By Gabriel Tynes Homeowners in Dune Allen Beach?s Vizcaya development argue their storm armament does not encroach on county property, and they want the state to know it. Contrary to a Department of Environmental Protection letter sent to the Board of County Commissioners Nov. 9, the owners are disputing the state?s determination that their storm armament encroaches onto county property. John Dobelek, an engineer representing the Vizcaya Homeowners Association, said surveys and plat records prove the property is private from County Road 30A to the gulf water line. Such documentation would negate the need to seek the county?s approval for a permanent DEP application. ?The only thing I can assume is that [the DEP] is confused with the label of ?government lots,?? Dobelek said. The survey refl ects the designation of the lots as county property (i.e. ?government lots?) prior to their platting in 1991. ?The surveyors copied plats as they were recorded and those are the words that are on there,? Dobelek concluded. ?It?s probably a language issue.? The letter to the BCC included 18 Vizcaya properties among 45 in the county that are supposedly encroaching onto public land. Some, such as fi ve neighboring homeowners on Montgomery Street in Seagrove, recognize the encroachment and are negotiating with the county to proceed with the DEP application. ?We are just trying to get the record straight,? Dobelek said. DEP Press Secretary Sarah Williams said the encroachment designation was reached by information sent in with the application. ?We came to that understanding from the information that was provided,? Williams said. ?These applications have to be submitted with surveys by the owners or their representatives and those are the property boundaries that are recognized.? Williams said that she was not aware of any dispute of the encroachment designations but that it was an issue that will likely have to be resolved by the county. ?Part of the process is we let the applicants know what might be missing or incorrect,? Williams said. ?But the letter we sent indicated that before we move forward we have to have [the county?s] permission or approval.? Assistant County Administrator Shirl Williams recently met with federal officials to discuss the county?s habitat preservation plan for seawall installation, but said she was not aware of any developments in the application issue.
