The battle over the St. Petersburg Pier isn't over but it isn't going anywhere either.
Protestors had hoped a petition full of signatures would get a judge to put the issue on a ballot but no such luck.
In court Wednesday, there were heated exchanges over the lawsuit filed against the city.
A group opposing the pier wants it put to a vote and has 15,000 names on a petition to get it done.
But the city attorney wants to know why those names haven't been handed over.
“It’s frankly preposterous people strolling through Saturday morning market confronted with a petition here sign here, has now consented or acquiesce to be a plaintiff in this lawsuit,” said Joe Patner, city attorney.
The judge agreed the city needs those names and the opposing group has a week to do it. But this case still won't go to court. The judge has sent both sides to mediation.
That won't necessarily stop St. Pete leaders from moving forward, which is ultimately what protestors want.
“It doesn’t sound prudent to me to move ahead with the Lens design when there’s a question out there whether this is going to be the actual structure, but this council has wasted money in the past. I’m hopeful they’ll take a pause,” said Kathleen Ford, attorney for the petitioners.
The city development director tells us city council will still be voting Thursday on whether to approve $5.4 million to move ahead with the Lens project.
City developers say the $5.4 million would go toward design and administrative costs of the Lens project over the next three years.