East Manatee house was built too close to a neighbor. Builder had to tear it down
Luxury home builder Ashton Woods has demolished a home that it had under construction in Rosedale, a gated community in East Manatee.
The problem? It was being built too close to a neighboring house.
The standard distance between homes built in Rosedale is 12 feet. Members of the Rosedale Master Association knew they had a problem when home builder Ashton Woods built the home seven feet, six inches away from an existing home owned by Kirk Tcherneshoff.
“Practically the first crisis we faced was that confounded house,” Lynne Woodman, president of the homeowner association, said Tuesday.
After working and saving all their lives for their dream home, “the homeowners were crushed to see a home going up next door just seven feet away,” Woodman said.
Residents had only recently taken control of the homeowner association from the developer when the problem arose about one year ago.
“We asked the county to have it torn down. It can still be built on the site, but it needs to be centered on the lot. I have no idea how the builder could not center it on the lot,” Woodman said.
“When we got the inquiry, we said yes you are so right and stopped it right there,” John Barnott, director of Manatee County Building and Development Services, said Tuesday.
“We don’t see that a lot,” Barnott said of homes encroaching on a neighbor’s space. “I know they are going through the process to resubmit.”
Ashton Woods had requested a variance from Manatee County government to allow the house to stand. But the builder withdrew the application before the hearing and announced it would demolish the house.
Home construction in Rosedale, located northeast of Interstate 75 and State Road 70, began in 1992 with plans to add 100 to 120 single-family houses a year over five years.
The 335-acre project was planned for a build-out of 600 houses, in addition to an 18-hole golf course and 11 tennis courts, according to Herald archives.
In 1992, a single-family house at Rosedale was priced from $130,000 to $200,000 and a golf villa, $100,000 to $140,000.
The golf course at Rosedale, at that time owned by the Hunt Group, was designed by Ted McAnlis, creator of 13 major Florida courses, including Manatee County courses River Wilderness Yacht and Country Club, Tara Golf and Country Club and Imperial Lakes Golf Club.
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 2:57 PM.
