The winter holidays will come to a close without a resolution on the removal of mangroves from a canal-side Anna Maria home.
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were not finished investigating the removal of mangroves from the property at 111 Gull Drive as of The Islander’s Dec. 29 press deadline.
Mangroves provide environmental benefits, including offering a unique ecosystem for marine life, decreasing land erosion and improving nearshore water quality.
The 1996 Florida Department of Environmental Protection Mangrove Trimming and Preservation Act establishes regulations to protect coastal vegetation and habitats.
The law sets standards for trimming mangroves and most alterations require DEP permitting.
The property at 111 Gull Drive is owned by Massachusetts-based Sharp Development LLC, which purchased it last year for $1,890,000 and then demolished the existing home.
The contractor for the new home at the property, Bradenton-based Mason Martin LLC, was found responsible for removing the mangroves, according to Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy.
The city first received complaints about the removal of mangroves at the property Dec. 4 and, upon inspection, found the work was proposed on the application for an unissued building permit.
The city posted a stop work order at the property Dec. 6 for work before the permit being issued.
On receiving complaints Dec. 13 that work had resumed, city staff revisited the property and found the contractor removing mangroves and the posted stop work order missing.
The city reposted the stop work order and, while mangrove trimming/removal regulations are preempted to the state, Mason Martin might face repercussions from the Anna Maria Local Construction Regulation Board for willfully violating the building code by ignoring the posted stop work order.
The LCR board can deny, suspend or revoke the authority of a certified contractor to obtain a building permit or limit such authority to obtaining a permit or permits with specific conditions.
DEP public information specialist Brian Humphreys wrote in a Dec. 19 email to The Islander that the contractor was allowed to complete “limited mangrove alteration/removal” under the exemption for the construction of a seawall at the property.
Humphreys wrote that the DEP would inspect the site to ensure the contractor’s compliance with the issued exemption but an inspection report was not available as of Dec. 28.
“If it is determined that unauthorized mangrove alteration has occurred, DEP may pursue enforcement against all responsible parties,” Humphreys wrote.
David Ruderman, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Jacksonville office, wrote in a Dec. 26 email to The Islander that the USACE was aware of the issue and coordinating a site visit to “assess the situation.”
Complainant harassed
In the meantime, Anna Maria resident Ronnie Leto — one of the complainants who reported the work to the city — said he received an “arrogant” text message from Mason Martin co-owner Frank Agnelli.
Leto shared the Dec. 21 message, which reads: “Red tag lifted and mangroves are gonna get (exempted) just like the DEP gave me exemption. You should have just called smarter people now all the citizen will pay for the defamation suits. Happy holidays.”
The message appeared to be sent from 941-737-9111, the phone number on the Agnelli Pools & Construction website, agnellipools.com, as a contact for Frank Agnelli.
Leto told The Islander Dec. 28 that he was not trying to stir up bad blood, only trying to protect the canal his home overlooks.
He called the text message “arrogant.”
Murphy wrote in a Dec. 27 email to The Islander that “the red tag is still posted. We have not issued a permit for that work.”
“The man can build a house as far as I’m concerned, but the damage that has already been done is shocking,” Leto said. “And if we don’t stop it here … if they build this seawall, that’s their way to do the same thing to every piece of property that has mangroves on this island.”
Agnelli did not respond to a Dec. 28 call for comment from The Islander.