Longboat issues stop-work order to troublesome development

A development project at 500 Buttonwood Drive has caused power outages and road blockages since it received an erroneous permit Feb. 2 from the Planning, Zoning and Building Department.

By Bret Hauff
| 8:00 a.m. February 28, 2018

Town staff should not have issued the permit that led to many code violations and phone calls from affected residents.

Longboat Key
News

A few fledgling trees stand amid a sea of broken roots and upturned dirt at the corner of Gulf of Mexico and Buttonwood drives.

It’s a property that has caused town departments some trouble in the past few weeks. Wires have been cut by falling trees, and cars have been blocked by construction equipment, residents say.

The town’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department concedes it should never have issued a permit Feb. 2 to the developer for lack of construction plans, said Interim Building Official Stan Dinwoodie.

Meet Stan Dinwoodie

Longboat Key is on track to hire its fourth former Sarasota County employee in the past year.

His name is Stan Dinwoodie, interim building official and soon-to-be full-time staffer in the Planning, Zoning and Building Department. Dinwoodie retired in November from Sarasota County as chief building inspector.

“I’m happy I made that decision to take the job. I’m excited to see what’s coming down the pike,” Dinwoodie said. “I think I can provide some kind of a guidance with the staff and help them. I think I can be a resource with the community and help them.”

Dinwoodie started as interim building official Jan. 2 after Planning, Zoning and Building Director Allen Parsons asked if he would join the town to fill the role vacated by building official David Greenbaum.

Greenbaum left Longboat Key Planning, Zoning and Building Jan. 1 to work as a building official for Anna Maria Island. The former Longboat employee said he had “kept his eyes and ears open for other opportunities” and noticed that the island to the north could use his expertise.

Parsons said he lobbied Dinwoodie in the time he’d been working as an interim to take a full-time position.

“We were lucky enough to be able to pick him up after he retired as an interim,” Parsons said. “From day one, Stan has been just outstanding. He brings a wealth of experience and is really customer service oriented, which is a key factor for anyone working at the town.”

As for Dinwoodie, he said the new position isn’t much of a transition as he’s operating by many of the same building codes he did as a building official for Sarasota County.

One difference is the universal applicability of FEMA requirements on the island that aren’t necessary for construction farther inland, Dinwoodie said.

“I haven’t found it to be a huge transition,” he said. “I think it was fairly seamless.”

Another is the size of the staff. At the county, Dinwoodie oversaw a dozen employees. On Longboat Key, he’s the only building official.

“You’re dependant on everybody, you’re dependent on them and they’re dependent on me,” Dinwoodie said. “It’s a smaller staff; we all have to work with each other.”

Now, the building department has issued a stop-work order Feb. 21 for any further development at 500 Buttonwood Drive, requiring the developer to meet with town officials and submit a construction plan before work may continue.

“We’re guilty, we didn’t do our part — that’s true. As soon as I learned about it, it stopped, done,” Dinwoodie said. “But [the developer is] just as guilty.”

The developer, Michael Gautier, received the permit for clearing the property.

Gautier declined to comment. Kyle Adams, project manager for the development of the site, also declined to comment.

Issuing the permit had been against town codes requiring developers to submit construction plans, which must be approved by the town before any land may be cleared, Dinwoodie said.

But it wasn’t the faulty issuance that bothered neighbors — it was the developer’s violation of other codes.

It didn’t install silt screens required to mitigate damage to wetlands, Dinwoodie said. He said the contractors severed power lines twice and blocked the cul-de-sac more than once with construction vehicles.

Contractors also worked past 5 p.m. and on a federal holiday, both of which are prohibited by town codes, Dinwoodie said.

Ward (left) and Pat Maxson have lived next door to 500 Buttonwood drive for at least a decade

Pat Maxson, who lives next door to the development site, said one contractor even disparaged neighbors and the island. The situation has caused stress for her and her husband, Ward Maxson.

“I haven’t heard anybody say they think the property looks good,” Pat Maxson said. “Everyone says, ‘What’s going on here?’”

In the about two weeks the developer had been working on the property, the Maxsons said they bartered with the contractors about not removing trees near their property, had their irrigation system severed and saw about $1,200 in damage to their driveway, which they built last year.

“I just want them to do a good job,” Pat Maxson said. “Right now it’s public crap.”

Ward Maxson said he and his wife have been coming to the island for almost two decades, and the property next door to their home has been for sale for years.

“Eventually [the development] will make our property value go up if they put $1 million homes in there,” Ward Maxson said.

In a presentation to the Town Commission Feb. 21, Planning and Zoning Board Chairwoman BJ Bishop, who also lives on Buttonwood Drive, said the community and staff should not be burdened with work so flagrant in violating town codes.

“None of us should have to constantly be on the phone, and staff should not have to be on-site daily to keep this developer from causing more nightmares,” Bishop said.

Dinwoodie said this has been a valuable learning experience as he prepares to join town staff next month.

“I honestly feel like I’m in the right place at the right time. I think I can help this building department,” Dinwoodie said. “Am I going to make mistakes? I hope I don’t. And if I do, they’re minor. My hope is to keep them to a minimum.”