Delray Beach and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) have until Friday to submit additional statements in the dispute over the city’s LGBTQ Pride streetscape.
That was the outcome of Tuesday’s hearing in Orlando before an administrative law judge. Because of the extension, the state has suspended its demand that Delray Beach remove the artwork in Pineapple Grove by Wednesday.
City Manager Terrence Moore said the city’s attorney reiterated the main points: the rainbow mural is on a city street, not a state thoroughfare, and is not a traffic control device. As such, Delray Beach argues, the streetscape is not subject to FDOT’s rules for design of public streets.
FDOT officials first claimed that such artwork poses a safety threat. They offered no evidence to support that argument; WPTV reported that there have been fewer accidents in the intersection since the mural was installed. The state now has moved to erase all such murals on the grounds that they wrongly express political viewpoints.
The judge set no timetable for what happens after Friday. I’ll have more next week.
