City council members this week voted 5-0 to proceed with steps to buy the land, owned by Maurice Kodsi at U.S. 1 across from Coquina Avenue. They say the land, earmarked by Kodsi for the Rio del Sol condominium development, is a crucial part of the goal of maintaining what's left of the city's undeveloped riverfront.

Voters last year overwhelmingly approved up to $10 million in bond money to buy 16 identified properties along the Indian River Lagoon for public purposes, like viewing areas and parks.

Since that vote, based on an appraisal done during the riverfront referendum study, the city has offered Kodsi $3.5 million for his property, which includes two upland and six submerged acres.

That offer was turned down and Kodsi, who also owns the former Howard Johnson property identified during the riverfront referendum study, continues to pursue permitting for Rio del Sol development.

The city council had three options, City Attorney Dwight Severs said: stop action to buy the land, continue negotiations even as the owner seeks building permits or start eminent domain.

If the matter goes to a jury via eminent domain, the cost for the property could exceed $5 million, Severs said. That includes calculations of the owner's loss of revenue if the property is not used for condominiums and attorney's fees.

The city "looked at all options for securing the property and was unable to reach an agreement with the owner," City Manager Tom Harmer said. "In the meantime, while they're going through this process, we'll continue to encourage the owner to recognize how important it is to try to come to some agreement."

Kathleen Burson, a member of the riverfront referendum committee, said city council members listened to voters and did the right thing.

"I feel that the community has done their part by giving them $10 million, and we really need them to do everything they can to fulfill our wishes," she said. "I think that's what we're doing."

Council member Paul Secor said the council's unanimous vote wasn't arrived at easily but that voters made their wishes clear. "The study isolated only a few areas for acquisition -- there are only a few viewing windows left," he said. "We're not taking the land and transferring it to a private entity. The only part that made it difficult for me was that it moved from traditional use of eminent domain, for public roads or utilities. But this is protecting some of Titusville's riverfront view, and when I stepped back to look at it, that's part of redevelopment, too."

Burson agrees: Wellfields, several neighborhood parks and a parking lot behind businesses on Washington Street were all purchased through eminent domain, she said. She envisions some type of pavilion and parking area on the ground in question.

The city recently purchased the first piece of the 16 desired pieces of ground for around $1 million. If Kodsi's property is obtained, the city would own riverfront stretching a mile north of State Road 50."This time, it's so visible and so valuable" she said. "The riverfront is our identity as a community."

The Rio del Sol project has been hotly contested for close to two years.

In March 2004, council members voted to allow Kodsi's Tricon Development to build 66 condos in a 100-foot high building on the uplands portion of the acreage, including the submerged land in the lot size to increase density.

Opponents have long argued the proposed development was out of scale with other waterfront buildings and incompatible with the coastline's character. While council voted earlier this year to stop the use of submerged land in density calculations, the Rio del Sol project was allowed to remain as planned.

Vice Mayor Ken Ward said accusations that the property's value increased because of the submerged land factor aren't true.

"It's the same today as when he submitted the project to be reviewed -- the only thing the council approved was the height of the building," he said. "Whether we're getting it through eminent domain or just buying it, you still have to go out and get appraisals.

"While we're still interested in pursuing negotiations informally, this makes it a more formal negotiation process that's going to ultimately be equitable for both parties."

A call from FLORIDA TODAY to Kodsi's attorney for comment was not returned.

Contact Kennerly at 360-1016 or bkennerly@flatoday.net