WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former West Palm Beach mayoral candidate and businessman Rodney Mayo is in the spotlight after city leaders revoked permits for outdoor seating on Artists Alley and his café Subculture Coffee.
The city said the decision was made to keep in compliance with code. WPTV spoke to others, who said the move is political payback after Mayo lost a lawsuit and election against Mayor Keith James.
It’s not the first time Mayo has had issues with the city of West Palm Beach.
Back in January, a judge ruled that Mayo cannot run for mayor of West Palm Beach because he doesn’t live in the city.
“People warned me about it, they even warned me about it before I decided to run as a candidate. They said what about all your businesses, he can affect those, he can set code enforcement, he can do this and that,” Mayo said. “I said that’s one of the reasons that I’m running, this mayor holds grudges.”
The original complaint was filed by none other than current West Palm Beach Mayor Keith James.
Mayo said he thought the issue was settled, until he was informed that the permit for outdoor seating along Artists Alley was being revoked. Up until recently, Artists Alley has come a long way.
“It’s a dramatic change,” Fort Pierce resident Roger Templeman said. “It’s clean, it smells nice, it’s clear of debris and it looks like a place the community can unite to be able to enjoy themselves.”
Café-goers said it all sounds suspicious
“It seems like it’s politically motivated,” Templeman said. “Maybe someone is unhappy with another in the community here.”
And Mayo agrees.
“I was shocked but again I was expecting some things and in the back of my mind this in one of those things I thought could be some kind of retaliation against me,” Mayo said. “I was just shocked how it was presented kind of hand delivered by the city attorney and given five days.”
Those five days, according to a statement from the mayor’s office, was the time frame given to bring the Artists Alley to its original condition, or better, at the time of issuing the license.
The city had a list of issues that led them to removing the permit including:
- Failure to maintain an 8 ft wide clear pedestrian pathway
- Change in approved in site plan without required written approval by the city
- Storage of a dumpster and other materials in the licensed area
- Failure to maintain, clean, and keep the licensed area in good repair at all times
Mayo said some of the issues on the list don’t hold weight.
“The cleanliness is laughable, because it used to be where we used to clean up after people would throw up in there,” he said. “They defecated in there, and we were the ones that kept it clean.”
Ultimately, Mayo said he hopes that he and the mayor can come to some kind of agreement and leave the past in the past.
“Let’s sit down, have coffee and see if we can work all this out and not destroy things that are good for the community,” Mayo said.
