UPDATED Feb. 28, 2022, 1:28 p.m. – CORTEZ – Construction has begun on two homes along the canal of the Hunters Point Resort & Marina property, but the developer says that docks are not planned for those homes.
Last July, MHC Cortez Village LLC, owners of the nearby Cortez Village Marina and boat storage facility, challenged a dock permit issued by the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWWMD) to Hunters Point. MHC filed a petition for an administrative hearing naming developer Marshall Gobuty’s Cortez Road Investments and Finance Inc. ownership group and SWFWMD as respondents.
“The approval of the permit and the ultimate construction of the proposed new dock(s) will significantly increase and impair vessel traffic in the navigable canal, while further decreasing the narrow navigable fairway width,” the petition states.
“Other than the first four homes on the west side that do not have docks, the homes on the west and northwest sides of the property are all under the petition and can’t be started,” Gobuty said. “The interior and the east side is where our homes will go up over the next 12 months. We don’t see a resolution on the west and northwest sides until early 2023.”
In December, Hunters Point Vice President of Development Ashley Klearman sent a letter to buyers who had purchased homes to be constructed in the Hunters Point community.
“MHC is arguing the proposed docks hinder the navigation of the canal, even though the proposed docks have been designed to provide as minimal an intrusion into the canal as possible and are in full compliance with all local, state, and federal rules and regulations. It is our legal team’s position that this petition is without merit and that SWFWMD correctly issued the permit,” Klearman stated in her letter.
In December, construction began on the first Hunters Point home, along the eastern edge of the property. Gobuty said then that the administrative challenge could delay the construction of some homes.
When contacted last week, Gobuty said the previously delayed administrative hearing is now scheduled for June 14 and 15.
The development plans approved by Manatee County allow for the construction of 86 net-zero energy use homes that will be equipped with solar panels and storage batteries. The development plans include a small marina and 47 docks to be constructed along the navigation canals adjacent to the Hunters Point property on three sides.
