CORTEZ – Manatee County commissioners unanimously denied Cortez Village Marina’s request to expand current operations.
The Chicago-based MHC Cortez Village LLC purchased the marina in 2024, one of many Loggerhead Marina properties that the parent company owns and operates throughout the U.S.
Matthew Gillespie, of the Kimley-Horn engineering firm, presented the marina owners’ request to construct 12 additional Jet Ski storage spaces inside one of the marina’s three dry storage buildings, to add boat maintenance as an allowed use inside that same building and to add a boat washing area outside another dry storage building.
To bring the marina property into compliance with county code, Gillespie also proposed removing or relocating a non-compliant shell parking area and relocating a non-compliant trash dumpster location.
This diagram shows the location of the Cortez Village Marina boat storage facilities. – Manatee County | Submitted
According to the county staff report, the marina property was rezoned in 2006 and is allowed 272 dry slips, 10 wet slips, 12 staging slips and a marina office.
When discussing the request, District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge was highly critical of the marina’s non-compliant operations.
Gillespie said the shell parking lot was in place when the current owners bought the marina.
“The previous owner wanted more storage, more trailer parking so they added it at some point,” Gillespie said.
“Illegally, I might add,” Van Ostenbridge noted.
This photo presented during the land use meeting shows outdoor boat storage racks placed atop parking spaces at the Cortez Village Marina. – Submitted
Van Ostenbridge said during his four years as the District 3 commissioner, he’s received more complaints about the marina property than any other business in the district.
“You guys have been more than bad neighbors. You’ve been abusive neighbors up to this point,” Van Ostenbridge said.
“I’m well aware from complaints from neighbors that there are far in excess of the amount of boats you’re allowed to store on the property. They were on top of handicapped parking spaces,” Van Ostenbridge said.
The Cortez Village Marina business operations are currently non-compliant with county codes and entitlements. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Regarding the expansion requests, Van Ostenbridge said, “You’ve not been fair actors up to this point. Why should we believe you guys would be compliant with this going forward? You’re here because residents raised hell, and we eventually had to send code enforcement out there and they found violations.”
In response, Gillespie said, “I can’t speak to previous ownership. All I can speak to is current ownership. They’re making the corrections. We’re getting rid of all the extra storage.”
Commissioner Jason Bearden asked county staff member Chris Klepek about the marina’s current state of compliance.
“Is it in compliance currently or is it getting into compliance?” Beardon said.
“It’s not in compliance at the current moment,” Klepek said.
“That’s all I need to know,” Beardon said.
“Is this approval required to get them into compliance?” Commissioner George Kruse asked.
Klepek said commission approval is needed for the additional Jet Ski storage, boat wash and maintenance areas but not to correct existing code violations.
“They could theoretically be in compliance before asking us for more?” Kruse asked.
“You’re right. They could just come into compliance,” Klepek responded.
Canal concerns
To reach the nearby Intracoastal Waterway, marina clients use a man-made canal owned by adjacent Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty. Gobuty owns the portion of the canal that extends from the east end of the marina property to the humpback bridge at 127th Street West, near the Seafood Shack. In 2022, Gobuty’s attorney filed a still-pending civil lawsuit against MHC Cortez Village seeking a court order that would prohibit the marina and its clients from using the privately-owned canal.
During public input at the land use meeting, Gobuty expressed concerns about additional Jet Ski traffic posing a risk to the manatees in the canal.
“The last thing we need is more Jet Skis going down the canal. It’s a lot of noise and a lot of aggravation that’s unnecessary,” Gobuty said.
He also expressed concerns about the boat washing and maintenance activities potentially releasing harmful fluids into the canal.
Gobuty referenced a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) permit application in which a marina representative stated the marina had 10 in-water boat slips, 55 outside dry slips and 300 inside storage slips. He noted that far exceeds the 294 slips allowed by FDEP and the county.
Citing the safety of the manatees and dolphins in the canal, Hunters Point resident William Fulford was among the residents who opposed the additional Jet Ski, boat washing and maintenance activities.
