Manatee County code enforcement expands violation cases on Snead Island but remain silent on progress

MANATEE -- Manatee County code enforcement has expanded its list of code violations relating to illegal structures built in conservation easements on Snead Island.

Five new violations were found on Redfish Court in early October. The new citations come in the aftermath of the ongoing saga in the exclusive neighborhood of Amberwynd Circle where eight homeowners were cited for a second time in September after two years of county indecision and incorrect procedures.

Almost all of the violations for both neighborhoods involve illegal walkways that were constructed through conservation easements separating homes from Terra Ceia Bay off Amberwynd Circle and now Champlain Bayou adjacent to Redfish Court.

The Redfish Court violations are dated Oct. 1, with a deadline set for Oct. 15, while the deadline for the Amberwynd Circle violations expired Oct. 26. Manatee County officials have not responded to repeated requests for updates to either set of violations.

It all started with an Amberwynd Circle resident complaining about a 3-year-old little girl's play set being in his view to the bay two years ago and has since snowballed into a neighborhood feud, more violations and revelations that the Amberwynd homeowners association had approved all of the illegal structures in its neighborhood.

Documents also show that the homeowners association was later given approval by the county in April 2014 to keep the illegal structures in place as long as native vegetation was planted nearby.

However, county code states that while walkways accessing private docks through a conservation easement are allowed, they must be elevated at least 3 feet to allow sunlight to the grass below and for natural water flow. Director of Development Services John Barnot told the Bradenton Herald in September that the county-approved plan was a miscommunication between staff and residents and that all illegal structures would need to be removed and the law enforced. The county then reinspected the violations in September and issued a second round of violations after the Herald learned they had yet to be resolved.

Barnot did not respond to several requests for updates.

Code Enforcement Supervisor Jeff Bowman also did not return a call for clarification or to update the Redfish Court and Amberwynd Circle violations.

The violations on Redfish Court include ground level walkways similar to Amberwynd Circle, with many being constructed from brick pavers or shell rock. There is at least one illegal boathouse that was cited on Redfish Court and there is an illegal fence and concrete walkway on Amberwynd Circle, as well.

Dana Rawls, public records assistant with the county, said two of the Redfish Court violations were resolved as of the public records request earlier last month. However, county officials have not provided an update on the remaining 11 outstanding violations as of late Friday.

Barnot told the Herald in September that all of the cases would be brought into compliance because, "There is no such thing as selective enforcement in Manatee County."

Mark Young, Herald urban affairs reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7041 or follow him on Twitter

This story was originally published November 6, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Manatee County code enforcement expands violation cases on Snead Island but remain silent on progress ."