An appellate court determination May 3 affirmed that Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. has the right to proceed with dock construction along a canal at Hunters Point.
CRIF overcame a challenge brought in 2021 by MHC Cortez Village LLC.
Hunters Point, 12404 Cortez Road W., Cortez, is a development of 86 zero-energy homes that are designed to self-generate and store power for self-use.
MHC Cortez Village LLC, 12160 Cortez Road W., Cortez, owned by Equity Lifestyle Properties, filed an appeal with the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Tampa to overturn the approval of a final order from the Southwest Florida Water Management District allowing CRIF, owned by developer Marshall Gobuty, a permit to install 32 new boat slips and replace 17 existing slips along a privately owned canal that surrounds the Hunters Point property.
The canal is owned by CRIF and serves as an access point to the Intracoastal Waterway for Hunters Point, Cortez Village Marina clients, Cortez Holiday RV, Buttonwood Inlet RV Resort and independent homeowners along other parts of the canal.
Gobuty’s acquisition of the canal occurred in 2016 alongside the purchase of the Hunters Point property from the Cipriani Family Trust.
The appellate decision followed a 2022 hearing in which Administrative Law Judge J. Bruce Culpepper struck down all points raised by MHC and recommended that a permit for the 49 Hunters Point docks should be issued by Swiftmud.
Despite the May 3 determination in CRIF’s favor, Gobuty remained cautious about moving forward with dock construction.
He cited concerns over the potential for further appeals from MHC Cortez Village and he expressed frustration over “unnecessary delays” caused by repeated legal challenges, hindering the progress of development.
However, Gobuty said things are happening at the housing development.
“We’re building on the east side and the interior sites,” Gobuty said in a May 16 interview with The Islander. “We still hesitate to build on the west and northwest side because we fear another appeal or another challenge to our dock rights.”
“We’ve gone through the first hearing and now we’ve gone through an appeal and on both counts we unanimously won all decisions,” he said. “I am very suspicious of the marina and their tactics.”
CRIF is embroiled in a civil suit against MHC Cortez Village that began in 2022 and is pending in the 12th Judicial Circuit Court. A hearing for the lawsuit is scheduled for June 27, with Judge D. Ryan Felix presiding over the proceedings at the Manatee County Courthouse, 1051 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton.
They have two primary problems prevailing long term, one from the state constitution and one from the federal government, both deal with navigable waters.
The State of Florida in in the state constitution addresses the issue of sovereignty of lands in Article X, sub-section 11; declaring title to the lands under navigable waters to be held by the state. In other words the ownership of the land under the navigable waters is determined to be in the public trust for the people of the state by virtue of the sovereignty of the state. The definition of navigable waters are those including ingress, egress, boating, bathing, fishing, and other lawful uses.
So, it would appear that regardless of the local tax accessor’s records once that property was connected to Anna Maria Sound and the Intracoastal Waterway it became navigable waters of Florida open to the public and the placement of docks may be a local government jurisdiction only as long as it fails to interfere with the navigable ability of said waterway.