Article Courtesy of The
Bradenton Herald By Mark
Young
Published October 2, 2015
Eight homeowners in the affluent Amberwynd Circle neighborhood on Snead Island
have until Thursday to resolve ongoing code violations regarding illegal
structures built within a conservation easement along the mangrove shoreline of
Terra Ceia Bay.
According to code enforcement manager Jeff Bowman, the violations will be
reinspected Thursday to check on compliance progress.
"A lot of the homeowners have already been contacted and have requested
additional time because they are working with contractors to come into
compliance," said Bowman. "The code enforcement officer will work with those
people and will likely give them an extension."
According to documents obtained by the Bradenton Herald, three illegal
boardwalks, three illegal walkways, an illegal fence and an illegal sidewalk
must be remedied or Manatee County code enforcement will pursue further action
with special magistrate hearings. The illegal boardwalks must be raised to the
minimum three-foot elevation required by code to allow for sunlight to reach the
bottom and for natural water flow. The fence, sidewalk and walkways made out of
shell rock or brick pavers must be removed, as all were constructed at ground
level.
The homeowners, many of whom purchased their homes with the illegal structures
already built, were issued violations Sept. 17. According to the documents, the
violations were listed as "repeat violations," because of the unresolved nature
dating back to the spring of 2014.
But it all started months before that when one of Anthony DiLorenzo's neighbors
saw a little girl's swing set in his view of the bay in June 2013. That neighbor
made a phone call to complain to his homeowners association, which in turn
complained to the county. Code enforcement responded and cited DiLorenzo, who
then questioned why his daughter's swing set was being targeted while more
intrusive structures had been in the easement for years.
The county agreed, citing several neighbors for illegal walkways nine months
later. But the county approved a remediation plan developed by the HOA in April
2014 that simply called for planting native vegetation along the illegal
structures. The only violation not approved in that plan was the swing set,
which DiLorenzo has fought for more than two years.
DiLorenzo appeared before the special magistrate earlier this month and was
given until February to remove his daughter's swing set.
Manatee County Director of Building and Development Services John Barnot said
the approval of the 2014 plan was a mistake, calling it a miscommunication
between code enforcement and residents. Barnot said the violations have never
been resolved and are now back in the code enforcement process. Barnot, who did
not return a call for comment on Tuesday, previously told the Herald that
everything in the neighborhood that is not in compliance will either be brought
up to code or "it's all coming out."
DiLorenzo, after sitting through his code enforcement hearing and listening to
other cases, said, "There is an absolute need for these guys. There are some
unsafe structures out there that could actually hurt someone. But not for this
nonsense," referring to his daughter's swing set.
Virtually all of the backyard spaces on the bay are part of the conservation
easement, making it difficult to place the swing set anywhere else, DiLorenzo
said. His first fight was with the HOA's architectural review committee, which
filed, then dropped, legal action against the DiLorenzos' swing set. The HOA
ultimately approved the swing set when DiLorenzo moved it about 12 feet over and
out of his neighbor's view of the bay.
The architectural review committee also approved the majority of the illegal
structures now in the conservation easement, but code enforcement manager Bowman
said the county cannot pursue action against an HOA. Instead, county officials
are trying to educate the homeowners on what they can and cannot do in a
conservation easement.
In addition to the eight violations, all 22 homeowners on the bay were issued
informational letters as to their responsibilities, because Bowman said all 22
homeowners were technically in violation for mowing the grass within the
conservation easement. They are not, at this time, being cited. The letter to
homeowners said the county appreciates the neighborhood's cooperation but, "We
will be performing periodic inspections of the easement to ensure compliance
with the code. The mowing of the easement is an irreversible and irreparable
offense."
Manatee County discusses Snead Island conservation easement
violations |