BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – Just when a fight over a “man cave” made from shipping containers looked to be coming to an end, the Brevard County Commission turned down a compromise.
At a magistrate hearing in August, Joe Traska and county attorneys came to an agreement.
The county admitted it let Traska build the two-story structure in his backyard by mistake, but said if commissioners didn’t mind, Traska could keep his man cave so long as he made it look less like shipping containers, didn’t put a kitchen in it, and wasn’t in it late at night.
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Then on Tuesday, the county commission chair called the man cave unacceptable and ugly after some of Traska’s neighbors voiced their disproval, too.
Al Millian talked about how close the man cave is to his home.
“That’s what I see 20 yards away,” he said pointing to a wall to explain the distance.
Realtor Bluma Bofford was quick to point out the county’s mistake – that a two-story shipping container is against code and therefore, Traska shouldn’t have received a permit.
“Every time I come out on my terrace, I see this disgusting thing,” Bofford exclaimed.
Commission chair Jason Steele works in real estate, too.
He called the situation a mess.
“I mean, I hate that Mr. Traska built what he thought he could build,” Steele said.
Despite his empathy, Steele voted on the side of the unhappy neighbors.
“I’ve driven by that place and went, ‘Holy mackerel.’” I’ve got my wife in the car and I drove by it, ‘Holy mackerel, that’s ugly.’ If I could bulldoze it and start it all over, that’s what I would do,” he said.
Traska didn’t want to be interviewed after the commission turned him down, but during his hearing in August, he made it clear he’ll continue fighting as long as he can.
“I want my peace and I want my freedom to do what is legally right in my backyard,” Traska said. “And I don’t think this code was written appropriately for my situation, at all. And I’m very confident that taking this all the way to the end is gonna show that.”
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