Holmes Beach to pursue inspection ordinance after structural issues cause evacuations
.JPG "07/20/21--Following Surfside’s tragedy, the city of Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island may require structural building inspections after two rental properties were evacuated. The four-unit vacation rental that had to be evacuated in the 3400 block of Sixth Avenue is shown in this photo.")
After the recent voluntary evacuation of two rental properties because of structural issues, the city of Holmes Beach plans to require building re-certification inspections after a certain number of years.
The most recent incident came on Friday afternoon when city officials issued an “unfit for habitation” notice for one of the four-unit FountainHead vacation rental properties in the 3400 block of Sixth Avenue. At that time, an air-conditioning contractor heard a “popping” noise and located an area where a balcony appeared to be falling away from the building.
Code enforcement officers were contacted and after a visual inspection, Neal Schwartz, the city’s building official, asked visitors to evacuate the property out of an abundance of caution. The property owner was contacted and the guests were relocated to other rental properties.
“As we walked the building, we saw what the A/C contractor was explaining and we concurred. We were concerned about the balcony but not the structure itself,” said Schwartz, who noted that there were also visible issues with the wooden catwalk and stairwells.
By Tuesday afternoon, Holmes Beach staff had roped off access to the FountainHead condo rental property with caution tape. The structural issue that the contractor found could also be seen at the building’s rear. A crack ran along the edge of the wall supporting the Unit 6 balcony.
The twin FountainHead condo to the north was not evacuated. According to Schwartz, engineers have also been asked to inspect that building.
Earlier this month, another balcony issue was reported in Holmes Beach at a single-family home where the railing fell into the yard. That homeowner was also asked to voluntarily evacuate the home.
‘Maintenance isn’t just about appearance’
No one was injured in either incident, city officials say. In an interview with the Bradenton Herald, Mayor Judy Titsworth said she believed the reports are a direct result of the tragic condo collapse in Surfside. The structural integrity of buildings has become an issue that more guests and residents are concerned about, she explained.
“People are more observant and looking at every crack in every building,” said Titsworth. “It’s about maintenance. A lot of people didn’t understand what can happen with concrete and swelling. Maintenance isn’t just about appearance, it’s about the structure.”
Schwartz agreed that enhanced maintenance would have prevented both evacuations. He urged homeowners, property managers and other landowners to take the upkeep of their buildings seriously, which could help limit safety issues and the cost of repairs.
“What we would like to educate homeowners or condo associations about is that water intrusion is not friendly for any type of construction on the beach. You always have to maintain in order to make sure your structure is impervious,” said Schwartz.
“The old saying is an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” he added. “If you catch it quickly, you can save a lot of money.”
How often would inspections be required?
Moving forward, the Holmes Beach City Commission will consider an ordinance that would require engineering inspections to ensure that buildings are safe to occupy. Schwartz said he is researching what other beach cities require but hopes to mimic the 40-year re-certifications that are required in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
“Everybody is keeping their eyes open right now,” said Titsworth. “We didn’t have 40-year re-certifications in place, but we’ll look into our own ordinance to show that they’ve had engineering done.”
While the details of Holmes Beach’s ordinance have not been finalized, Schwartz expects to propose regulations that are even more stringent than what is required in South Florida.
“We will have discussions on whether it will be 25, 30, 35 or 40 years within the city,” Schwartz said. “With beach communities and salt erosion, we might have to look at something more strict than the 40 years.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 4:04 PM.
