The group leading the legal fight against the controversial expansion of Tierra Verde Marina has opened a second front, asking state regulators to investigate whether the marina’s owner violated the terms of its lease for publicly owned submerged lands.
Tierra Verde Next, a residents’ advocacy organization representing more than 1,000 island residents, filed a formal complaint with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection alleging Greenleaf Capital has eliminated public access to boat slips that, under its sovereign submerged lands lease, are required to remain available to the public.
If the allegations are substantiated, the group is asking DEP to suspend Greenleaf’s pending permit applications until the agency determines whether the company is complying with its lease obligations.
The complaint comes as Greenleaf continues pursuing a major redevelopment of Tierra Verde Marina, a project approved by the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission in May, despite hours of public opposition. Residents have already challenged that approval in circuit court, arguing the city improperly approved the project under county land-use rules.
This latest dispute shifts the focus from zoning and building height to the marina’s existing operations.
“The strongest evidence is Greenleaf’s own state submerged land lease,” said Geoff Comrie, who leads land-use and legal efforts for Tierra Verde Next. “It requires at least 90% of the wet slips to be available to the public, yet marina staff told us there are zero public slips available.”
Comrie said residents found the marina occupied primarily by two private boat clubs, a boat rental business and pilot boats.
“If the allegations are true, what shocked us the most was the extent of their actions,” he said. “Public access appears to have been eliminated entirely despite a clear 90% requirement. It is implausible that Greenleaf did not know exactly what they are required to do.”
Rather than raise the issue directly with Greenleaf, the organization chose to file its complaint with the state agency after 18 months of largely unproductive efforts to engage Greenleaf on community concerns.
According to the complaint, the submerged lands beneath the marina are owned by the State of Florida and leased to the marina operator under conditions intended to preserve public access to the water.
“These are not Greenleaf’s waters,” Comrie said. “They belong to the public. The state allowed Greenleaf to use them on the condition that the public retain access. That access appears to have been completely taken away.”
Comrie rejected suggestions that hurricane damage from 2024 explains the alleged lack of public access.
“If Greenleaf attempts to blame this on the 2024 hurricanes, it appears they were significantly out of compliance well prior to then,” he told the Catalyst.
Greenleaf, however, disputes the allegations. “Greenleaf is committed to following the terms of the sovereign submerged land lease and will cooperate with any FDEP investigation to demonstrate that it has complied with its legal obligations,” a company representative stated.
DEP had not announced whether it would open a formal investigation as of Tuesday, but if the agency determines the marina violated its submerged lands lease, Tierra Verde Next is calling for the suspension of Greenleaf’s state permits, which would thwart the organization from moving forward until the issues are resolved.
This content provided in partnership with StPeteCatalyst.com
