How to Acquire the Wrong Way
The Florida School for the Deaf and Blind carries on a public use. However, the way that the school treated prior properties that it acquired affects how those who own nearby property view any right to expand in the future.
Had the school been a "good neighbor", it would not see itself embroiled in the present fight.
A bill before the Florida legislature could give the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine the power of eminent domain, which enables the school to buy any property it wants without the owner's consent.
The school is surrounded by historic neighborhoods and on one side, along San Marco Avenue, a commercial area.
George Gardner, who lives just a block away from the FSDB and is a former St. Augustine mayor, is concerned he and his neighbors could lose their homes years from now at the school's whim.
A few years ago, the FSDB renovated a building on the edge of campus on Nelmar Avenue next to homes. However, the school did not abide by city codes, which angered some neighbors.
But the current St. Augustine mayor, Joe Boles, said because FSDB is a state school, it does not have to abide city codes.
