Holmes Beach building official Bob Shaffer said the red tags placed on three chickee huts at the Anna Maria Island Beach Resort will probably remain for some time, even though Tampa landscape architect John Tate applied for two building permits for the huts last week.
Shaffer said he has not had time to review the permit applications, but would do so this week, or ask superintendent of public works Joe Duennes to review the applications. Shaffer said he is scheduled to go for building official training and testing this week.
“The red tags won’t be removed until the permits are approved, the work completed and inspected, and the huts are in compliance” with city code, Shaffer said.
The notice went on the property June 2, the second time this year Shaffer has red-tagged the resort’s property improvements.
Shaffer said the three huts were built without permits and without following the city’s building code. The huts were first red-tagged in January, but Shaffer said not all of the January violations were fixed, resulting in the action June 2.
A chickee hut is a shelter supported by posts with a raised floor, open sides and a thatched roof. Under some specific guidelines, a permit is not required. However, the chickees constructed at the resort exceeded the exceptions, and a palm-frond roof that posed a public safety threat was removed by the city.
Efforts to reach Tate or owners of the Gulffront resort were unsuccessful by press deadline.