A Florida judge on Tuesday temporarily froze the transfer of a multi-million dollar plot of prime downtown Miami land for President Donald Trump’s future presidential library.

Why It Matters

The plot of nearly three acres of prime downtown Miami property is valued at more than $67 million, and could be worth much more, The Associated Press reported. Florida media reported that there could be plans for a hotel on the plot, as well as the presidential library.

What To Know

Circuit Judge Mavel Ruiz put a block on the transfer after an activist said that officials at the state-run Miami Dade College, which owned the land, violated Florida’s open government law when they gifted it to the state, which then voted to transfer it to a foundation for the planned library.

“This is not an easy decision,” Mavel said from the bench, on her finding that the college did not give the public reasonable notice ahead of a September 23 vote by its board to give up the plot.

“This is not a case, at least for this court, rooted in politics,” Mavel said.

Activist Marvin Dunn filed a lawsuit this month against the Board of Trustees for the college, arguing that it violated Florida law by not providing sufficient notice for its special meeting on September 23, when it voted to give up the land.

The board had issued an agenda ahead of the meeting merely stating that it would consider conveying property to a state fund overseen by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Cabinet. But it gave no details on which piece of property was being considered or why, AP reported. 

A week after the board’s decision to give up the land, DeSantis and other Republican officials voted to transfer it again, effectively putting it under the control of the Trump family when they deeded it to the foundation for Trump’s library. 

“The people have a right to know what they’re going to decide to do when the transaction is so significant, so unusual and deprives the students and the college of this land,” Dunn’s attorney Richard Brodsky, told AP before the judge’s decision.

Jesus Suarez, an attorney for the college, said it had done what was required under the law.

“There is no requirement under Florida law that there be specificity on notice,” Suarez said.

What People Are Saying

Brodsky said in a statement after the ruling: “We are pleased that the court gave this issue its full attention and ruled in favor of the public’s right to fair notice of governmental meetings, including the decisions to be considered.”

An unidentified man at a recent protest against the transfer of the land for the library told NBC 6 South Florida: “Put the damn thing in Mar-a-Lago,” referring to Trump’s Florida resort.

What Happens Next

The judge’s block on Tuesday is only a temporary freeze on the transfer of the land.

This article uses reporting by The Associated Press.