The Brevard County Commission said the beachfront cave must be demolished, likely a lawsuit

Brevard County officials are expecting a court battle about a year after discussions began over a “man cave” made of stacked shipping containers in a beachfront neighborhood.

County commissioners ruled 4-1 Tuesday that the owner of the structure, located in unincorporated Brevard, must remove it. The only vote against removal was cast by John Tobia, but he did not specify why.

Last year, neighbors expressed concerns about the structure. Last October, a stop-work order was issued for a structure in the backyard of a home on Diane Circle in the unincorporated enclave between Indian Harbor Beach and Indialantic.

Earlier this year, a special judge ruled that the homeowner had 30 days to set up shipping containers at his or her expense and obtain an approved permit review or restore the property to its original condition before construction began. The judge also listed other things the owner could do to be able to use the containers. The owner did none of these things.

Commission Chairman Jason Steele, whose district includes the property in question. on Tuesday expressed concerns about the facility’s existence, including its impact on neighbors’ property values, and questioned whether it could withstand a strong hurricane.

“It’s a real mess. This is indeed the case,” Steele said. “The case seems to be going only one place: the courts.”

Steele was on site with friends, family members and even property appraisers.

“Holy mackerel, that’s ugly. They all say the same thing: “What the hell is that thing doing in this neighborhood?” Steele said.

How was the beach man cave created?

Last year, homeowner Joseph Traska submitted a permit to authorities to build a “man cave” that included about 670 square feet of living space, two balconies and a spiral staircase.

Permission was obtained and construction began. Neighbors noticed and started asking what was happening.

County officials then launched an investigation and admitted the permit had been issued in error. Brevard County Code allows new freight containers to be used as residential storage, but stacking of containers is not permitted.

“This was an employee error,” Commissioner Rita Pritchett said Tuesday. “If an employee let you accidentally put a Walmart there, they still wouldn’t fly.”

The commissioners’ latest ruling rejected a special judge’s recommendation that the structure could remain within certain guidelines. These included:

• The property cannot be rented for others to stay in.

• There cannot be a kitchen in the facility.

• New siding needs to be put on the outside so that it no longer resembles shipping containers.

• Landscaping should be added around the structure.

• Please note that the property cannot be used between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m

• Balconies or viewing terraces require modification so that they do not interfere with the privacy of neighbors.

What will happen to the beach cave now?

Taska has the right to appeal.

His lawyer, Alicia Kelly, did not indicate whether her client would do so, but he has appealed previous rulings that were not in his favor. She noted that the facility is currently “unattractive”, but this is because Traska has not improved anything over the last year.

“I’ve been to this property, I’ve been to this neighborhood. There is no denying that Mr. Traska’s property is more valuable than anyone else’s property in the area,” Kelly said. “He put in a lot of time, money and effort to have an attractive property. If given the opportunity, this structure will not reduce the value of his neighbors’ property or his property, but will instead increase it based on valuations made in preparation for litigation.”

She also noted that a structural engineer had inspected the shipping containers and found them to be safe and compliant. Steele didn’t budge.

“I have all the empathy for you, Mr. Traska, with what happened and how you got where you did, but as far as I’m concerned, if I could tear it down and start all over again, that’s what I would do.” Steele said.

Spitzer is a reporter on the rise. She can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: A beachside man cave built from shipping containers should be dismantled