CORTEZ – For the second time, Raymond Guthrie Jr. has asked a local court to delay its order to demolish a structure he built on pilings in Sarasota Bay in 2017.
In a document filed on May 11 by Bradenton attorney Robert Schermer, Guthrie asked the 12th Judicial Circuit Court in Manatee County to grant a 90-day extension to allow four Florida legislators to help supporters find a way to save what Guthrie calls a net camp.
Net camps, which once dotted the Cortez waterfront in Sarasota Bay, were used to clean, dry and store cotton nets. They declined in the 1970s when netmakers began using monofilament nets, and were made virtually obsolete by the 1994 Florida gill net ban.
Citing prior net camps his family built on the same spot, Guthrie claimed ownership of the property, but the court ruled that the state owns the submerged land under his structure and ordered its demolition by Jan. 24, granting a 60-day extension on March 1 to allow the Florida Legislature time to act to save the structure.
While the Legislature did not act, Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton), Rep. Tommy Gregory (R-Manatee), Rep. Michele Rayner (D-Manatee) and Rep. Bill Robinson (R-Manatee) sent a letter on April 29 to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – which initiated the complaint against Guthrie – suggesting the agency work with them to save the net camp.
“It has been rebuilt multiple times and is currently a more modern building than the previous structure,” the legislators wrote. “While the Guthrie Net Camp has lost some of its historic charm, it is an important part of the history of Cortez. We hope to find a way to save and preserve this small piece of Florida history for future generations to enjoy.”
In Guthrie’s request to the court for a second stay, his attorney states that Guthrie and his siblings are in the process of providing a bill of sale for the structure to an unnamed not-for-profit group that could apply to DEP to lease the submerged land under the structure.
Manatee County commissioners wrote DEP in their second letter of support on April 15 that while the structure does not conform to state standards, they believe that such an organization pledged to “the historical interpretation, facade reconstruction and subsequent maintenance of the structure will restore the net camp to its historical character.”
Whether the structure is owned by a not-for-profit organization is irrelevant, according to DEP spokeswoman Shannon Herbon, who said the agency intends to pursue the demolition.
The case has not yet been set for a hearing.
