By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY
christopher.tuffley@newssun.com
AVON PARK -- Peace was reached at the city council meeting Monday night, when Victor Valdez apologized to the city council as a whole and to City Manager Julian Deleon and Administration Services Director Maria Sutherland specifically.
Valdez is the League of United Latin American Citizens National/Florida State's Civil Rights commissioner.
LULAC had registered complaints with its ethics committee and the Florida attorney general regarding proposed Ordinance 15-12, which would have relegated migrant housing to outside city limits. The ordinance was introduced last fall.
Valdez told the council LULAC was withdrawing those complaints.
"We have reached an agreement," Valdez said. "The (city) administration and us believe that the 15-12 ordinance is no more. It is no longer on the agenda."
In a related issue, Valdez said LULAC would not offer comment on the disagreement between the city and the owners of 1 W. Main St. The owners want to open a boarding house for agricultural workers; the city has objections.
"We are not saying (the owners) have rights, we're not saying they don't. We don't know," Valdez said. He hoped to remain involved in future discussions.
With regards to ordinance 15-12, Deleon told the News-Sun, "it was poorly written from the start, and this simply led to confusion and misunderstandings. The city's primary intent is to address the over-crowded housing in single family zoning districts." He added that issue was still a concern.
At the meeting, Councilor Parke Sutherland complimented Valdez. "I want to sincerely thank you for coming," he said. "You were under no obligation to explain."
He followed that up with a question, "Have you encountered any discriminatory actions," Sutherland asked.
"After I got here I received very good treatment from both Julian and Ms. Sutherland," Valdez said.
Parke Sutherland and Maria Sutherland are husband and wife.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013 - www.newssun.com/013013-ct-LULAC