The Hunters Point development plans include 49 canal-side boat slips. – Hunters Point | Submitted
Representing the marina owners, attorney Meredith Delcamp noted that Gobuty’s plans to install 49 boat slips along the canal that abuts the Hunters Point property will also increase traffic on the canal.
After public input, Van Ostenbridge noted the marina is owned by a “huge conglomerate” that operates multiple marinas and should be well aware of what’s required of them.
CORTEZ – The Cortez Village Marina ownership group is appealing a recent Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) governing board ruling that permits the construction of 49 residential docks/boat slips at the 86-home Hunters Point Resort & Marina community being developed in Cortez.
The Cortez Village Marina ownership group, MHC Cortez Village LLC, filed its appeal with the Second District Court of Appeal in Tampa on June 22. Typically, an appeal of this nature consists of a small panel of appellate judges reviewing the case documents and rulings and making a determination without retrying or relitigating the case. The appeal process often takes up to a year or more.
The owners of the Cortez Village Marina are appealing the final order issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
On May 23, the water management district’s governing board unanimously ruled in favor of adopting a final order that allows SWFWMD to issue an environmental resource permit (ERP) to Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty and his Cortez Road Investments & Finance Inc. ownership group. The permit allows for the installation of 32 new boat slips and the replacement of 17 existing slips along the privately-owned canal that surrounds the Hunters Point property on three sides. When the final order was issued, MHC Cortez Village LLC had 30 days to file an appeal.
Home construction continues on the interior portions of the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
When asked about the appeal, Gobuty said, “I expected them to appeal. I don’t expect to lose the appeal, but I can’t take the risk of building the docks yet. The appeal continues to negatively impact the development as we are not able to start building any more canal-side homes on the west and northwest sides of the community. Construction will continue on the east side and the interior home sites.”
Past rulings
The governing board’s ruling pertained to the permit challenge MHC Cortez Village LLC initiated in 2021. MHC Cortez Village LLC claimed the Hunters Point docks would significantly impede canal navigation for the Cortez Village Marina clients that use the canal to access the nearby Intracoastal Waterway at the west end of the canal. Cortez Village Marina is located slightly east of the Hunters Point property and canal.
The governing board’s final ruling was based upon the recommended order that Administrative Law Judge Bruce Culpepper issued on March 7 after presiding over a multi-day hearing in late 2022 on behalf of the Florida Department of Administrative Hearings (DOAH).
During the DOAH hearing, it was established by documentation and testimony that the majority of the privately-owned canal built in the 1950s and previously owned by the Cipriani family was sold to Gobuty when he purchased the Hunters Point property in 2016.
According to documents and testimony, MHC Cortez Village does not own or control any portion of the canal west of the marina property and Gobuty never authorized marina clients to use his portion of the canal.
The map illustrates where 86 Hunters Point homes and 49 docks or boat slips will be located. – Hunters Point | Submitted
“Based on the foregoing findings of fact and conclusions of law, it is recommended that the Southwest Florida Water Management District enter a final order granting Cortez Road Investments application for the permit to build a dock (docks) in the canal and issue ERP Individual Construction Major Modification Permit 43032468.003,” Culpepper stated in his recommended order.
“Based on the evidence and testimony presented at the final hearing, the undersigned finds that Cortez Road (Investments & Finance) and the district presented competent substantial evidence establishing Cortez Road’s entitlement to the permit. Conversely, the marina did not meet its burden of demonstrating that the district should not issue the permit,” Culpepper stated in his recommended order.
CORTEZ – The Cortez Village Marina ownership group is named in a new complaint that alleges the marina is being operated without a state-issued environmental resource permit or is being operated in violation of that permit.
Representing developer Marshall Gobuty’s Hunters Point Resort & Marina ownership group, Cortez Road Investments & Finance Inc. (CRIF), attorney Susan Martin filed the complaint with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) on Aug. 22.
