5 December 18-24, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | SHADOWLAND Miamian’s quest to add in-law suite unleashes permitting hell. BY B. SCOTT MCLENDON C had Trausch is hoping his battle with the City of Miami’s permitting department will prevent it from strong-arming other homeowners into giving up a por- tion of their land just to renovate. That’s the “nightmare” Trausch, proud owner of a 1937-built home on NE 46th Street west of Bis- cayne Boulevard near the Design District, says he went through. In March 2024, Trausch and his wife Stephanie sought a city permit to expand their home with a mother-in-law suite to ac- commodate their growing family and wel- come his in-laws to South Florida. But the couple, along with their architects and attor- neys, began to cry foul when the city asked them to give up about half of their front yard in exchange for the permit. “Miami demanding half of my front yard in return for me building an addition in my backyard makes no sense,” Trausch tells New Times. “I’m just trying to help my family, but the city is using this as an excuse to take my property without compensation. It’s not fair, and it’s not right. If they can do this to me, they can try to do the same thing to anybody.” The city’s reasoning? A century-old plan- ning map called for NE 46th Street, then known as Sweetbriar Boulevard, to be wider than it is currently. Trausch, a former Navy intelligence officer and Harvard University graduate, wouldn’t let the issue pass without a full investigation and became a veritable city code expert over months of studying, dig- ging up the map that city planners cited. The city argued that it had the right to re- quest that homeowners give up property in ex- change for alterations that require changes to city street services. Despite Trausch and the architects’ assurances that the renovations wouldn’t do that, the city planning department wouldn’t budge. It held steadfast in the face of Trausch filing for an injunction as his own rep- resentation. The planning department only re- lented and granted the permit in November, after Trausch retained an attorney and in- formed the city of his intent to sue them. Trausch is backed by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm dedicated to combating abuses of government power. “It appears the city has unilaterally granted Chad’s waiver request — sixteen months after rejecting it; five months after fil- ing a motion to dismiss Chad’s pro se lawsuit; and three weeks after learning that Chad ob- tained an attorney,” the lawsuit reads. The city, however, argues it has fulfilled Trausch’s request, which renders the lawsuit moot, a spokesperson for the city attorney’s office confirmed to New Times. “After the City gave Mr. Trausch exactly what he requested, Mr. Trausch’s lawyers de- cided to file an amended complaint demand- ing attorney’s fees and seeking media attention,” the city’s written statement reads. “We are confident the court will see this law- suit for what it has become—a moot case with a plaintiff who suffered no injury.” Trausch’s attorneys are seeking $1 in nomi- nal damages for the due process violation and the abusive conditions he says he endured, as well as reimbursement of his attorney’s fees. “The demand for land had nothing to do with the addition,” Institute for Justice attor- ney Suranjan Sen said in a press release. “The city didn’t seem to have any concerns with his building plan; it simply saw an opportunity to force Chad to give up part of his property. “The right to prevent the government from unlawfully taking your property is a right rec- ognized from the very start of this nation. The city of Miami cannot simply decide to take your property away because it wants it.” Miami, like many cities in the U.S., re- quires homeowners to obtain permits before undertaking most construction projects or anything larger than your mom’s DIY bath- room decor revamps. However, in Miami, the government has used the permitting process to take land from residents without compen- sating them, Sen argues. “The city has been doing this because it wants to bank the land to eventually widen roads at some point in the future,” he said in the statement. “As it currently stands, the In- stitute for Justice has been able to identify 66 streets with more than 1,000 houses at risk to this scheme. In fact, Miami code outlines this exact sce- nario. Before the city issues a permit for new construction, an expansion, or a change of use, the public works director must determine that the project will impact city services or nearby streets. If so, the property owner must first give the city any portion of their land that falls within the city’s designated right-of-way for street use. Only after that land is dedicated can the project be approved, the code reads. “To make matters worse, the waiver granted to Chad was only for this particular addition,” Sen wrote. “The city still asserts it could de- mand Chad, or anyone else whose land they want, to turn over his land if he needed to go through the permitting process again.” Institute for Justice attorneys argue the matter boils down to theft by extortion, writ- ing in a press release, “People have a right to use their own property, so land use permit- ting conditions must be tailored to mitigating public harm from that use. But a city may not, under those conditions, require that the property owner do work unrelated to safety, like giving up half their front yard. “Miami’s demand wasn’t related to Chad’s project; instead, the city attempted to obtain an unrelated benefit at Chad’s expense. That’s unconstitutional, and the city may not make such a demand.” [email protected] Chad Trausch says the city is trying to strong-arm him to give up a chunk of his front yard for a permit to renovate his home. Photo from the Institute for Justice | METRO | that for me, you guys are witnesses. I will get an attorney and sue him for harassment because this is called harassment.”She added, “Now to speak, no, that was not assault. Oh my God. I took his camera. I took his camera. That’s not assault.”Mann continued to call Corben and Ken- nedy immature and petty.”You guys are little kids,” she said. “You act like you’re five years old. You are a total joke.”Once Commissioner Damian Pardo got her back on track, she focused on her prepared public comments. While holding back tears, Mann said Carollo deserves more praise. “What he has done for us is unbelievable,” Mann said. “He is the only commissioner who has done that. I don’t see anyone here talking about the things that Mr. Carollo does. All I see is the same people speaking, same time, every time, at the commission before it becomes a circus. Be- ginning with our elected officials that act, appear like immature children. This is a professional post that you are elected to have, not to sit here and completely derail everything for little snaps at each other. Please, let’s all grow up.” Mann’s attorney, Richard Diaz, emailed New Times a statement regarding the recent criminal charge. “The entire matter is captured on video, and it speaks for itself, and because of that, we are very much looking forward to a jury trial.” Back in July, Mann told New Times that she took Corben’s phone and gave it to the city clerk because she felt threatened. “I was in line to speak, second in line, when Mr. Cohen jumped out of his seat (front row) and started videotap- ing me with his phone,” Mann wrote in an email. “I didn’t think anything of it, so I gave him a peace sign and made some fun movements. He then launched at me with the phone and put it to my face.... As a senior, and a private citizen, I felt threatened by this man when he leaped towards me. His behavior and lack of respect for others has reached new heights. Next time, I hope he thinks twice before provoking a senior.” Corben tells New Times in a statement that prosecution wasn’t the outcome he hoped for. He wanted Mann to take responsibility and for- mally apologize for her actions. “For six months, I worked with Miami-Dade chief assistant state attorney (ASA) Stephen Tal- pins and ASA Jose Rohaidy to avoid charges against Ms. Mann and attempt to resolve the case with fairness and civility,” he said. “All I wanted was an apology from the defendant at Miami City Hall, the scene of the crime, for dis- rupting a public meeting and committing bat- tery when she took my phone while I was legally video recording. Now more than ever, it is incum- bent upon all of us to repudiate political violence of any kind and protect everyone’s First Amend- ment rights.” He continued, “Unfortunately, Ms. Mann re- fuses to accept responsibility for her criminal misconduct, so she’s been rightfully charged. The defendant, a longtime ally of outgoing Com- missioner Joe Carollo, was empowered to com- mit a crime in city hall on camera and then immediately confess on live television because she believed there would be no accountability or consequences. She was right — for a while — as certain members of City of Miami Police Depart- ment’s sergeant-at-arms detail and robbery unit failed to take appropriate action. “If not for their dereliction of duty and Ms. Mann’s recalcitrance, this matter could have been settled half a year ago. I greatly appreciate the patience and professionalism of ASAs Mr. Rohaidy and Mr. Talpins, and look forward to seeing justice prevail.” [email protected] Oh, Beba! from p3
