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Council divisions surface after Albritton's letter to Florida attorney general
Summary
Council Member David Albritton sent a city-letterhead request to the Florida attorney general asking for clarification on property rights related to Gardner Avenue; several colleagues said they learned of it only after it was sent and criticized the unilateral approach, while Albritton said he wrote the letter for his own guidance.
Council Member David Albritton asked the Florida attorney general for clarification about the city's authority over a portion of Gardner Avenue, prompting a heated exchange at the Nov. 20 Clearwater City Council meeting.
Albritton told colleagues he wrote the letter on his own authority and used city letterhead because he wanted formal guidance. "I wrote it because I need to be advised whether our attorney is correct or mister Potter is correct," Albritton said, adding that he filed the request for his own benefit and not on behalf of the council.
Several council members and the city attorney said they were surprised to learn of the request only after it was sent. The city attorney said he first learned about the letter from the city manager on Monday and that the city had a 30-page memorandum from the city attorney addressing the same issue. "I did not know either that it was being contemplated, being considered, or that it was sent," the city attorney said during the meeting.
Council members debated the appropriateness and effect of a single elected official asking the attorney general for an advisory opinion. One member read Florida Statute 16.01 aloud to note that an elected officer may request an advisory opinion from the attorney general. The city attorney observed that although the statute permits such requests by an individual officer, the attorney general historically has preferred collegial requests and that individual inquiries have sometimes torn jurisdictions apart.
Vice Mayor Lina Teixeira and other members urged a more collegial approach and recommended pursuing other avenues—such as getting a private-sector opinion—if further legal clarity is needed. "I personally had nothing to do with it," Teixeira said, calling the letter Albritton's initiative.
Albritton replied that he had spoken with representatives of the party involved but that he did not write the letter at anyone's behest. "I didn't write it because they asked me," he said, adding he would share any response he receives from the attorney general.
There was no immediate policy change or formal action recorded at the meeting; the council directed the city attorney to clarify with the attorney general the scope of the request and to ensure the city was not inadvertently represented as the requesting body.
The matter remains under discussion; members said they would await any response from the attorney general and continue to rely on the city attorney's memorandum until new guidance arrives.
