Winter Park – Third World City

The Winter Park Historic Preservation Board forced a local contractor to pay $100,000 to the city. This was at best unwarranted coercion and likely meets the legal standard of extortion. See below.

The city’s Historic Preservation Ordinance is filled with arbitrary standards that leave applicants at the mercy of zealous board members. Remember that our city commission members appoint these people.

Please tell the city commission to repay the $100,000 and to change the ordinance so that this cannot happen again. This should never be the way Winter Park does business.

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From: Ryan Phillips
Sent: Friday, January 3, 2025 4:42:03 PM

To: msullivan@cityofwinterpark.org; crussell@cityofwinterpark.org; kcruzada@cityofwinterpark.org; tweaver@cityofwinterpark.org
Cc: Dan Langley <dlangley@fishbacklaw.com>; Randy Knight <rknight@cityofwinterpark.org>; sdeciccio@cityofwinterpark.org
Subject: Historic Preservation Board Complaint

Commissioners,

I am writing you to file a formal complaint against the Historic Preservation Board (HPB), specifically the board members of the May 2024 meeting (many of whom are still on the board) and Jeff Briggs, Planning Director Emeritus.  I am the property owner of 965 Lakeview Drive, which was subject to issues with the HPB this year, of which you likely have heard of.  There is significant misinformation being shared and many actions taken by members of the board and city staff that were grossly inappropriate and illegal leading up to, during and after this meeting.

I have been verbally threatened and bullied by a sitting member of the HPB, manipulated, and not afforded due process by the board and city staff given board member’s predisposition and their circumvention of city code as it relates to violations.

Below is a summary of the events surrounding our property and the inappropriate and illegal actions of board members and city staff:

1. We purchased the property in November of 2022.

2. We went before the HPB on April 12^th, 2023.  We submitted hand drawn site plans and elevations and were granted unanimous approval by the HPB. 

3. We were notified by Jeff Briggs in April 2024 of a public hearing to potentially revoke variances in response to the removal/reframing of the second floor.  We were told “Your due process is to appear before the HPB on May 8th and seek forgiveness based on the rationale outlined below, as your team did not make any request for permission.”

4. I discussed the issue on May 1^st (one week before the May meeting where Charlie was “fined”) with John Skolfield, sitting member of the HPB, on the sidewalk in front of our house.  During this conversation, John said to me “… I don’t think you want to go down that road … you want to fight that, you’ll be known forever and more as the guy that fucked with the historic preservation board and came in from the outside and that’s probably not how you want to raise your family.” (06:05 minutes) (JOHN SKOLFIELD THREAT VIDEO) – [This conversation was lawfully recorded on video while the John and I were speaking on public property, where neither had a reasonable expectation of privacy.  Throughout the duration of the conversation, more than 20 people walked or biked directly past us on the sidewalk.  My counsel has performed a thorough legal review as it relates to state law and case law]. Shocking and completely inappropriate for a sitting member of any city board to speak to a property owner this way.

5. During this conversation, John mentions his idea for bronze entrance signs to the downtown.  These are the same signs that Jeff Briggs conveniently solicited in his presentation at the May HPB meeting a week later suggesting that owner/contractor get on board (JEFF SOLICITATION PITCH VIDEO). 

6. On May 3^rd, 2024 Jeff Briggs emailed Charlie Clayton stating “Stop by my office on Monday morning (after 9 am). I have an idea to resolve this issue.”  According to Charlie (statement attached) Jeff Briggs “proceeded with offering the idea of a peace offering of giving $200,000 toward a landmark archway to the City.” 

7. At 5:45am on May 8^th, 2024 the morning of the HPB meeting, John Skolfield trespassed on our property.  My security camera on our dock captured it including John crossing the silt fence and rummaging through the permit box.  A neighbor witnessed it, identified him, and then notified me.  Illegal and completely inappropriate for a sitting member of the board. (TRESPASSING VIDEO)

8. Jeff Briggs misrepresented city code to the board members in the lead up to his monetary solicitation, where he falsely tells the board members that a violation enforced by code compliance would require the property owner to restore the house only to the original state before construction began, stating: “When I say restore, I don’t mean build according to the plans that they’ve submitted for the new structure. I mean, restore the original house with the original wood siding, with the original window package, with the original roof before you go ahead and want to take all those things off for your renovation” (JEFF FASLE STATEMENT ON CODE VIOLATION VIDEO).  This painted a dire circumstance for the property owners and one where his donation idea and an “offer” for owner/contractor to get on board could provide a solution to the problem.  However, the actual city code states: “Any person who carries out or causes to be carried out any work in violation of this article shall be required to restore the subject improvement, landscape feature or site either to its appearance prior to the violation or in accordance with a certificate of review approved by the HPB.” (Sec. 58-500. – Violations).  It also provides for state capped fines, which would have been nowhere close to $100,000.

