John Metz is taking his case against the city of Bradenton Beach to the mat.
The end game for Metz is a lawsuit to reverse a special master’s decision that upheld a city building permit at a residential fourplex at 308 Gulf Drive S. that allowed extensive remodeling.
He also wants the city to limit the property to uses allowed in the commercial district.
“We’re all inflamed about the big party houses. Next to me we have a four-unit residential building which holds who knows how many people — with only two parking places. It’s not what the citizens of this city want,” Metz said.
Metz is a planning and zoning member who resides next door to the fourplex.
Attorney Nelon Kirkland of Harrison and Kirkland P.A., representing Metz, petitioned for a writ of certiorari July 7, asking the 12th Circuit Court to take the first step in reversing the special master’s ruling.
Metz claims the city violated its land-development code by allowing the remodel after the property’s residential use was abandoned.
The dispute arose from a 2015 building permit issued to owners George and Wendy Kokolis.
“I think the building official is wrong,” Metz said about Steve Gilbert’s decision to issue the permit.
“He’s treating it as a planned development — and it’s not.” Gilbert’s decision allows a historical overlay map to apply, which Metz considers “historical fiction.”
Metz first filed suit in June 2016, asking for the building official to change his interpretation of city code. That case ended with the issue being handed to a special master, who ruled against Metz in June.
With the latest petition, Metz is asking the court to answer the following:
• Was the property nonconforming at the time the city issued the building permit? If so, was its use abandoned because the residential use was discontinued for 18 months?
• Did expenditures to improve the property exceed the city threshold?
Bradenton attorney Lisa Gonzalez Moore, hired by the city as the special master to review the case, heard testimony in March and April.
In her decision, Moore found that the building’s residential use was allowed when the city issued a 2015 building permit because the use was permitted in the historical overlay of the commercial district.
She also ruled “the residential use was not abandoned because it was not discontinued for a period of 18 months or more.”
Kirkland argues Moore’s ruling isn’t based on competent evidence.
As the property’s neighbor, Metz contends he regularly observed the property and it remained vacant between February 2014 and June 2016 and, under the city’s LDC, the residential use shouldn’t have been allowed.
Metz also contends the Kokolis’ exceeded the city’s substantial improvement threshold, also known as the Federal Emergency Management Agency 50-percent rule.
Gilbert determined that the 50 percent remodel limitation was $70,953, and a revised affidavit presented by the owners identified $69,490 in costs.
Metz’s petition, however, states the owners’ affidavit failed to include costs for painting, roofing, French doors and windows, and that an expert appraiser identified the threshold at $58,170.
Kirkland’s writ also challenges the city’s evidence and alleges the city ignored actual costs and relied on estimates, which did not reflect the work actually completed.
Attorney Robert Lincoln of Sarasota is representing the city in the case. His office staff told The Islander July 13 he was on vacation and Lincoln did not return messages left asking for comment on the case by press time.
As of May 25, the suit had cost the city $26,097 in attorney and special master fees, according to Bradenton Beach treasurer Shayne Thompson.
Metz’s costs?
“Rest assured it’s more than what the city has paid,” he said, adding he’s had to pay the city $500 for each appeal.
