STEVE REID
Editor & Publisher
sreid@lbknews.com
Longboat beach walkers are hoping they can once again traverse the 10-mile shoreline and not be blocked at the Ohana Estate.
At a Longboat Key Town Commission Workshop, in which beach erosion during the storm was discussed, Mayor Ken Schneier said, “The issue of the walk-ability of the beach is surfacing.”
He expanded by saying that the Town Commission wrangled with the issue repeatedly in an effort to keep an unimpeded walk-able shoreline intact. The Ohana Estate, located near Cannon’s Marina located mid-key, protrudes like a sea walled pimple into the Gulf of Mexico. The seawall follows the outside of the erosion control line and is on private property. The erosion control line juts out as an anomaly and the entire protrusion is subject to intense erosion. The town has struggled to keep sand on either side of the seawall and the seawall has collapsed or been damaged numerous times over the last 40 years and has been rebuilt each time slightly closer to the shore.
But it wasn’t until about five years ago when the property, which for decades was known as the Yonkers Estate, was rebuilt and marketed as the Ohana Estate. The Polynesian-inspired property was sold for more than $10 million and the most recent owners posted ‘No trespassing’ signs, ‘Vicious Dog’ warning signs as well as signs stating that the area was being video taped.
When beach walkers who had for years crossed the Yonkers property, encountered the signs, numerous conflicts ensued. Some residents, pushed the town to investigate and believed that the continuous use created a de facto easement. Other residents said that the seawall in fact had been expanded and that the owners had received some special permissions.
The issue came to a head when one beach walker and the property owners got into an altercation that turned physical with a thrown and damaged cell phone, threats and an arrest.
So when Mayor Ken Schneier said there may be a resolution, he said it was based on the fact that the property had sold recently and all the signs had come down and people were walking over the property without issue. The Mayor said that the new owners of the Ohana have not been reachable.
“The people crossing say they are doing so with the utmost respect,” said Schneier who suggested that if the new Ohana owners come into Town Hall to talk about a permit for a seawall, “We should raise the issue of crossing the property.”
Town Attorney Maggie Mooney, who went to great lengths in 2022 to make clear that the property is private and the public has no vested right to enter the property.
She also opined that the Town was obligated to enforce the rights of the owners to guard against trespass.
“We are obligated to err on the side of recognizing property rights,” said Mooney at last week’s meeting.
Commissioner Debra Williams was clear in her view, “I know we all want to walk the beach but we need to put ourselves in their position. Can I walk through your property? No, I can’t and I shouldn’t ask to do so.”
Commissioner Sarah Karon, a sea turtle advocate rhetorically asked whether,” Maybe they at the Ohana would allow our turtle watch folks to have access.”
