DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — People in Delray Beach woke up Tuesday morning to see that their rainbow-colored intersection, paying tribute to the LGBTQ+ community at NE 2nd Ave. and NE 1st St., had been smeared over with black paint.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) reportedly sent crews to paint the intersection in the middle of the night, while the city was actively fighting to keep the pavement colored.
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The move comes less than two weeks after an informal hearing in Orlando, in which Delray Beach appealed to FDOT officials, who claim the bright colors violate its rules and regulations for uniform traffic controls.
FDOT issued an order Monday night, instructing the city to remove the colorful paint.
"There's something called preemption, and the Florida Legislature is allowed to preempt and take over the regulation of traffic and streets and things like that," said Raul Gastesi, who serves as City Attorney for Doral and Miami Lakes. “They're allowed, in my opinion, to regulate these streets, and that's what they're doing in Delray Beach.”
But not all lawyers agree.
“We have home rule in Florida. It's being trampled on right and left. There's no due process,” said Rand Hoch, an attorney who also serves as President of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
“It wasn't a rule because rules are required to be published, allow public speakers to come in and talk about it,” Hoch added. “This thing was just slapped together.”
Hoch and Gastesi do, however, share an opinion on FDOT’s decision to paint over the street mural in the middle of the night—hours after Monday's order.
“I don't agree that the state should have done that," Gastesi said. “I think the state should have given (the city) the opportunity to seek appropriate relief-- get an injunction, go to the appellate courts, et cetera. They jumped the gun and cut the corners. Without a doubt.”
“It should be a crime,” Hoch said. “We have asked the state attorney to look into this to see if the state of Florida committed a crime by going onto city-owned property in the middle of the night and painting it over.”
WPTV has reached out to State Attorney Alexcia Cox’s office, but has not heard back.
By Tuesday afternoon, rain had washed most of the black paint off the intersection in Delray Beach, leaving the rainbow paint on display but smeared with black tire marks and footprints.
The final page of FDOT’s order states that the City of Delray Beach has the right to an appeal.
WPTV made multiple attempts Tuesday to reach FDOT for comment, they have not yet responded.
