CORTEZ – Hunters Point Resort & Marina has sued the neighboring Cortez Village Marina to keep it from using a canal where Cortez Village Marina claims Hunters Point should not be allowed to build new docks.
The Hunters Point property under development on Cortez Road West includes 86 three-story, net-zero energy use solar-powered townhomes, many of which are expected to have private docks along the canal that surrounds the Hunters Point property on three sides.
Hunters Point is about two-tenths of a mile west of the Cortez Village Marina and boat storage facility at 12160 Cortez Road W.
Boca Raton-based attorney Susan Roeder Martin filed the lawsuit in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Manatee County on May 26. The civil case has been assigned to Judge Charles Sniffen. As of Friday, the defendant’s attorney had not filed a response to the complaint.
Injunctions sought
The complaint states that Marshall Gobuty’s company, Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc., owns the Hunters Point property, including the canal constructed the 1950s and purchased by Gobuty in 2016.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction, followed by a permanent injunction, to prohibit the Cortez Village Marina, owned by MHC Cortez Village LLC, from using the private canal surrounding the Hunters Point property.
Marina customers use the canal to access the Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) near the Seafood Shack restaurant, as do several homeowners who live on the canal. The lawsuit does not seek to prohibit homeowners with existing county-permitted docks from using the canal.
The complaint alleges the marina is unlawfully using the canal without the authorization of the property owner, and that the marina owners are encouraging customers to unlawfully enter the canal by advertising that those who lease marina slips can use the canal to access the ICW.
“There are no easements, licenses or other use authorizations for navigation dedicated to the Cortez Village Marina or the general public found in the chain of title,” according to the complaint. “The public records of Manatee County do not indicate that any additional rights to build docks, tie up boats or utilize the private canal were granted to defendant’s predecessors or to the public. Therefore, defendant’s use is limited to a single dock with but one boat.
“MHC Cortez Village has led its 350 patrons to believe that they can lawfully utilize the private canal to access the Intracoastal, as is evidenced in its marina brochure,” Martin stated in an email that included the lawsuit complaint.
When the proposed Hunters Point development was being approved by the Manatee County Commission in 2017, several residents who own docks along the canal voiced concerns about losing the use of the canal.
In response, Gobuty’s attorney, Caleb Grimes, said, “We don’t believe anybody with a current dock has anything that is improper. These people have the right to use them as they have historically used them.”
Dock permitting challenge
MHC Cortez Village LLC filed a petition for an administrative hearing in July 2021 against Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. and the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) challenging the district’s issuance of a permit allowing Hunters Point to build docks in the canal.
The petition claims the construction of the new docks would significantly increase and impair vessel traffic in the canal, negatively affecting Cortez Village Marina users’ ability to safely navigate the canal and affecting the marina’s profitability and ongoing operations.
The petition requests the dock permit be revoked or modified to protect the marina’s riparian rights and navigational interests.
In December, Hunters Point Vice President of Development Ashley Klearman sent a construction update letter to those who purchased the Hunters Point homes about to be constructed.
“MHC is arguing the proposed docks hinder the navigation of the canal, even though the proposed docks have been designed to provide as minimal an intrusion into the canal as possible and are in full compliance with all local, state and federal rules and regulations. It is our legal team’s position that this petition is without merit and that SWFWMD correctly issued the permit,” Klearman stated in her letter.
According to Gobuty, the administrative hearing is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 14.
Boat lift installation
In another canal-related matter, Hunters Point sent a cease and desist letter to George and Wendy Kokolis on May 17 regarding the boat lift being installed at their undeveloped lot on the canal directly across from the Hunters Point property. The Kokolis’ lot is next to the residence they own at 4317 126th St. W.
“It has come to my attention that you are building a dock/boat lift on Cortez Road Finance and Investments’ private canal. This letter is to advise you to immediately cease construction and to remove the works that you have already placed on my client’s private property. If you do not immediately remove your facilities, we will file suit and seek damages from you. We will also request attorney’s fee and costs,” Martin stated in her letter.
As of late last week, the boat lift had not been removed.