The complaint seeks injunctive relief to stop the alleged “illegal activities” of the MHC Cortez Village LLC marina ownership group.
The complaint notes Cortez Village Marina is part of the Loggerhead Marinas group that owns 23 marinas throughout Florida and is affiliated with Equity LifeStyle Properties – a company that owns a controlling interest in more than 400 manufactured home communities, RV resorts and campgrounds.
The complaint names MHC Cortez Village LLC, Loggerhead Marinas and FDEP as respondents and says, “CRIF requests enforcement, including a temporary injunction, followed by the permanent injunction, to stop the illegal activities of the marina to avoid irreparable environmental impacts and harm to CRIF’s private canal.”
The new complaint is part of an ongoing dispute between Cortez Road Investments and MHC Cortez Village regarding the proposed construction of 49 Hunters Point docks along the privately-owned canal that borders the Hunters Point property on the three sides.
The canal area highlighted in blue is owned by Hunters Point and extends to the Cortez Village Marina’s western boundary, on the right. – Manatee County Property Appraiser | Submitted
Built in the late 1950s, the man-made canal extends from the humpback bridge at 127th Street West to the eastern edge of the Holiday Cove RV resort property. When Gobuty purchased the Hunters Point property in 2016, he also purchased the portion of the canal that extends from the humpback bridge to Cortez Village Marina’s western boundary. The canal is the only means for marina clients to access the nearby Intracoastal Waterway (ICW).
The new dispute stems from the permit challenge MHC Cortez Village initiated after Cortez Road Investments received an environmental resource permit from the Southwest Florida Water Management District in 2021. That permit allows for the construction of the Hunters Point docks.
In response to the issuance of that 2021 permit, MHC Cortez Village filed a petition naming Cortez Road Investments and the Southwest Florida Water Management District as respondents. The petition alleged the Hunters Point docks would impede canal navigation for marina clients, especially those with larger boats, and negatively impact marina operations and profitability.
86 solar powered homes are being constructed on the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
MHC Cortez Village sought and received a hearing before an administrative law judge in hopes of the judge issuing a recommended order for the water district’s governing board to revoke the permit or modify it in a manner that lessens the impact of the proposed Hunters Point docks.
With administrative law judge Bruce Culpepper presiding, that hearing began in June, continued for three days in mid-August and is scheduled to resume on Sept. 1.
Complaint allegations
The complaint alleges Cortez Village Marina is operating without a valid permit because the permit obtained by the previous marina owner was not properly certified when transferred to the current marina owners.
“The permit could not have been transferred because the project was not built and is not operating pursuant to permit conditions. Therefore, there was no automatic transfer of the permit,” the complaint alleges.
“MHC Cortez Village LLC does not have a valid environmental resource permit and is operating without a permit in a manner to cause environmental harm,” the complaint alleges. “Alternatively, if DEP finds the marina legally holds permit number 41-0255306, then there are major violations of the permit conditions. The marina has profited from its illegal activity in the amount of at least $181,000 for the month of July alone.”
“CRIF respectfully requests DEP immediately order the marina to cease the unauthorized activities at the marina. If necessary to stop the illegal activities, CRIF requests that DEP seek an immediate temporary injunction in Manatee County circuit court,” according to the complaint.
“The marina admits in its petition that the marina has 365 permanent boat slips. During testimony, the marina’s general manager, Skip McPadden, also admitted the marina has additional temporary boat slips. Condition number 45 of the DEP permit states the permittee shall ensure the docking facility will be limited to a total of 295 boat slips – 272 dry and 23 wet – inclusive of all shoreline and upland storage,” the complaint says.
The complaint notes McPadden and boat captain Chris Karentz testified that many marina clients are inexperienced boaters who could potentially collide with the proposed Hunters Point docks.
The complaint notes MHC Cortez Village’s 2021 complaint and recent testimony by McPadden confirmed the marina also operates a service department.
