On a quiet stretch of University Drive, a planned off-leash dog park has sparked a full-blown legal dogfight. Neighbors who live across from the Coral Gables Branch Library have gone to court, asking a judge to put the brakes on the project and toss out the city’s earlier approval.
The lawsuit, filed this month by resident Jose Val Cohen and the University Green Neighbors Association, targets a small triangular city parcel along University Drive. The complaint argues that Coral Gables officials pushed the park forward without following required land-use procedures, and it asks the court to void the approval and halt any construction, according to the Miami Herald.
At the center of the challenge is a November commission vote. The suit says that on Nov. 18, 2025, the City Commission signed off on the dog park through a resolution that authorized staff to develop the site, rather than adopting an ordinance. That distinction matters, the plaintiffs argue, because using a resolution meant nearby residents never got the mailed notice or formal public hearings that typically accompany a land-use change, the Miami Herald reports…