Big-rig truckers in The Acreage are suffering whiplash after two diametrically opposed rulings were issued recently in the same case in Palm Beach County Circuit Court — and one prominent truckers’ advocate said she’s had enough.
Jorge Alfaro of Prestwich Drive and Clare Dougal of Tangerine Blvd. filed suit in April 2024. They alleged that Palm Beach County was engaged in a “taking” of their property rights when, in 2019, the county amended a 2002 ordinance to make it illegal for truckers to park their rigs on their residential properties in semi-rural areas of the county.
In 2020, the county began enforcing the ruling, fining many truckers in the Acreage/Loxahatchee area $50 to $100 a day or more for violations of the ordinance’s new stipulation.
Soon, unpaid fines grew into the thousands and tens of thousands, said truckers, threatening to put them out of business, force them to find expensive and scarce parking away from their residence, or to move away.
“We helped to build this community — the schools, the parks, the supermarkets — now they say they don’t want us,” Dougal said Wednesday, repeating an often-heard lament of local truckers, who have lived in the semi-rural enclave for decades.
Dougal purchased her home in 2002 with the understanding that she and her family would be able to park their trucks on the property.
Fast forward to 2025.
On May 22, Judge Robert Oftedal — sitting in for Judge Maxine Cheesman — said in a two-page summary judgment for the county that Alfaro and Dougal “presented no competent evidence of financial loss, diminution in property value or impairment of vested property rights.”
On June 1, Cheesman returned to the bench and issued a deeply researched 12-page ruling that said the case should proceed to trial as to whether there was a “taking” and the damages that Alfaro and Dougal might be due. However, on June 3, Cheesman withdrew her ruling without explanation.
Then, on June 6, West Palm Beach attorney Christopher Mills, who represents Alfaro and Dougal, filed a 291-page motion for a rehearing based partly on the conflicting rulings of Oftedal and Cheesman.
“It’s very difficult to manage the emotions of your clients when you have conflicting rulings like this,” Mills said. “I sympathize with their confusion and frustration, considering the procedural quagmire we’re in. I’ve never seen anything like this in my career.”
Natalia Melian-Torres, who has been the face and voice of The Acreage’s “Save Our Truckers” movement for the last four years, said the judges in the case are “acting unprofessionally” and “playing with people’s livelihoods.”
“I never felt we were treated fairly” by the county’s legal team, she said. “They’ve pushed us down the line and waited for us to get tired.”
And while Melian said Tuesday that she does not feel “defeated” by the county, she is tired of fighting the $100-a-day fines while being a wife and mother and running a trucking business from her home.
She said her house is on the market and she, her husband and her two children are moving to the Ocala area. Marion County does not allow residential big-rig parking either, she said, but commercial property that can be used for parking is more affordable.
“They’ve pushed me against the wall,” Melian said. “I have to do what’s best for my family. I have kids. I have to look to the future.”
Melian ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for a seat on the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors. She lost to two-term incumbent Supervisor Betty Argue in a closer than expected race.
District 6 County Commissioner and current Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Sara Baxter, an Acreage resident and supporter of the “Save Our Truckers” movement, said this week that however the ruling goes on Mills’ rehearing petition, the conflicting pronouncements “make it ripe for appeal.”
Palm Beach County Attorney Denise Coffman told commissioners at their June 3 meeting that case had reached “a very successful conclusion at this point” but predicted more court proceedings and appeals.
“It’s a bit of a convoluted mess,” she said.
Where to start….
1. …with the understanding that she and her family would be able to park their trucks on the property.
A. “With the understanding” is not an ordinance. The ordinance clearly stated these vehicles were not allowed unless registered as Agricultural. No residential zoned neighborhood in Florida allows non-ag vehicles of this size to be parked at home.
2. Following up with #1. ….. Marion County does not allow residential big-rig parking either.
A. much more rural area than The Acreage/Lox, and they don’t even allow it. Shocker.
3. ….Melian ran unsuccessfully in 2024 for a seat on the Indian Trail Improvement District Board of Supervisors. She lost to two-term incumbent Supervisor Betty Argue in a closer than expected race.
A. Let’s put this into perspective. It was Melian, The Republican Party, PAC’s, Developers, Local Unions and certain County official/s and Betty Argue STILL WON. Of course it was closer than expected when outside meddling occurs. Our local ITID elections will never be the same now that outsiders are trying to sway votes with false smear campaigns and doing so to help their agendas.
4. District 6 County Commissioner and current Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Sara Baxter, an Acreage resident and supporter of the “Save Our Truckers” movement.
A. Commissioner Baxter has been trying to destroy and divide our community even before she was elected, meddling in our attempt to acquire our American right to vote on self-government. She used her political social media campaign account and gaining supporters that were then against incorporation. (County has no say if we incorporate or not) Most of the residents against it back then have now seen the light with the annexation of our land by PBG and Wellington. The saying was always “we can’t be annexed”. Please Commissioner Baxter, use the “all 16,000 properties should be allowed 2 semi trucks in The Acreage/Lox” as part of your 2026 campaign. PLEASE!