“The marina has therefore admitted it is violating the permit which states, ‘Boat maintenance or repair activities requiring removal of a vessel from the water, or removal of major portions of the vessel, for purposes of routine repair or maintenance shall be prohibited for the life of the facility, except where removal is necessitated by emergency conditions which have resulted in or can result in the sinking of a vessel,’” the complaint states.
The complaint references a website that states Cortez Village Marina clients can do their own repairs and the marina offers hull, engine and propellor repairs.
The complaint notes that McPadden recently testified that marina employees use the canal to test vessels before and after repairs are made.
“Immediate action is necessary to close the illegal service department since it is an unauthorized operation,” the complaint alleges.
The complaint also alleges the marina has not complied with reporting requirements for its stormwater and drainage system.
“Therefore, there are no reasonable assurances that the marina is complying with the stormwater conditions of the permit,” the complaint alleges. “CRIF personnel have seen, during heavy storms, surface water flowing from the marina property into the canal. This results in the release of oils, greases, lubricants, gases and other fluids into the private canal which discharges to the ICW and then Anna Maria Sound.”
CORTEZ – Several property owners along a privately-owned canal are planning their response to a lawsuit filed against them by Hunters Point developer Marshall Gobuty and his Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. ownership group.
Filed with the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Manatee County on June 3 and assigned to Judge Edward Nicholas, the civil lawsuit names canal-side property owners Jonathan Graham, Sheila Graham, Mark Ibasfalean, Jacquelyn Shepard, Timothy Fitzpatrick, Mary Norman, Wendy Kokolis and George Kokolis as defendants. Around July 20, they were served with summons and copies of the lawsuit complaint many of them had already read about in The Sun.
Highlighted in blue, Jonathan and Sheila Graham’s canal-side property is among those referenced in the lawsuit complaint. – Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office | Submitted
The lawsuit stems from an ongoing dispute over a canal between Cortez Road Investments and the MHC Cortez Village LLC that owns the nearby Cortez Village Marina.
The canal surrounds the Hunters Point property on three sides. Constructed in the 1950s, the portion of the canal owned by Gobuty extends from the humpback bridge at 127th Street West (near the Seafood Shack restaurant) to the western boundary of the Cortez Village Marina property. Another portion of the canal extends southward to the northern boundary of the Buttonwood Inlet RV resort property. The canal is used by homeowners, marina patrons and guests at the Buttonwood Inlet and Holiday Cove RV resorts.
The residential properties involved in the lawsuit are located along 126th Street West and across the canal from the northwestern edge of Hunters Point property where 86 solar-powered, net-zero energy-rated townhomes are currently being constructed. The phase two development plans include a 20-unit hotel/apartment building.
This map indicates where the 86 townhomes and 49 dock slips will be located on the Hunters Point property. – Cortez Road Investments
According to Ibasfalean, the defendants have retained an attorney or attorneys in response to the summons.
“We’re going to have to work together on this. We just got served. This battle is between Hunters Point and the marina, but now that we’re involved, we have to react,” he said.
The lawsuit complaint alleges that the property owners previously constructed and are currently maintaining docks, boat lifts and other structures in the privately-owned canal without the authorization of the canal owner.
Gobuty seeks the removal of the structures, but a follow-up letter drafted by Gobuty’s attorney, Susan Martin, clarifies that the lawsuit’s actual intent is to ensure that none of the structures extend more than 25% into the canal that’s approximately 65 feet wide in those areas.
“Unfortunately, one of the main areas of concern identified by MHC (Cortez Village Marina) in its suit against CRIF (Cortez Road Investments & Finance) is the area where you maintain your dock. Your dock, vessels or associated structures exceed 25% of the width of the waterbody. MHC contends that its 350 lessees and other customers will have navigational difficulties in this area. Because of these actions by MHC, CRIF has been left with no choice but to file the attached complaint against you. Additionally, your dock, vessel and associated structures are not in compliance with Manatee County regulations because they exceed 25% of the width of the canal,” Martin stated in her letter.
