Second appeal of Colony demolition filed, hearing scheduled for today

A second appeal of a Longboat Key order to demolish the buildings of the former Colony Beach & Tennis Resort has been filed. 

The motion is the second temporary injunction filed by Mark Hanson of the Law Offices of Lobeck and Hanson, this time on behalf of unit owners Lillian and Jonathan Jagid, within a 10-day appeal period provided by the June 1 emergency demolition order. 

The Jagids own one unit at the former Colony worth $118,000, according to county records. 

Both this appeal and another filed by Andy Adams and Sheldon and Carol Rabin are scheduled for hearing at 3 p.m. today in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court.

At this hearing, Judge Hunter Carroll will decide whether the property is in need of emergency demolition to avoid "a life safety issue to the citizens of the Town," according to the order. 

The appeals, which are nearly identical, argue that the town did not give unit owners their constitutionally protected right to due process. An emergency demolition order provides for expedited means by which a property may be demolished, including a shorter appeal period and streamlined appeal process. 

The unit owners also contend "there is no 'imminent' danger to public health, safety or welfare of the citizens that can be established," according to the lawsuit. 

The town contracted an outside consultant group, PE Group Consulting Engineers, Inc., which determined that all of the buildings at the site of the former Colony "constitute dangerous/unsafe condition," according to the report. 

"We found the condition of the remaining buildings, with the potential exclusion of the midrise building, to be substantially structurally damaged to the extent that the buildings are unsafe and dangerous, as defined by [the Florida Building Code], and to be a public nuisance," PE Group wrote in their report to the town. 

Unsafe structures, as defined by the Florida Building Code, "are deteriorated, unsanitary, lacking in egress, vacant and unsecured, improperly designed and without a permit or under an expired permit, termite and rodent infested, windstorm and fire damaged, and a nuisance to the public," according to the Florida Bar Journal. 

The lawsuit contends, among other things, that the property is properly fenced to keep out unauthorized people and further posted with no trespassing signs.