Some Mar-a-Largo neighbors not welcoming Trump back

When former president Donald Trump arrives at his 18-acre Mar-a-Largo resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Wednesday, he eventually may have to deal with some neighbors who don't want him there -- at least permanently.

The town hasn't raised objections about Trump making Mar-a-Largo his permanent residence, at least publicly. But those neighbors have done so, and they have been trying to force Palm Beach to publicly address whether Trump can make Mar-a-Lago his legal residence and home.

Trump purchased the property in 1985 and turned it into a private club, which has become his winter home during the last four years.

In 2019, Trump changed his residency from New York City to Palm Beach, using the Mar-a-Lago address. However, he hasn't officially confirmed if he will live at Mar-a-Lago permanently.

On Monday morning, several large moving trucks arrived at Mar-a-Lago and workers took large boxes into the property. A US helicopter and a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office helicopter hovered over the resort.

On Tuesday, Reginald Stambaugh, a West Palm Beach attorney representing some of those neighbors, sent a letter to Palm Beach Mayor Gail Coniglio and the Town Council laying out a legal argument for why Trump shouldn't be allowed to live at Mar-a-Lago.

He alleged that Trump violated a 1993 agreement with the town over his commitment to preserve the 18-acre estate if the town allowed him to turn the 118-room mansion from a private residence into a club.

In the letter, he said the town should notify Trump that he can't use Mar-a-Lago as his residence.

The agreement barred members from visiting the club more than three times or for more than 21 total days during a single year.

Minutes of the town meeting at which the deal was approved state that Trump's attorney said that he would not reside at Mar-a-Lago "except that he will be a member of the club and would be entitled to use the guest rooms", according to The Washington Post.

Placing the limitations on lengths of stays ensured that Trump's property would remain a private club, as he had promised, rather than a residential hotel.

In 2002, Trump signed another agreement, this time with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, transferring development rights for the historic landmark to the nonprofit.

The deal substantially reduced his property taxes in exchange for a pledge to "forever extinguish their right to develop or use the property for any purpose other than club use".

"I think Trump's defense will be that this is political," Democrat Dave Aronberg, state attorney for Palm Beach County, told CBS News on Tuesday. "He may say in court that the town and everyone knew that he was living there and never sought to enforce this agreement until now when they started to disagree with his politics."

"There's absolutely no legal theory under which he can use that property as both a residence and a club," Glenn Zeitz, another nearby Palm Beach homeowner who has joined the fight against Trump and hadpreviously tangled with him over Trump's attempt to seize a private home to expand his Atlantic City casino. "Basically he's playing a dead hand. He's not going to intimidate or bluff people, because we're going to be there," Zeitz told the Post.But a Trump business organization spokesman who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity, said, "There is no document or agreement in place that prohibits President Trump from using Mar-a-Lago as his residence.''

Trump won the town's vote in the 2020 presidential election as well as the battleground state of Florida.

But Tump has had run-ins with the town, and he has done what he is well-known for doing: suing.

In 2006, Trump erected a giant flagpole at Mar-a-Lago, which violated local zoning rules. The town fined him $1,250 a day. Trump sued and kept his flagpole.

In 2018, he asked the town to waive a provision banning him from building a dock at the club, initially saying the Secret Service and local law enforcement officials needed the structure for his protection.

The reason for the dock was later changed to say the dock was for the private use of the president and first lady Melania Trump. He withdrew the dock request last year.

Stambaugh wrote in the letter:

"In order to avoid an embarrassing situation for everyone and to give the president time to make other living arrangements in the area, we trust you will work with his team to remind them of the use agreement parameters."

And he notes in the letter: "Palm Beach has many lovely estates for sale, and we are confident President Trump will find one which meets his needs."