Marco resident’s backyard sinks into canal due to neighbor’s falling seawall
By KELLY FARRELL
Posted April 1, 2010 at 2:52 p.m. , updated April 1, 2010 at 8:35 p.m.
MARCO ISLAND — Marco residents are grumbling as the island’s aging seawalls continue crumbling.
Nearly 200 miles of seawall, many of which were constructed on the island by Deltona Corp. in the 1960s, are well over their useful life of about 30 years.
The citywide issue hit home for Kathy Misciasci and Mark Patton on Sunday when heavy rains caused their neighbor’s seawall to continue its descent into the canal, taking several feet of Misciasci’s backyard along with it.
“I heard it break. It went pop and woke me up,” said Patton.
Misciasci and Patton replaced their seawall at a cost of about $25,000 four years ago and they’re not pleased with the idea of the neighbor’s wall taking down their investment.
In early January, the couple reported to the city that the seawall, located on a vacant lot on Dana Court, had cracked and was in violation of city code. Their yard was, at the time, slowly slipping into the canal.
The seawall is among about 50 other failed seawalls and docks on Marco not yet repaired despite receiving code violation notices, reported Marco’s Chief of Code Enforcement Eric Wardle.
Some 50 other seawalls are in violation for improper maintenance of their French drain, though they may not yet be affecting adjacent properties, he added.
The seawall on the vacant lot adjoining Misciasci’s property, owned by Milind and Joanne Jani of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., recently broke away from the couple’s wall. That may help protect the wall, but not their yard, as a 2-foot hole quickly became a 6-foot deep hole several feet wide, taking lawn, decorative stone, wooden landscape edging and a sizable portion of the backyard into the canal. A small tree remains close to a precipice.
Misciasci and Patton say there must be a better way to protect their property, which is listed for sale by owner.
Marco’s Chief of Code Enforcement Eric Wardle said the Janis were mailed a notice of violation on Jan. 8, the day after Misciasci advised the city of the failed seawall. The property was posted Jan. 15.
Milind Jani contacted code enforcement on Feb. 1, the day after receiving the certified letter regarding the need to obtain a permit to repair the seawall within 30 days, Wardle said.
When Jani said he would need to get a few estimates, of which there are about five contractors in the area to choose from, Wardle said he agreed to extend the deadline from Feb. 8 to the end of February.
Misciasci didn’t think an extension should be granted since she received her permit within 30 days as required when her seawall failed in late 2004. She also repaired adjoining properties as needed and Wardle said that should be part of her neighbor’s upcoming repair estimate as well.
The Janis were unavailable for comment.
Wardle hasn’t made contact with the owners since early February.
Meanwhile, Misciasci and Patton fear an impending rainy season and say they aren’t pleased with City Manager Steve Thompson’s response to their pleas for help.
Thompson wrote Misciasci an e-mail Tuesday, stating that “any emergency efforts that the city can take will be focused more on health and safety. The Code Enforcement Board has the ability to levy penalties, but generally these would not assist you with your expenses. A private attorney can better advise you on your ability to take civil action against the neighbor.”
City Council Chairman
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background-color: #EAEAEA;
}
Frank Recker agreed and said the city doesn’t have the money to correct the problem in the meantime.
“There is no answer, but we need to come up with one,” Recker said.
The city did help one property owner, Charlie Vollmer of Seminole Court, when the seawall on the foreclosure property next door continued taking his backyard into the drink.
The city spent about $1,000, Wardle had reported, to cut apart the two property owners’ seawalls to prevent the failing one from pull down Vollmer’s wall. They also secured the walls with a piling to minimize the damage continuing to Vollmer’s lawn. Neither Vollmer nor the city have received any relief on that case yet.
The code board will set a new deadline for the Janis to replace their seawall at a meeting scheduled April 13. The construction deadline will likely be three to six months after the meeting, Wardle said.
The owners will be fined up to $250 per day if they miss the new deadline and will likely owe a $250 administration fee for the hearing.
Recker suggested code fines be put in a fund so the city could afford to do something to stop the damage before it gets more costly.
He plans to discuss the issue at the City Council meeting Monday night and get it on the agenda for formal business as soon as possible, he said.
While the problem has come up on Marco several times in the past, it seems to be worsening.
“I don’t think anyone’s come up in our face like this to make us so aware of it... I’d be livid to see my backyard disintegrating like this with nothing I can do to stop it,” Recker said.
