Small‑business owner and economic board urge county review after HOA blocks industrial use for 'man caves'

A Martin County small‑business owner and an economic‑development official asked the county to review zoning enforcement and HOA authority after the owner said an HOA attempted to repurpose light‑industrial warehouse spaces for so‑called "man caves" and had failed to report illegal activity inside a unit.

What speakers said: Jeff McClain identified himself as owner of MPW Filter Worldwide, a marine‑related filter distributor. He told the board he bought a warehouse in a light‑industrial (LI) zone on Jack James Drive and said county approvals and fire‑marshal clearance were in place for his marine manufacturing and wholesale operation. McClain said an HOA is attempting to establish "man caves" in the same property and that those uses are out of place in an LI zone. He said, "I have never seen an HOA override city, county, state, federal laws, or zoning. The HOA is telling me what we can and cannot do inside my own warehouse." McClain added allegations about criminal misuse in nearby spaces: "Look what just happened 2 doors down from my warehouse. The feds just busted a marijuana grow inside my building because they said they were using it for storage. Another man cave in my building was using his warehouse as a shooting range until he shot through the building and almost hit somebody. The HOA never reported this to local enforcement because he was on the board."

Business‑board request: William Corbin, executive director of the Business Development Board for Martin County, urged commissioners to direct county staff to review zoning rules and consider what can be done to prevent similar situations. Corbin said he sympathized with McClain and asked the board to "strongly consider directing county staff to review the zoning rules and regulations as they relate to what are known as man caves and look into what can be done to prevent situations like this from happening in the future." Corbin also asked for approval of an unrelated commercial lease on the agenda (Daher Aerospace) and outlined economic benefits of that lease.

Board response and next steps: Commissioner Campey acknowledged he was familiar with McClain’s situation and said he would arrange a meeting between the owner and county staff to review the matter. No formal county action (ordinance change or enforcement action) was taken during the meeting; staff follow up was requested.