Replacement approved for demolished home

Seven years after the Gulf of Mexico swallowed up a home on Siesta Key, county commissioners approved a request to rebuild on that property.

Property owner Nancy Stratton wanted to construct a 3,794-square-foot house at 9210 Blind Pass Road, which is the second to last parcel at the southern end of Siesta Key.

It sits next door to the home that has Gulf waters washing up next to its swimming pool.

A two-structure home used to stand on 9210 Blind Pass Road. But in 2003, encroaching waves and a series of storms caused the seaward structure to collapse into the Gulf.

A year later, the county condemned the landward structure, and it was demolished.

Because the property is seaward of the Gulf Beach Setback Line, the County Commission had to approve construction on the site.

The GBSL is an imaginary line that runs 100-200 feet along the shore of the county’s barrier islands. Construction is prohibited on the gulf side of the line without a variance.

Commissioners unanimously ruled today it would cause the property owner a hardship if she were unable to build on her land, although commissioners said if they were in office when the home was built, about 40 years ago, they would never have approved it in the first place.

“This whole area is too close to disaster, but I can’t go back and rewrite history,” said Commissioner Nora Patterson.

Contact Robin Roy at [email protected].