By KELLY FARRELL
Posted April 1, 2010 at 2:52 p.m. , updated April 1, 2010 at 8:35 p.m.
MARCO ISLAND — Marco residents are grumbling as the island’s aging seawalls continue crumbling.
Nearly 200 miles of seawall, many of which were constructed on the island by Deltona Corp. in the 1960s, are well over their useful life of about 30 years.
The citywide issue hit home for Kathy Misciasci and Mark Patton on Sunday when heavy rains caused their neighbor’s seawall to continue its descent into the canal, taking several feet of Misciasci’s backyard along with it.
“I heard it break. It went pop and woke me up,” said Patton.
Misciasci and Patton replaced their seawall at a cost of about $25,000 four years ago and they’re not pleased with the idea of the neighbor’s wall taking down their investment.
In early January, the couple reported to the city that the seawall, located on a vacant lot on Dana Court, had cracked and was in violation of city code. Their yard was, at the time, slowly slipping into the canal.
The seawall is among about 50 other failed seawalls and docks on Marco not yet repaired despite receiving code violation notices, reported Marco’s Chief of Code Enforcement Eric Wardle.
Some 50 other seawalls are in violation for improper maintenance of their French drain, though they may not yet be affecting adjacent properties, he added.
The seawall on the vacant lot adjoining Misciasci’s property, owned by Milind and Joanne Jani of Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., recently broke away from the couple’s wall. That may help protect the wall, but not their yard, as a 2-foot hole quickly became a 6-foot deep hole several feet wide, taking lawn, decorative stone, wooden landscape edging and a sizable portion of the backyard into the canal. A small tree remains close to a precipice.
Misciasci and Patton say there must be a better way to protect their property, which is listed for sale by owner.
Marco’s Chief of Code Enforcement Eric Wardle said the Janis were mailed a notice of violation on Jan. 8, the day after Misciasci advised the city of the failed seawall. The property was posted Jan. 15.
Milind Jani contacted code enforcement on Feb. 1, the day after receiving the certified letter regarding the need to obtain a permit to repair the seawall within 30 days, Wardle said.
When Jani said he would need to get a few estimates, of which there are about five contractors in the area to choose from, Wardle said he agreed to extend the deadline from Feb. 8 to the end of February.
Misciasci didn’t think an extension should be granted since she received her permit within 30 days as required when her seawall failed in late 2004. She also repaired adjoining properties as needed and Wardle said that should be part of her neighbor’s upcoming repair estimate as well.
The Janis were unavailable for comment.
Wardle hasn’t made contact with the owners since early February.
Meanwhile, Misciasci and Patton fear an impending rainy season and say they aren’t pleased with City Manager Steve Thompson’s response to their pleas for help.
Thompson wrote Misciasci an e-mail Tuesday, stating that “any emergency efforts that the city can take will be focused more on health and safety. The Code Enforcement Board has the ability to levy penalties, but generally these would not assist you with your expenses. A private attorney can better advise you on your ability to take civil action against the neighbor.”
City Council Chairman
a.inline_topic:hover {
background-color: #EAEAEA;
}
Frank Recker agreed and said the city doesn’t have the money to correct the problem in the meantime.
“There is no answer, but we need to come up with one,” Recker said.
The city did help one property owner, Charlie Vollmer of Seminole Court, when the seawall on the foreclosure property next door continued taking his backyard into the drink.
The city spent about $1,000, Wardle had reported, to cut apart the two property owners’ seawalls to prevent the failing one from pull down Vollmer’s wall. They also secured the walls with a piling to minimize the damage continuing to Vollmer’s lawn. Neither Vollmer nor the city have received any relief on that case yet.
The code board will set a new deadline for the Janis to replace their seawall at a meeting scheduled April 13. The construction deadline will likely be three to six months after the meeting, Wardle said.
The owners will be fined up to $250 per day if they miss the new deadline and will likely owe a $250 administration fee for the hearing.
Recker suggested code fines be put in a fund so the city could afford to do something to stop the damage before it gets more costly.
He plans to discuss the issue at the City Council meeting Monday night and get it on the agenda for formal business as soon as possible, he said.
While the problem has come up on Marco several times in the past, it seems to be worsening.
“I don’t think anyone’s come up in our face like this to make us so aware of it... I’d be livid to see my backyard disintegrating like this with nothing I can do to stop it,” Recker said.
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