BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A “man cave” under construction in an Indialantic backyard has been deemed a code violation and must be brought into compliance by this time next month lest the homeowner face daily fines, according to county spokesperson Don Walker.
Even then, the man behind the man cave still has an opportunity to appeal the decision, which was passed down Wednesday by the county’s special magistrate. If he does, the homeowner would be heard by a three-judge panel of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court, Walker said in a statement.
The structure, comprised of stacked shipping containers, has rankled neighbors along Diane Circle. Some have expressed concern over potential negative impacts to surrounding property values.
“When I look out my window and I see those shipping containers, I’m not happy,” said Bluma Bofford, a realtor living nearby, last October. “This needs to be dismantled and come down, and that’s it. You’re only allowed to have one container in the back for storage purposes. That’s all code allows you to do.”
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Though a building permit had been approved last March, the findings of Special Magistrate Stewart Capps spell out how the partially-built structure “substantially deviated from the approved construction plans.” Capps says the significance of the alteration prompted Terry Talbert, the county’s chief building official, to issue a Stop Work Order, adding that Brevard County Code provides “no stacking of shipping containers shall be allowed.”
Brevard County Chief Building Official Terry Talbert testified that there were differences between the building plan for which the homeowner was issued a permit and the actual structure that was built on the property involving the front level of the structure being rotated 90 degrees and the balcony area surrounded by railings being changed.
The homeowner must either unstack the containers and obtain an approved revision to the permit or return the property to its original configuration prior to construction, the magistrate said. Failure to comply with the order by March 14, 2024, will lead to the homeowner being fined $25 per day beginning on March 15, the ruling states, with some $550 in “enforcement costs” now owed by that time either way.
CODE ENFORCEMENT SPECIAL MAGISTRATE BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA | CASE NO. 23CE-01210 | FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSION$ OF LAW AND ORDER & LIEN FOR COSTS | Feb. 14, 2024 (excerpt)
On Friday, Joe Traska, the homeowner, spoke privately with News 6 reporter James Sparvero. At the advice of his attorney, Traska did not wish to comment.
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