Florida: When is a barn not a barn? When it's really a house. Elite gaming the system.

madfloridian

(1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Tue Mar-31-09 09:57 PM
Original message

Florida: When is a barn not a barn? When it's really a house. Elite gaming the system.

Must give a hat tip to The FLA Politics blog for this story of how a county government insulted the taxpayers by ignoring the obvious. And then arguing about it.

"That's an insult to taxpayers"

The St. Petersburg Times editorial board: "On a banks of the Withlacoochee River sits a so-called barn with all the comforts of home: two bedrooms, a bath, a kitchen and a covered porch. By calling it a barn, the owner � a state senator and former Citrus County sheriff � avoided pulling a building permit and paying nearly $10,400 in impact and other fees. His buddies in Citrus County government appear willing to let him get away with it. That's an insult to taxpayers." "The elite game the system".

An article from The St. Pete Times calls attention to this barn that is really a house...maybe.

House or farm building

Citrus County Code Enforcement. State Sen. Charlie Dean says this two-story, 4,215-square-foot building on a river is a nonresidential agricultural structure.

INVERNESS� It sits on the banks of the lazy Withlacoochee River, nestled regally amid moss-draped oaks and quiet pastures.

The hulking metal structure � beige with a tasteful red roof � stands more than two stories tall. Rocking chairs and a covered porch beckon folks to sit a spell and soak up some quiet country atmosphere. In recent weeks, the building has ignited a furor in Citrus County, where scores of angry people see it as a symbol of a prominent person getting preferential treatment.

..." The owner says the building is simply a barn, holding equipment to serve the surrounding 25 acres of farmland, and so far county officials have agreed.

Critics of the so-called barn-mahal say it's a house. They point to the two bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen and note that the owner has said his children, grandchildren and business clients sometimes stay there.

When it went up in 2007, the owner didn't need county permits because it was classified as a farm building. He avoided the $9,300 in impact fees and $1,093 in building fees that a residence would have incurred.

It's really an interesting issue, and the taxes would be greatly effected.

Schweickert argues that the issue has nothing to do with the Right to Farm Act, which Dean has invoked to justify why he could build without permits, inspections and fees.

"We're not saying he can't farm,'' he said. "We're telling Mr. Dean we can't build barns that are quasi-houses.''

The property carries an agricultural exemption. According to the tax rolls, the land and building had a market value in 2008 of $493,836. With the $365,837 exemption, Dean this year paid $2,089 in taxes on $127,999 of value.

It's a long and very good article by the St. Pete Times. Dean is one of the many Florida Democrats who became Republicans in the 1990s to win. He is the Senate Majority Whip.

The St. Pete Times also wrote an editorial about this situation.

The elite game the system

On a banks of the Withlacoochee River sits a so-called barn with all the comforts of home: two bedrooms, a bath, a kitchen and a covered porch. By calling it a barn, the owner � a state senator and former Citrus County sheriff � avoided pulling a building permit and paying nearly $10,400 in impact and other fees. His buddies in Citrus County government appear willing to let him get away with it. That's an insult to taxpayers.

The "barn" on Charlie Dean's property is a house, plain and simple, with 3,200 square feet of storage space. It sits on 25 acres of land zoned for agricultural grazing. Dean gamed the system in 2007 by citing the state's Right to Farm Act as a rationale for not obtaining a building permit, which would have triggered residential inspections and fees. Now it appears both county commissioners and staff are willing to swallow this dissembling for a fellow member of Citrus' political elite.

...Commission Chairman John Thrumston recently dressed down county staff for not treating Dean better, saying their poor communication was damaging Dean's reputation. The commission agreed to seek an opinion from the state attorney general.

Thrumston and others should worry less about Dean's good name and more about their own. They shouldn't be party to the chicanery and the senator should do the responsible thing and pay the outstanding fees. Dean shouldn't need a state attorney general's opinion to tell him right from wrong.

Yes, they should worry about their own good names and also about doing what is right.