9. Jeff also mentions “offers” from owner/contractor multiple times during his opening statements, stating “If you’re not comfortable with offers that come from the contractor and owner, there’s a stop work order on the property, and that can sit there for as long as it needs to sit there until something is brought to the board that meets the satisfaction of the majority of the members.” And “It’s the contractor and the homeowners’ responsibility to propose to you a remedy for how to solve the mistake, the oversight, whatever, because that’s not your job to solve this. This is their job.”  Essentially holding construction hostage with zero due process or following city code, soliciting us to buy the board through a monetary donation. 

10. We were told that we should have come back to the HPB for approval to re-frame the second story.  However, there is clear precedent that approval by the board would not be required, a property that Jeff even referenced to us (email attached) as an example of what we should have done.  1200 Lakeview Drive, a historically designated home, received board approval in February of 2022 for an exterior renovation and addition.  Jeff Briggs brought the property owners back to the board in November 2022 as a non-action item “for information only” regarding demolition and rebuilding of the structure so that board members “would not say wtf” when they drove by and the building was gone.  Jeff told the board that “there was no vote required” and that it “did not require formal approval” because “it is the same exterior product that you are going to see.” (JEFF – NO VOTE REQUIRED VIDEO).  The board already approved the exterior aesthetic of the house, and therefore they did not need to approve its demolition.  Confirming their limitation of jurisdiction to the exterior appearance of the property, as city code provides for their special certificate of review in instances of demolition to approve the final disposition of the structure, of which they had already done in the original February 2022 meeting.

11. Our house will be the exact same exterior product that you would see regardless of the re-framing of the second floor.  From a legal standpoint, there was no “damage” done to the community.  A subjective failure to communicate by the builder does not warrant being extorted for $100,000.  

12. Wade Miller ultimately made a motion for a $100,000 payment by Charles Clayton Construction into the Historic Preservation grant fund, required before the stop work order would be lifted from the property.

13. John and other board members have referred to the penalty numerous times as a “fine”.  However, they were re-educated by Jeff Briggs at the August 2024 meeting that the board didn’t actually ‘fine’ Charles Clayton Construction, that it was instead a “negotiation.” (IT WASN’T A FINE VIDEO).  How is it possible that a board does not even understand if they did or did not fine someone??  There was absolutely nothing about this that was a negotiation.  This was a premeditated shake down to make an example out of Charlie.  During a 5-minute recess in the May 2022 HPB meeting, a board member came into the conference room outside the board room where we were discussing things with our attorney and told us that the HPB was not going to let us proceed for any less than $50,000 because it “was all about optics for the board.”  The board member urged Charlie offer a donation to the historic board, otherwise they would revoke our variances.  There were 8 witnesses present, including myself, who can attest to this. 

14. As if the board’s actions were not grotesque enough to this point, two months after Charlie was shaken down for $100,000, in the July HPB meeting Wade Miller, Chairman of the HPB gloated about the payment and that they should have asked for more.  Stating “we should have asked for more since it only took him less then 24 hours to raise those funds.  It should have been harder.  He paid it the next day; I was like darn.” (WADE MILLER – MORE MONEY VIDEO).  This is disgusting, completely inappropriate and highlights the subjective nature of the solicitation of payment.

Jeff Briggs says that we ultimately accepted this penalty because we did not appeal the decision in 15 days.  We were subject to intimidation and threats by a board member, and then witnessed a board circumvent all laws when soliciting payment in exchange for a vote.  We were under duress during and after this meeting and fearful of further retaliation by the HPB and city staff.

The board does not have legal authority to fine a property owner or builder, this falls on Code Compliance and there are established processes and limits already in place.  However, none of this process was followed.  

I firmly believe that this board and city staff violated State of Florida ethics laws through their solicitation of monetary contribution in exchange for their vote and removal of the stop work order, and their abuse and misuse of their public position; I intend to pursue this fully and then seek all legal remedies available.

All property owners have the right to fair and equal treatment, free from threat, intimidation and manipulation. 

We have the right to treatment based on clear rules, procedures, guidelines and precedent.  

We have the right to treatment free from opinion, bias or prejudice.

The board expresses wanting accountability but refuses to hold themselves accountable for their own confusion, lack of clear procedures and inferior review standards.

I am calling on city commission to launch an investigation into the actions of the HPB and city staff surrounding this incident.  I am also calling on John Skolfield to be immediately removed from the HPB given his actions and threatening and intimidating statements.  These board positions require members to maintain the utmost moral and ethical standards, and his behavior is clearly in glaring contrast to these values.  As are the board’s actions in solicitating a $100,000 payment in exchange for their board actions taken.

If you would like more information or to discuss further, you may reach me directly on my cell phone at 407-848-4484.

Respectfully, Ryan