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Developer hits snag

He is told to stop razing a produce stand at Bay Pines Mobile Home Park. He has pulled a permit, but a bigger question swirling around the park continues.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published June 28, 2006

The stop-work order was issued in mid June when the city discovered that Loder did not have a demolition permit for the fruit and vegetable stand, said Bill Sanders, a Seminole building official.

The city also had received complaints that Loder had taken down a carport and utility shed attached to one of the mobile homes in the park, Sanders said. It's unclear if that actually happened, Sanders said, because any work was completed before city officials arrived.

"It's kind of hard to tell after it's gone," Sanders said. "That (complaint) was questionable."

Loder's attorney, Stan Martin of Ruden McClosky in St. Petersburg, declined to comment on the case because of a lawsuit filed by the homeowners association to stop the redevelopment of the park.

The lawsuit, which targets Loder and the attorneys who represented the trust that sold the park, contends that the mobile home owners have the right to remain in the park until 2020.

For now, Sanders said, the situation has been worked out. Loder halted work on the vegetable stand and applied for a demolition permit on June 19. As of Tuesday, work had not resumed. Loder is looking for a contractor to do the work, according to the application.

The stand was abandoned this month after Loder gave Kimberly Hill of PK Produce one day to get out. Hill, who had run the 20-year-old stand for about six months, managed to get a few days more before she moved all her produce to her stand in the Oakhurst area of Pinellas County.

Loder also will need to get a $50 demolition permit for each trailer he plans to raze on the property at 10005 Bay Pines Blvd., rather than moving them intact, Sanders said.

It is unclear how many of the trailers Loder might have to destroy. Owners have until late this year to decide whether to try to move them or to accept the state-mandated reimbursement for mobile homes that cannot be moved elsewhere ($1,375 for a single-wide, $2,750 for a double-wide).

If the mobile home owners have their way, Loder will not be able to develop the property at all, at least until 2020.

ELECTING TO RUN

A Bay Pines resident throws his hat in the mayor's race. 

[Last modified June 28, 2006, 08:41:32]