At least one homeowner on Sailfish Lane says blighted homes and properties such as this one at 5 Sailfish Lane are lowering property values. This home was cited for overgrown vegetation. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By John Pacenti
A stroll down Sailfish Lane in Ocean Ridge finds a street in flux.
Older ranch-style residences, built in the 1950s, are mixed with modern, larger homes and even brand new construction that looks spectacular but also out of place.
There are established families who have lived in their homes for decades alongside rental properties. And all of it within a short walk to the beach — a neighborhood with homes having market values just north of $1 million.
Eric Brief, who lives at 8 Sailfish Lane, appeared at the Nov. 3 Town Commission meeting and said he was ready to sue the town over properties that are not being properly maintained.
“We don’t hear about blight a lot in our town, but it exists and it’s not being dealt with, and it’s a real problem, and you’re going to have a problem on your hands,” he said.
His panorama of complaints included an Airbnb that wakes him up routinely, cars being parked on the lawn, a garage held up by a 2-by-4 and a house with a lawn that was two feet high.
“You’re probably looking at a bunch of residents getting together to sue the town over this, because it’s hurting our lifestyle and our real estate values,” he told commissioners. “I’ve been coming here for 10 years, and I’m not going to put up with it anymore, and it’s going to get ugly.”
However, Brief also said he files complaints against families over what they say are trivial matters: a beach chair or barbecue equipment left outside the garage after an outing, a random car seat left out after cleaning of the vehicle.
Other homeowners didn’t want to go on the record because they feared retribution either from Brief or the town, but they said he has been harassing certain neighbors for years, calling him a bully.
New measures considered
Vice Mayor Steve Coz said the town is working to tighten property-maintenance rules to address visible signs of blight without imposing “draconian” measures that would pit neighbors against one another.
Coz said Ocean Ridge does not have a formal blight ordinance to present and that he has been consulting with the town attorney, the town manager and residents while drafting proposed language. He said the effort is focused on clarifying code language to target what is visible from public streets.
“No one would complain about what the neighbor has in their front lawn if they can’t see it,” Coz said. He said the town’s existing codes were written decades ago and need tightening so enforcement is clear and defensible.
Coz offered examples of conditions the proposed language aims to address, including front yards that mix stone with construction debris and lawns overrun by weeds.
Coz acknowledged the temporary loss of a code-enforcement officer when a contracted inspector took another job. He said hiring a replacement and putting clearer guidelines in place will make enforcement less ad hoc and reduce the need for police involvement in code matters, which he said can inflame situations.
The vice mayor said he expected to present discussion points to the Town Commission after the holidays. “It’s going to take a couple of months,” he said, and emphasized that any ordinance would avoid being heavy-handed.
Are existing laws enough?
Town Manager Michelle Heiser, though, said that the town does not need a new blight ordinance — it needs to enforce the ordinances it already has.
Heiser said the town has statutory and local tools to address blight and code violations. Rather than drafting new rules, she urged better use of existing processes, including working with property owners and, when necessary, using the town’s special magistrate for enforcement.
Heiser said town staffers have been actively engaging with one particular homeowner on Sailfish Lane across from Brief with what looks like concrete chunks as ground cover. “They’re going to at least come into the minimum compliance by putting some sod down,” she said.
She emphasized a willingness to work with residents but defended the town’s current approach of education first, enforcement when required.
A neighbor, who had been subject to complaints from Brief, did not want to comment when contacted. The home in question was not one of the 1950s models but a modern single-family residence with landscaping and not a hint of blight in sight.
Other homes — also subject to Brief’s complaints — had received notices from code inspectors days after he addressed the commission.
Big houses, small lots
Brief, who said he has lived in Ocean Ridge for 33 years, said he doesn’t want to be the bad guy. “If somebody doesn’t call on it, the town doesn’t do anything,” he said.
Former Commissioner Terry Brown lived on Sailfish Lane briefly when his house was undergoing repairs. His insurance company put him up in a home that was being rented.
He agreed that Ocean Ridge residential streets are transforming as the town updates zoning and encourages larger single-family homes in areas once dominated by duplexes and modest old seasonal Florida cottages.
“They’re allowing huge houses to be squished into small lots,” he said.
Brown said the town is actively reviewing nonconforming lots on streets. “They’re trying to clean up the south end, and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
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