Fisher Island residents sue to bar county from buying port fueling site

Fisher Island residents sued last week to stop developer HRP Fisher Island LLC from selling the exclusive island’s fuel bunker property to Miami-Dade County, alleging the deal would violate binding agreements with representatives of the residents. The county has been scrambling to keep the site as the port’s sole fueling source and a lifeline to its maritime industry.

Fisher Island Community Association (FICA), a not-for-profit representing over 800 property owners on Fisher Island, and Fisher Island Club sued May 28 in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, saying HRP must pursue residential redevelopment of the site.

The complaint alleges that “[a]fter months of closed-door negotiations with Miami-Dade County, conducted out of public view and with plaintiffs excluded throughout, HRP has agreed in principle to sell the entire property, including the four acres it promised to FICA, to the county for approximately $200 million at closing plus $200 million payable over 20 years.”

The office of county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava didn’t respond to requests for comment on deal terms or the lawsuit.

“HRP came to Fisher Island promising to clean up a century-old hazard and build a residential community. Instead, they saw a pile of taxpayer cash, sold out our residents, and decided to leave a dangerous fuel farm sitting right next to our homes and our children’s school,” FICA Chairman James L. Ferraro said in a news release. “The hazard of the century-old fuel farm goes far beyond Fisher Island. This is potentially an Exxon Valdez disaster waiting to happen with one hit from a strong hurricane.”

“This is a classic backroom bait-and-switch,” Mr. Ferraro said. “HRP legally promised this land to the residents, and FICA holds a recorded veto right over any sale – they cannot sell what they do not own. By filing this lawsuit … today, we are freezing the title. No one – not the county, not a lender, and not a title insurer – will touch this property until HRP honors its binding bargain.”

The complaint alleges the facility stores 28.3 million gallons of combustible petroleum fuel in tanks dating back roughly a century that “violate current fire safety codes, and occupy a hurricane flood zone.”

The 9.6-acre privately-owned fuel hub on the luxury island has been PortMiami’s sole source for 95 years. Competitive seaports control their fuel on port land, but PortMiami has never done so. The land was sold to condo developer HRP Group for $180 million by the private owner, TransMontaigne Partners, last September.

PortMiami is one of the county’s major economic drivers, generating billions annually and supporting a county-estimated 340,078 jobs.

Facing an economic disaster in the pending loss of the port’s sole fueling source, county commissioners last October authorized taking the site by eminent domain if mediation with the new landowner hit an impasse. The land had been put up for sale in May 2024 for $200 million.

Both the cruise and cargo industries fear the loss of their fuel supplies at PortMiami, which county officials agree would affect both the companies’ economic viability and Miami-Dade’s overall economy and jobs.

“This is a critical economic driver for our community and it’s clear that we must have a long-term solution in which the port can own and control its own fuel supply to support our continued growth,” Mayor Levine Cava told commissioners in October.

The post Fisher Island residents sue to bar county from buying port fueling site appeared first on Miami Today.