Palermo Circle dock appeal rescheduled
An administrative appeal process regarding a permit for a revised single family dock near the mouth of the Primo/Palermo canal has been rescheduled for a future date and pushed to a quasi-judicial hearing.
On Monday, the Fort Myers Beach Town Council approved to pull the administrative agenda item for the questioned dock at 301 Palermo Circle. A claim was filed by neighboring property owners who believed the permit was “issued erroneously.” Seven arguments to support the claim involve concerns of a navigational hazard, incorrectly identified dock plan, obstruction, visibility issues, length of dock, encroachment issue and riparian rights impacts.
Vice Mayor Dan Andre believed the appeal should go right to a hearing instead of being re-set as an administrative agenda item. His position is that maps and charts should be displayed on the big screen for all meeting participants to see.
“I would move to push it to a quasi-judicial hearing, so that we can hear testimony on both sides,” Andre said. “Show me the drawings and say why it is right or its not right.”
Primo Drive resident Michael Fuerst, an attorney who filed the appeal, was not notified of Monday’s meeting. He was said to be out of town.
“I thought we owed him the courtesy of at least being aware that it was on the agenda and have some ability to communicate,” said Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda.
Back in April, a stop work order was issued for the dock that was under construction at the time. Town officials ordered Honc Marine Contracting, Inc. to halt construction on the dock. Town consultants found the permit was issued based on “inaccurate information.”
The contracting company then worked on bringing that dock, which some residents referred to as a “navigational hazard,” into compliance by revising the design of it as state and federal agencies reassessed permit information during a re-review.
The permit was initially approved by Town, Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corps of Engineers based on drawings and information the applicant submitted. The applicant noted that the channel was “unmarked.”
Town officials, however, confirmed the number 2 red marker that had been standing at the end of that Primo/Palermo canal was knocked down and believed it happened somehow between 2013 and the stop work order.
According to Town records, with the re-establishment of the knocked-down channel marker near that area, the dock was protruding approximately 20 feet into the navigational channel. The applicant was then asked to bring the dock into compliance with town codes.
Cereceda doesn’t believe there was any intentional deception on anyone’s part.
“It was simply a glitch by the fact that that marker had been knocked down. Had that marker been re-posted, it would have been very clear that the dock could not have been permitted, especially by the DEP and Army Corps,” she said earlier. “I don’t want to lay blame anywhere. I think that Honc looked at the information they had and submitted the plans. The Town, DEP and the Army Corps did the same thing. Everybody was looking at the drawings and applications that were submitted.”