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Letter to the editor

Trailer owner fails to meet deadline

The owner faces fines, but disgruntled neighbors could be in for a long wait.

By EMILY NIPPS Times Staff Writer
Published October 5, 2007

The trailer still sits, irking neighbors and defying city codes.

Yet for now, little can be done to remove the 40-foot structure at 224 Blanca Ave., which sits on a large empty lot wedged between million-dollar Davis Islands homes.

The property's owner, Brian Marshall, had until Sept. 21 to submit a revised set of construction plans for the lot. Otherwise he faced a city-imposed fine for keeping a trailer there without a valid construction permit. As of early this week, no new plans had been submitted.

Neighbors have complained to City Council members and code enforcers about the trailer, which exists despite no recent construction activity. A city code violation notice was posted on the trailer Sept. 10.

Marshall, who owns Fireline Construction, bought the waterfront lot in January and demolished the house that was there, intending to build a 12,000-square-foot French chateau with a boat dock. The original construction plans were rejected in May, according to Nick D'Andrea, the city's manager of commercial development services.

Marshall also faces a reactivation fee for exceeding the 60-day window to submit plans after his original plans were rejected.

However, Fireline project manager Mike McCullough said a building permit has been issued for the dock, which now justifies the construction trailer. McCullough said plans for the rest of the project would be submitted earlier this week.

"We just had to work out the easement issue, which took a while," he said.

D'Andrea said he was unaware of the dock permit, since "we don't issue building permits for docks."

"I'm not sure who told him that was okay," he said.

Either way, Marshall still intends to build on the lot and the trailer remains.

This rankles neighbors, some who pay as much as $30,000 a year in property taxes and think the lot and trailer are an eyesore.

Homeowners would not comment on the record, for fear of starting a feud, but City Council member Linda Saul-Sena heard from many of them and agreed that the builder has "not shown a great respect for local rules."

D'Andrea said Marshall could potentially submit revised plans up to six months from the May rejection before the project becomes null and void. It has been only four months, he pointed out, and even after the six months, Marshall could write a letter explaining the delay and get another six-month extension.

"So we could potentially extend the project a year from the original disapproval," he said. "But it has to be a good reason. It can't be, 'Oh, gee, we just couldn't get the plans together in time.' "

Emily Nipps can be reached at 813 226-3431 or nipps@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 4, 2007, 08:01:44]