A little over half a dozen people–fewer than expected or feared by county officials–urged the Flagler County Commission this evening to reverse its ordered eviction of Ragga Surf Cafe, the for-profit business operating rent-free at the River to Sea Preserve in Marineland in violation of state rules controlling the public park. Ragga Surf also organized periodic markets that drew dozens of vendors, again, without state approval or a rent arrangement.
County commissioners offered no solace or hope of further talks other than restating a terse explanation of what led to the eviction.
The county, which is not faultless, has no choice but to evict the business after granting it a temporary permit in early September, when Ragga was evicted from private land owned by Jim Jacoby, the Atlanta-based developer who owns significant land in Marineland. The county’s temporary use permit is itself questionable, since it does not apply to Ragga Surf, but to a sister company, a non-profit that shares some of Ragga Surf’s directors. (See: “Ragga Surf Fiasco: How Flagler County Risked Losing River to Sea Preserve Over Botched Favor for a Private Business.”)…