According to Manatee County’s Land Development Code, “Private residential waterfront structures shall not extend more than 25% of the width of the waterbody. Boats shall not be moored in a manner which impedes navigation or encroaches on an existing channel.”
In conclusion, Martin’s letter says, “We believe that we can amicably resolve this issue without the costs associated with protracted litigation. If you are interested in resolving this lawsuit, please contact me.”
Several property owners have docks and boat lifts located along the northwestern edge of the Hunters Point canal. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Gobuty purchased the Hunters Point property and canal in 2016. The warranty deed associated with the $10 million purchase from the Cipriani family and Hunters Hill Inc. states the seller assigns forever the property and any rights associated with the property, including any riparian rights associated with the canal.
When appearing before the Manatee County Commission in 2016 as part of the initial Hunters Point permitting process, Gobuty said he would not prevent anyone who already had a county-permitted dock in place from using the canal. Gobuty recently told The Sun that while he still feels that way, he also feels forced into this recent legal action by the actions of MHC Cortez Village.
Ibasfalean said he bought his home in 1985 and there was already a dock in place at the time. Although the lawsuit pertains to docks and boat lifts, Ibasfalean is also concerned about the canal potentially being closed to everyone except the Hunters Point homeowners who also purchased dock slips.
Ibasfalean’s wife, Kim, owns and operates Captain Kim’s Boat Rides and Charters and she stores her boats at the couple’s residential dock.
“We have two or three of them here at any time. We also have our own boat there. I can keep up to four boats there, but none of those boats work out of here. There’s no business activity or parking taking place here,” he said.
Regarding the potential loss of their dock and the use of the canal, Ibasfalean said, “It would be a huge impact. She would have to figure out where to put an entire fleet of small boats.”
Ibasfalean said he’s navigated the canal for 55 years and he doesn’t think the Hunters Point docks would impede navigation.
“I’ve built docks all my life. Those docks will fit in there. I don’t have a problem with the docks or any boats coming up and down the canal. On weekends, we’ve probably got 500 or more boats coming in and out of there. It’s probably one of the busiest canals in the county,” Ibasfalean said.
“I believe the canal was built in 1959 and Eddie Cipriani and his son Frank did the work. We live in one of the original houses that Cipriani built. They wanted to go in the house building business. He was planning on building a lot of homes, but they stopped after that one strip of homes on our street,” he added.
Lawsuit origins
The canal dispute began in July 2021 when MHC Cortez Village LLC initiated an administrative challenge to the environmental resource permit Cortez Road Investments received from the Southwest Florida Water Management District that June. The state-issued permit allows Hunters Point to install 32 new parallel mooring slips and replace 17 existing slips for a total of 49 slips.
MHC Cortez Village’s petition for hearing alleges the Hunters Point docks would increase traffic and narrow the navigable portions of the canal, limit the size of the vessels that use the canal and negatively impact the profitability and operations of the marina. MHC Cortez Village seeks an order for the permit to be revoked or modified in a manner that lessens the docks’ impact on the canal.
Eighty-six townhomes are being built on the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Held at the Southwest Florida Water Management District office in Tampa, the first two days of the administrative hearing took place on June 14 and 15. The hearing is scheduled to resume on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
When the hearing started, administrative law judge Bruce Culpepper said the recommended order he will issue after the hearing concludes will only pertain to whether the water district’s environmental resource permit was properly issued. Culpepper said riparian rights and the continued use of the canal by others are issues to be decided in a circuit court.
Stantec ecologist Elizabeth Eardley helped Gobuty’s development team acquire the environmental resource permit needed to build the docks. On June 15, she testified that the water district’s permitting process did not require a navigational impact study because the Hunters Point canal is privately owned. She also testified that the Hunters Point docks would not impede navigation.
Attorney and property title expert Adron Walker testified the man-made canal did not exist when Florida was granted statehood in 1845 and therefore the privately-owned canal’s submerged lands are not state-owned sovereign lands. He also testified the canal did not exist when the property was platted in 1921.
