City Faces Renewed Tringali Controversy Over Triplex Building Permits

Two of the former Tringali parcels on 4th Street

The long-running saga over the controversial downtown Tringali property reached a new flashpoint Thursday, as the City of Fernandina Beach issued building permits for a series of triplexes — despite a court ruling that appears to prohibit them.

The latest clash pits the city and developer Worthy Investments against nearby residents who say the city is violating its own Land Development Code (LDC) and ignoring a binding judicial order.

At the center of the dispute is Section 1.03.05 of the LDC, which bars construction of more than one residential dwelling on a “building site” unless a supermajority of the Board of Adjustment (BOA) grants a variance. The City issued permits for four triplex buildings — two on Third Street and two on South Fourth Street — totaling 12 residential units across four parcels.

Those permits now stand in apparent contradiction to a December 27, 2023, ruling from Nassau County Judge James Roberson, who quashed the City Commission’s initial approval of the project. Roberson ruled that the property — originally composed of eight separate parcels — had effectively functioned as a single building site due to a prior structure that spanned multiple lots, thereby triggering the restrictions of Section 1.03.05.

In an email Thursday to city commissioners, City Manager Sarah Campbell claimed, “The City is not involved in a lawsuit between these property owners.” 

However, the City was a party to the case and only withdrew from the appeal in December 2024 — a full year after the ruling against it.

Resident and plaintiff Taina Christner, a leader of the neighborhood group Stop the Domino Effect, disputed Campbell’s claim.

Taina Christner

“Sarah Campbell said the city is not involved in the lawsuit, which is completely untrue. The judge ruled against the city and ruled against Worthy Investment,” Christner said in an interview. “So Sarah Campbell thinks just because the city dropped out of the appeal, that means they aren't involved with the lawsuit, but Judge Roberson's ruling is the only ruling that's happened. There’s been no ruling on the appeal. The judge’s ruling is the only ruling that stands.”

The judge's ruling, Christner said, was clear in its mandate: the city must follow its own code. “The ruling was telling the city you must comply with this court order and the city is just ignoring it.”

Section 1.03.05 leaves little room for ambiguity: “No permit shall be issued for the construction of more than one residential dwelling unit on the site.” According to Christner, allowing triplexes violates that standard outright.

“A triplex is three residential dwelling units, and Section 1.03.05 clearly states that no more than one residential dwelling unit can be built on a building site unless a supermajority vote of the Board of Adjustment grants a variance. No such BOA approval occurred here,” she said in an email to the City.

In fact, after the court sent the case to the BOA, the board voted 5-0 to deny the variance, leaving the original ruling intact and under appeal. Still, the City proceeded to issue permits.

City officials have also sought to frame the conflict as a dispute over whether a “replat” was filed. But Judge Roberson rejected that argument writing:

“Subdivision means the division of a thing into smaller parts… Here, there were 8 separate parcels being combined into one building site… Nothing was being divided.”

The judge's interpretation placed greater importance on how the property had been used historically, rather than how it is currently platted.

Christner agrees. “History matters more than any lines on a plat map,” she said.

In her email to commissioners, Campbell also pointed to zoning compliance to defend the City's actions. But Roberson’s ruling directly addressed that argument, too, stating that zoning cannot override the constraints of Section 1.03.05.

Zoning, he wrote, cannot be used to “erase” the unified status of the property.

Christner said legal action is being prepared to stop any further development until the appeal is decided.

“I’ve spoken with our original lawyer, and he is going to file an action,” she said. "This is precisely the problem. Permits for triplexes were issued without variance, without proper public notice, and in defiance of a binding court ruling and the City’s own code."