
The proposed STAR litigation would focus on whether Palm Beach County followed mandatory public-notice and hearing procedures before the September 2023 approvals. Winker's prior experience can inform counsel's evaluation of that legal question, but no prior result guarantees an outcome. Whether he will represent STAR or any individual plaintiff must be established by engagement agreement.
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If we stand united and determined, we can make a difference.