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Letter to the editor

City seeks code case do-over

Tarpon wants to reverse Mark Robinson's exoneration.

By ELENA LESLEY, Times Staff Writer
Published September 7, 2007

TARPON SPRINGS - The city is taking action against the embattled director of a homeowners association over concerns that construction on his property may jeopardize Tarpon's relationship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Mark Robinson, one of the major players in the power struggle over the Harbour Watch Homeowners Association, hired an unlicensed contractor to erect and backfill a concrete sea wall on his property in 2002 without city permits, according to a Sept. 4 memo written by Joseph DiPasqua, development services director.

Though he subsequently removed the sea wall at the request of the county, Robinson then hired a contractor to install around 250 linear feet of riprap and a wood retaining wall, according to DiPasqua. Again, "no city permits were granted or even applied for and there is no question that a city permit would be required for this work," DiPasqua wrote.

Yet at an Aug. 9 hearing, the Code Enforcement Board found Robinson had committed no violations.

"I think the board was confused in concluding he didn't need a city permit," said City Attorney Jim Yacavone.

The ramifications could be significant. Yacavone told commissioners that FEMA inspectors could take issue with the riprap if it disturbs the natural contour of the shoreline and may hold the city accountable for not enforcing its regulations.

So now the city wants a do-over.

DiPasqua has asked the Code Enforcement Board to conduct a new hearing in the Robinson case. During a meeting Tuesday night, the City Commission also gave Yacavone permission to retain a lawyer to appeal the board's decision to Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court.

If the code board agrees to grant a new hearing, the appeal may be dropped, Yacavone said.

City staff's primary goal is to get a look at Robinson's property and whether it complies with city and FEMA guidelines.

"Permitting is the city's mechanism of having applicants come in and provide information," Yacavone said. "We don't know exactly what he'd done ... building inspectors can't just go out on his property without permission."

If Robinson is ordered to apply for a retroactive city permit - and staff decides the riprap violates coastal flood plane regulations - he could be forced to modify or remove the structure.

Robinson claims he doesn't need city permission because he's already gotten approval from the county and state.

City officials said they held off on initial code enforcement action in 2002 while Robinson went forward with permit applications to Pinellas County Environmental Management and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. But when he put in the riprap - not only without city permission but against stop-work orders from the city - the code enforcement case was reactivated, DiPasqua wrote.

City staffers aren't the only ones worried about the activity on Robinson's North Pointe Alexis Drive property. Neighbors, some of whom are battling Robinson for control of the homeowners association, have made numerous calls to the city.

Since mangroves cannot grow where the riprap was installed, "he's exposing his and maybe others' property to storm damage," said Harbour Watch resident Richard Warnke.

Warnke was one of three new association board members elected July 31 during an election organized by disgruntled Harbour Watch residents.

They claimed that Robinson, who acquired developer's rights to the property in 2000, has mishandled some of the association's $400,000 annual budget and refused to respond to their input.

According to the development's founding documents, developer control expired 20 years after the first lot sale, or June 29, they said.

But Robinson and his supporters say the election was invalid and he retains control of the development and its association. He said he has scheduled an October election to hand over power.

"I don't know how many more elections we're going to have," Warnke said, adding that residents were tired of "these kind of kindergarten games."

In the midst of all this turmoil, at least one issue was cleared up for Robinson recently.

The State Attorney's Office will not pursue charges related to an incident in which Robinson allegedly tried to run over his college-age son with a Cadillac Escalade.

Tarpon Springs police reported Robinson was fighting with his son over an earlier altercation that had taken place with his wife.

Robinson says the incident never happened.

Elena Lesley can be reached at elesley@sptimes.com or 727 445-4167.

[Last modified September 6, 2007, 21:38:41]