With the holiday season around the corner, the Coral Gables Commission decided not to grant special permission for a Christmas tree sales business that has operated in the city for 34, leaving residents facing the prospect of losing a longtime option for buying their holiday trees.
A majority of city commissioners said they would not move forward with giving a special permit to Firefighters Christmas Trees after staff informed them that proceeds from sale of the trees were not going to charities as the city had believed. The issue emerged as a surprise at the commission’s last meeting before the holidays, after Mayor Vince Lago pulled from the consent agenda an item that would have authorized the sale of Christmas trees, a temporary chain-link fence and an inflatable Santa Claus at Coral Gables Baptist Church, 5501 Granada Boulevard. Lago then detailed an investigation into the business and its relationship with the Coral Gables Firefighters Benevolent Association.
The ensuing debate centered on whether the operation’s charitable connections satisfied city requirements, whether the use of the firefighters’ name was misleading and whether the commission should intervene so late in the year that finding a replacement vendor could prove difficult. After commissioners deferred the item to explore a compromise, the business owner withdrew the application.
When reached about why he decided to withdraw his application former Coral Gables Fire Captain Paul Boutin, who owns the company, said city officials told him “he’d have to give all profits taken in to charity. That’s the only way they would issue the permit.”
Boutin had told the commission the company contracts with the Coral Gables Fire Benevolent Association and Coral Gables Baptist Church, donates trees to city organizations, offers discounts to city employees and has contributed more than $20,000 in donations to other organizations. “We have never and will never violate any laws or ordinances in our wonderful city,” Boutin told commissioners, questioning why some wanted to end the longstanding operation. He said the business had already made more than $130,000 in nonrefundable supplier deposits for the season and emphasized that it markets itself as a private business, not under the Benevolent Association’s name. “I am asking you to the very least to vote to allow us to operate one more time in 2026,” he said.
Lago questions charitable claims
Lago said he was concerned that roughly 70 percent of the charities listed in the application were outside Coral Gables and that the business was for-profit, rather than a charitable organization. He said he had understood the tree sale to raise money for charity, only to learn that the charitable contribution consisted of trees donated to organizations rather than cash from sales.
“I was not aware that the city of Coral Gable’s Fire Department was being paid to provide this approval. They get a flat fee and then they then this entity here sells the trees and supposedly gives the money to charity,” Lago said. “We found out there’s no money for charity.”
“We cannot continue to do these things the way they’re doing them right now,” Lago said, arguing that the city should protect its name and prioritize organizations benefiting Coral Gables residents.
Assistant City Manager Caroline Vester explained that city code requires proceeds from Christmas tree sales covered by the provision to be used for charitable purposes, although it does not specify a percentage. Staff learned that the roughly $20,000 in charitable contributions listed in the application represented the value of donated trees, not cash proceeds.
Vester said the business had represented itself as for-profit and that the Coral Gables Firefighters Benevolent Association was a separate entity paid a flat fee for use of its name. The association did not operate the tree lot, according to the discussion.
Lago also raised the issue of commissioners receiving trees for free, saying the lot’s proprietor had provided that information to staff. Commissioner Melissa Castro disputed the claim that she had received a free tree, saying she had tipped $150 when she obtained one and offered to verify the amount. Lago responded that a tip was not payment for the tree.
Castro questioned the timing of the city’s scrutiny, noting that the firefighters’ organization had not endorsed Lago. She criticized the decision to potentially end a longstanding holiday business and said she had purchased trees from the lot for about 15 years.
Commissioners seek a compromise
Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson said the she was also under the impression that the lot donated proceeds to charitable causes in the city. “So, um I’m disturbed by that. I always thought it was a monetary gift or donation to good causes, but it’s not going to feed the hungry. It’s not going to help those folks out,” Anderson said. She added that the use of the firefighters’ name could lead customers to believe that money from the sales went directly to support firefighters and their families. He said donated trees were not equivalent to cash contributions that could pay medical bills, tuition or other expenses.
Outgoing Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, attending his final meeting, also sought a way to preserve the sales this year. He suggested examining whether the city could work with the church to find a replacement vendor and whether the rules could be revised to allow a portion of proceeds to go to charity, rather than requiring all proceeds to do so. City Manager Peter Iglesias acknowledged that finding someone willing to operate the lot without making a profit would be difficult.
Application withdrawn; city looks for alternatives
After the deferral, Vester told commissioners the applicant had withdrawn his application. She said staff had offered him the opportunity to propose a cash contribution to a Coral Gables charity, identify a percentage of proceeds for donation and clarify signage to show who operated the business and where charitable benefits went. The owner ultimately declined to proceed.
City officials said they would explore finding a replacement vendor or working with the church on another arrangement, but the late timing makes a replacement uncertain. Fernandez said the city should continue looking for a solution for 2027, even if the current season could not be salvaged.
Another business caught in a permitting dispute
Lago compared the dispute to other issues the city had handled, including with Fritz and Franz Bierhaus and the Coral Gables Country Club. In the first case, the restaurant’s owner, Harald Neuweg, withdrew an application for a special permit after the city delayed action, leaving the business unable to host the watch parties it had held for 24 years.
Lago defended his approach in both cases, arguing that the city has a responsibility to examine arrangements that may not comply with its rules, even when they have been in place for decades. In the case of city’s golf course and country club management, he said closer scrutiny had revealed problems in those arrangements.
For now, the immediate consequence is that Coral Gables may lose a Christmas tree lot that has served residents for more than three decades, with no replacement confirmed before the holiday season. The website for the trees is still up and still says will open November 21.
Author: Coral Gables Gazette News Staff
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