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Neighbors tell commission they hold title under Nancy Canal and allege encroachment by private dock
Summary
Several residents used audience time to tell the commission they believe the land beneath the Nancy Canal is privately held by adjacent homeowners, and they alleged an unpermitted dock/boat lift encroaches onto their vested property; they said they will submit documentation to the state attorney and journalists.
At the May 13 Commission meeting several residents from the Nancy Canal neighborhood addressed the commission during the public-comment period to raise ownership and permitting concerns about waterfront property and a dock.
Resident Elaine Hall said a title search shows fee title to the land under the Nancy Canal vests in the 13 houses on the west side and that neither the city nor a CRA entity holds title. Hall alleged that an adjacent property'owner''or a private investor''has installed a dock and boat lift "several feet" inside what she contends is the adjacent owners' underwater property and that the city failed to perform due diligence before issuing permits.
Cindy Duarte, also appearing, said a building that sits on the canal bulkhead has been declared unsafe in prior years and that permits related to improvements expired this spring. Duarte said she had found records showing city expenditures related to the site and questioned why the city would pay a private company where title is disputed.
Both speakers said they were compiling documentation, including title reports and correspondence from the South Florida Water Management District and private consultants, and planned to forward packets to the state attorney, other government offices and news outlets.
Ending: The items were raised during audience-to-be-heard and not on agenda; commissioners did not take immediate action but the remarks flagged a potential title/permit dispute that staff may need to investigate, and speakers said they would pursue law-enforcement and media channels.
