A legal battle started in 2018 with a civil suit filed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection against the builder of a house built over the water in Cortez was dismissed May 4.
Raymond Guthrie Jr. built the house that sits on pilings in the nearshore waters of the fishing village without permits or approvals.
He maintained throughout a dispute with the state that it was a net camp, which in years past was used to clean, dry and store cotton nets. Such camps declined when fishers began using synthetic materials more resistant to rot, according to the Cortez-based Florida Maritime Museum website.
In 2018, the DEP contended Guthrie built the structure without permission on sovereign state-submerged lands and sought to have it removed.
Guthrie, however, maintained his family previously had a net camp in the location and the structure was protected under the 1921 Butler Act, which awards title of submerged lands to adjoining waterfront property owners who can show a history of making improvements on the submerged lands.
In May 2018, A.P. Bell Fish Co. and its owner, Karen Bell, filed suit against the DEP claiming rights to the net camp and the submerged lands.
Guthrie’s “net camp” includes a kitchen, bedroom, water and a generator for electricity and AC.
A.P. Bell operates on land just north of the stilt house and Bell asserted a structure had been in place since the early 1900s.
A five-year legal tussle ensued.
In February, 12th Judicial Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas notified parties involved that no filings had been submitted to the court in more than a year and that the case would be dismissed if no stay of judgment was issued or approved in 60 days.
Nicholas signed a notice of dismissal May 4.
Bell, who sits on the board of the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, told The Islander May 24 that many net houses still exist in Florida nearshore waters.
“There are two still existing in Cortez. There used to be 20-plus. There’s a couple in Key Biscayne. There’s a few off Fort Myers and there’s one off Honeymoon Island,” she said.
Bell said some of the structures were offered protection through Florida historical programs.
“They are really unique to us. It’s honestly one of the most iconic structures in the community.”
The Islander reached out to Guthrie and the DEP for comment May 26.
As of press time for The Islander, there was no response from Guthrie.
DEP public information specialist Brian Humphreys in the southwest district emailed this statement to The Islander May 30: “DEP is aware of the court’s recent order, but it’s the department’s position that the court’s 2019 final judgment, which ordered Mr. Guthrie to remove the unauthorized structure, is still valid and enforceable.”
Humphreys also wrote, “As this process is ongoing, we are limited in our ability to comment further at this time.”