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County extends big home add-on ban

Commissioners say the moratorium on certain accessory structures will remain until May 22.

By JUSTIN GEORGE
Published March 23, 2005

INVERNESS - That monster garage of your dreams may have to stay there.

County commissioners on Tuesday unanimously agreed to extend a moratorium on the building of accessory structures, such as garages, that are at least half the size of an adjoining home.

Commissioners first adopted this prohibition on March 8 after several residents in the Highlands neighborhood of Inverness complained about a 22-foot tall, nearly 6,000-square-foot, four-bay garage that Inverness accountant Bob Lane built on Pineaire Street.

Neighbors say the building has ruined their views and damaged their property values. Lane plans to use the garage to house his antique cars.

Commissioners were shocked by the building, which dwarfs neighborhood homes. They discovered the county had no choice but to grant Lane a building permit because the county's Land Development Code doesn't limit the size of accessory structures.

The commission adopted the emergency ordinance while county staff members review the code. On Tuesday, they extended the ban to May 22.

Several Highlands residents who spoke Tuesday were not appeased, because the ban did nothing to remove the garage, which some say looks like an airplane hangar.

"When I open my drapes I no longer see the sun," said Lyra Keifer, who lives in front of the garage. "It's depressing."

Residents called for the county to condemn the garage and pay Lane off.

"Do the right thing; put a park there and get rid of Bob Lane's storage structure," Suzanne Gray of Pineaire Street said.

But Lane isn't willing to sell, county officials said. Legally, commissioners can't condemn the property.

All they can do is prevent the same thing from happening again, Commission Chairwoman Vicki Phillips said.

"This won't help you," she said, "but it will help others in the future."

"When you say you can't do anything to help us, I don't believe you," Gray responded, her comments followed by applause.

"I feel most sorry for the poor lady who lives next door," Phillips said. "We should never see this happen again."

In other news from the commission meeting:

The State Attorney's Office sought funding for a monument for crime victims.

The office's victim-witness coordinator, Judi McBride, said the monument would be placed on the grounds of the Historic Courthouse in downtown Inverness.

"In loving memory of victims and survivors of crime," the monument would read. It also would include a bench, McBride said.

It would cost commissioners, after donations, about $2,000 to get the project done, McBride said. An outside group has offered to maintain the property.

She hoped it would be ready by April 11.

Phillips said the courthouse grounds might not be a proper location because there's a restoration plan in the works that calls for the grounds to remain untouched, except for a veterans monument.

County Administrator Richard Wesch said staff members will study the proposal and possibly find a better location.

Justin George can be reached at 352 860-7309 or jgeorge@sptimes.com

[Last modified March 23, 2005, 00:55:18]