This canal area highlighted in blue is owned by developer Marshall Gobuty and Cortez Road Investments, according to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office. – Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office | SubmittedWhen referring to Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office records and images, Walker testified that the Hunters Point-owned canal extends from 127th Street West to the western boundary of the Cortez Village Marina property. He also testified that the portion of the canal located directly in front of the marina is owned by the Frank Cipriani Jr. and/or the Cipriani family trust.
According to property appraiser records, the marina basin is owned by the marina and the most easterly portion of the canal is owned by the Holiday Cove RV resort.
Walker testified that he could not locate any written agreements that grant the marina, its predecessors or any other upland property owners the use of the portions of the canal owned by Gobuty or the Cipriani family.
Additional legal action
On May 26, Cortez Road Investments filed a lawsuit against MHC Cortez Village LLC alleging the marina and its patrons are using the canal without authorization. The lawsuit seeks a court-ordered injunction that would prohibit the marina and its patrons from using the canal. Separate from the lawsuit filed a week later against the canal-side homeowners, that case has been assigned to Judge Charles Sniffen.
On June 6, an attorney representing MHC Cortez Village filed a response that stated the navigable canal has been used for more than 25 years by the marina, the marina’s predecessors and those who own homes along the canal.
A counterclaim filed by Martin, Gobuty’s attorney, states, “By calling the waterbody the ‘navigable canal,’ MHC implies that the canal is navigable under the law and legally open to public use. However, this is not the case.”
Wendy and George Kokolis received a cease-and-desist letter regarding the boat lift being installed (on the left) across the canal from the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
On May 17, Martin sent a letter to the Kokolis’ regarding the boat lift being installed in front of their undeveloped canal-side property near the humpback bridge.
“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 fail to do so, we will be forced to seek immediate injunctive relief and damages in circuit court,” Martin stated in her letter.
Wendy Kokolis told The Sun a permit was obtained from Manatee County for the installation of the lift.
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.
This model of the Hunters Point development includes the canal that surrounds the property on three sides. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
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.
Several homeowners own docks along other areas of the canal. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
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 canal along the Hunters Point property is used by marina clients and neighboring homeowners. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
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.
A cease and desist letter was issued regarding the installation of a boat lift on the canal across from the Hunters Point property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“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.
UPDATED Feb. 28, 2022, 1:28 p.m. – CORTEZ – Construction has begun on two homes along the canal of the Hunters Point Resort & Marina property, but the developer says that docks are not planned for those homes.
Last July, MHC Cortez Village LLC, owners of the nearby Cortez Village Marina and boat storage facility, challenged a dock permit issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWWMD) to Hunters Point. MHC filed a petition for an administrative hearing naming developer Marshall Gobuty’s Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. ownership group and SWFWMD as respondents.
Construction of the first Hunters Point home along the eastern edge of the property began in December and had progressed to this point as of last week. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“The approval of the permit and the ultimate construction of the proposed new dock(s) will significantly increase and impair vessel traffic in the navigable canal, while further decreasing the narrow navigable fairway width,” the petition states.
“Other than the first four homes on the west side that do not have docks, the homes on the west and northwest sides of the property are all under the petition and can’t be started,” Gobuty said. “The interior and the east side is where our homes will go up over the next 12 months. We don’t see a resolution on the west and northwest sides until early 2023.”
In December, Hunters Point Vice President of Development Ashley Klearman sent a letter to buyers who had purchased homes to be constructed in the Hunters Point community.
Construction has begun on two Hunters Point homes located alongside the western portion of the navigation canal that borders the property. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
“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.
In December, construction began on the first Hunters Point home, along the eastern edge of the property. Gobuty said then that the administrative challenge could delay the construction of some homes.
When contacted last week, Gobuty said the previously delayed administrative hearing is now scheduled for June 14 and 15.
The development plans approved by Manatee County allow for the construction of 86 net-zero energy use homes that will be equipped with solar panels and storage batteries. The development plans include a small marina and 47 docks to be constructed along the navigation canals adjacent to the Hunters Point property on three sides.
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