Palma Sola builder faces penalties for cutting, killing mangroves in Bradenton

WEST BRADENTON -- The state Department of Environmental Protection is accusing Palma Sola Bay Club's builder of illegally cutting mangroves on the Palma Sola Bay shoreline, killing off 10 of them, possibly prompting a fine.

But according to the builder, the cutting that did the fatal damage was done by trespassers. The developer contends it followed the carefully written permit in trimming the mangroves.

According to an inspection report dated Jan. 22, workers at the shoreline site in the 3000 block of Palma Sola Boulevard cut and trimmed more mangroves than allowed by the DEP permit. Mangroves are protected in Florida be

cause they provide stability to the shoreline, prevent erosion, provide a wind shield during storms and benefit wildlife.

The trimming project was cited for the violations just as developers are set to appear before the Manatee County Commission on Thursday. They are seeking approval for an increase in the number of units at the 31-acre development at 3410 77th St. W., an increase to the height of certain buildings and permission to build an observation deck overlooking the protected mangroves.

Prospect Bradenton Investments, the builder, was permitted to trim 7.26 percent of the coastline mangrove forest, or 6,032 square feet from the 2.8-acre area, according to the permit, along 302.7 linear feet of shoreline. The builders received the permit in October. According to the DEP, as much as 35 percent of certain mangroves were cut.

The purpose of the cutting was to create view windows through the mangroves between 6 and 13 feet off the ground. The cuts were to be made in stages over two years.

On December and January visits to the site, DEP inspectors found that the mangroves were trimmed below six feet on multiple occasions and that 10 red mangroves were killed or removed, violations of the permit. Mangrove clippings were also left as fill in the mangrove fringe wetlands, another alleged permit violation.

Overall, 30 percent of the red mangroves, 35 percent of the black mangroves and 35 percent of the white mangroves were affected by the cutting, according to the report.

The developer has 15 days from receiving the letter notifying it of the violation to respond with a plan for corrective action, according to the report.

"Compliance cases can take weeks and sometimes months to resolve, as the Department and permittee discuss the case," said DEP spokeswoman Ana Gibbs. "While some compliance cases can involve corrective actions and or penalties, at this time it is too soon to say what the resolution will be in this case."

Mark Filburn, president of the development owner and builder Prospect Real Estate Group, said trespassers did the fatal damage to the mangroves. He said Prospect did have the plants trimmed under a permit from DEP. He said the someone else went into the shoreline area after the trimming was done, cutting more mangroves and cutting more severely.

In a statement issued late Thursday, Prospect said that its permitting consultant, Florida Permitting of Palmetto, "took great steps to carefully restore this popular fishing area that had accumulated years of debris." Prospect will continue to work with the consultant to manage the site.

The DEP and Prospect have yet to set a date to discuss the matter, Gibbs said.

Charles Schelle, Herald business reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7095. Follow him on Twitter @ImYourChuck.

This story was originally published January 30, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Palma Sola builder faces penalties for cutting, killing mangroves in Bradenton ."