A tentative agreement was reached between the county and a beachside home owner using shipping containers to build a “man cave” in his backyard.
During a hearing last week, a magistrate ruled the structure behind Joseph Traska’s house can stay if certain requirements are met. The “man cave,” as the owner described the structure in permitting documents, is on Diane Circle in an unincorporated enclave between Indian Harbour Beach and Indialantic.
It gained attention last year after neighbors took their concerns regarding the stacked shipping containers to county officials. Code states new shipping containers can only be used for residential storage and cannot be stacked.
What are the requirements for the “man cave” shipping container to stay?
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The structure cannot be rented for others to stay in it. Some neighbors had expressed concerns that he would use the structure as a vacation rental.
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The structure cannot have a kitchen. Plans that were submitted to the county last year, and approved, stated the roughly 670-square-foot living space would include two balconies and a spiral staircase.
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A new façade needs to be put on the exterior so it no longer looks like shipping containers.
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Landscaping needs to be added around the structure.
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The structure can not be used between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
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The balconies, or viewing decks, need to be modified so they do not encroach on neighbors’ privacy.
As of now there is no timeline as to when the changes need to be made by. Once they have been made, the Brevard County Commissioners would need to approve the permit.
Generally speaking, special magistrates have 14 days to issue a written recommendation said Don Walker, director of communications for Brevard County. “Once the Special Magistrate signs the written recommendation, the board has 45 days to accept, reject, or modify the recommendation — unless the parties agree to extend that time frame.”
Construction on the “man cave” has been halted until now
Construction was stopped in October after neighbors took notice.
That’s when county officials said Taska argued he should be able to keep the structure since he altered the containers from their original design. He stated the project passed three inspections and the permit was individually reviewed more than 34 times.
County officials previously said the approval was due to a “process failure.”
Calls to Taska and some of his neighbors were not returned Monday.
Spitzer is a Trending Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Neighbor, owner of shipping container man cave reach agreement
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