More Illegal Activity -- Filling in Wetlands

[Smiling JOe]

The last two issues of the Walton Sun featured reports of owners of property on Quiet Water Trail, who illegally filled their wetlands, and they were caught, stopped and ordered to remove all of the fill. Guess what? Today, I found another parcel of land which I had intended to show some customers as wetlands of which they should be aware. When we walked to the property which is usually soaking in water, we found it was filled in with several feet of sand. This property is located in Magnolia Beach S/D, on Indian Grass Trail (I am pretty sure about the name of the street, but it will show differently on maps). The Walton County Stop Work Order is issued to Fraine Development LLC, located in Niceville, FL, and I know that Fraine Development LLC owns other lots in this sub-division. The Stop Work Order notes:
-Local Development Order Required
-State and Federal Permits Required

In my opinion, this is just another example of people not giving a crap and hoping they don't get caught.

Photos are below:

 

[30A Skunkape]

 

[Hop]

what wetlands...if it's still wet...you just need more dirt :nono1: :nono1: :nono1:

 

[John R]

The bummer is that removing all that crap is going to shred the wetlands even more.

 

[TreeFrog]

That looks just like the work done a couple of months ago on Gulf Drive near Eastern Lake. First, they clear-cut the entire lot. Then, they brought in about 3 feet of brown sand to build it up.

There was a stop-work order AFTER it all got done. But now they are building the house.

Guess they, ahem, cleared the approval process and it was really OK after all to do what they did.

It's not the same builder, although I don't remember the name.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Another situation just off Sugar Drive. The Stop Work order was issued AFTER they dumped truck after truck after truckload of sand into an area of wetlands......now, it is all just sitting there and has been for at least two weeks!

Sometimes it seems as though Code Enforcement is more interested in removing signs from in front of businesses than it is in stopping destruction of the land.

 

[Kurt]

I think a post about hanging by body parts which also contains name and addresses (even though it is public record) is taking it too far, so I am editing.

I've seen a lot of listings in SoWal that contain wetlands that are 1/2 the price of dry parcels around them. Usually the wetlands are pointed out and potential buyers are told they will need to do proper permitting. I guess some people buy this type of stuff thinking they can make a bigger profit and, failing to obtain permits, get stuck with the proverbial "swampland in Florida".

Or are they not even trying to get permits?

 

[John R]

I think a post about hanging by body parts which also contains name and addresses (even though it is public record) is taking it too far, so I am editing.

i understand. obviously i was speaking in metaphorical terms, since i don't think testicles could support the weight of the the body. so, it was as realistic as the county actually levying a binding and realistic fine, also, i can't even decipher the address, so they're safe .

i love it when you play the hard@ss;-)


how about whacking them in the head a couple of times with the shovel they need to use to hand clear the mistake? still too much?

 

[Bobby J]

The typical process to "fix" wetlands on your property takes about 2 years. My client on Lake Drive went through this process and also had to purchase several acres of property to mitigate the wetlands. The mitigation land is given to the state. The property of mitigation also has to be in the same watershed. This can get very expensive. If done properly can be beneficial for the state and land owner. The problem is people do not want to go through the expense and time to do it properly. It seems the "fine" is the easier way to go. We will see more of this as people wake up and realize their purchase may be unbuildable....

 

[John R]

It seems the "fine" is the easier way to go. We will see more of this as people wake up and realize their purchase may be unbuildable....

agreed, and therefor, neighbors need to be very diligent.