A group representing 35,000 Brickell area homeowners is suing to stop the Ultra Music Festival — which was kicked out of downtown Miami this year — from happening on Virginia Key at the end of this month.
The emergency complaint filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court 
claims the city schemed to bypass the public bidding process by calling the agreement a license rather than a lease, which would also require a public vote. But one can tell from the language of the lawsuit that is not the only problem the plaintiffs have with the three-day, electronic music party.
“This is an action challenging whether the city can lease certain environmentally sensitive public park land to a for-profit corporation without complying with the competitive bidding process,” the lawsuit states.
The city entered into the licensing agreement with Event Entertainment Group, the outfit that puts on Ultra, in November, after downtown residents complained about the Bayshore Park location. They said the noise and traffic brought by the three-day festival make their neighborhood unlivable for the weekend.
Read related: Ultra out for Formula 1 could be Joe Carollo nod to CJ Gimenez
Some observers believe the move, orchestrated by Commissioner Joe Carollo, was meant to make downtown residents more amenable to a future Formula One race event, which was being pushed by his then pal, CJ Gimenez, son of the county mayor.
But this new agreement cannot be terminated or revoked by the city as easily as a license could, in most cases, which makes it more of a lease, argues attorney David Winker , who also filed complaints against the city in regards to the Melreese Golf Course referendum (more on that later).
“Virginia Key is an utterly inappropriate venue for ULTRA,” Winker said in a 
statement. “The City of Miami circumvented its own laws and disenfranchised its own citizens to force this deal through… a deal that is a disaster for the environment and our residents.
“My lawsuit asks the judge to declare the License Agreement entered into between the City and ULTRA void and force the City to follow its own laws regarding competitive bidding and participation of its citizens in the process.
“We have to be able to expect more from our elected officials.”
Group sues to stop Ultra festival, claims Virginia Key lease is illegal added by Ladra on
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