BRADENTON, Fla. — A Florida court has denied Indian River County's quest to block a state-created conduit issuer from selling $1.75 billion of tax-exempt bonds for a private passenger rail project.
Leon County Circuit Judge Charles Dodson closed the case Friday after ruling that the county failed to establish that it had standing to challenge the federally approved private activity bonds to be issued for All Aboard Florida.
The county sought a writ of certiorari asking the court to review the quasi-judicial orders of the Florida Development Finance Corp.
FDFC's board members voted unanimously on Aug. 5 to allow the corporation to serve as the conduit issuer for All Aboard Florida's bonds.
Dodson's "ruling is further validation of the appropriate processes and actions we have taken to develop our project," All Aboard Florida said in a statement. "We are glad to see the judge affirmed our position in another lawsuit designed to deter and disrupt our business."
Dodson also said that even if Indian River County had standing to challenge FDFC's vote, the county failed to establish that certiorari jurisdiction was appropriate because the corporation's decision was "quasi-legislative as opposed to quasi-judicial."
The FDFC was created by the Florida Legislature. Its board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
Indian River County is disappointed by the court's decision, attorney Dylan Reingold said Monday.
"The FDFC's behavior in this matter was consistently outrageous," he said. "It is unfortunate that this unelected board can act in such a manner without any ability for Indian River County to challenge the FDFC's approval of the issuance of the bonds."
All Aboard Florida, calling its planned train service Brightline, has said it expects next year to begin daily service on the 70-mile-segment from Miami to West Palm Beach, with a stop in Fort Lauderdale.
To open that initial segment, it is beefing up the existing Florida East Coast freight rail right-of-way and building stations in the three cities.
The full 235-mile system will extend to Orlando International Airport following construction of a new, 40-mile spur between Orlando and existing rail line on the Atlantic Coast.
The project is expected to cost $3.5 billion.
The project has sparked resentment in Indian River and Martin county, where residents fear the impact of service's passenger trains.
Those concerns include potential public safety problems, damages to archaeological resources, and additional vehicular and marine congestion.
The passenger trains will pass through the two counties on the existing Florida East Coast freight railroad line.
No passenger stops are planned in the two counties, which have filed three different petitions in various state courts seeking reviews of FDFC's vote. None have been successful.
Both counties also filed separate federal lawsuits seeking to challenge the U.S. Department of Transportation's approval of $1.75 billion in private activity bonds for the project.
The federal suits — the first ever to contest a USDOT bond allocation — are pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
USDOT and All Aboard Florida have filed motions to dismiss the cases, and a hearing is scheduled June 30.
The counties have said in court filings that the bond allocation was approved in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, and that the federal approval process failed to consider adverse impacts on traffic and public safety.
All Aboard Florida has attempted to sell its $1.75 billion of unrated bonds to qualified institutional buyers and accredited investors several times, but each time has pulled the deal
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The company, owned by Fortress Investment Group, also said that it has continued to construct stations and upgrade infrastructure with equity and has spent a total of $787 million since January.
All Aboard eventually plans to run 32 passenger trains a day between Miami and Orlando.
