Tumbling down

As of the afternoon of July 29, a stilt-house in the waters of Cortez was mostly demolished and removed, with only decking and pilings remaining. Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas in May ordered Raymond Guthrie Jr., builder of the structure, to dismantle the building by Sept. 4 in a lawsuit filed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. DEP maintained Guthrie built the structure — a residence with utilities, a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom — illegally on state submerged land. Guthrie maintained it was a net camp that was built on “historic” pilings. Crews, supervised by Guthrie, began the removel July 13. Islander Photo: Courtesy Katie Tupin

Crews operating a barge and crane early July 29 disassemble a stilt house in the waters off Cortez. The residential structure was the source of a legal battle between longtime Cortez resident Raymond Guthrie Jr. and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP launched a suit against Guthrie in 2018 claiming he built the house without permission on sovereign state submerged lands.