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Special magistrate gives Giese family time to remove unpermitted ground‑floor bathroom, expects substantial compliance in 30 days
Summary
A Fort Myers Beach special magistrate ordered the Giese family to submit bathroom‑removal plans within a week and said the town expects substantial compliance within 30 days; structural revisions for enclosed walls are already under review.
Special Magistrate Monica Schmeicher ordered a schedule Dec. 2 for the owners of 126 Anchorage after town staff found unpermitted ground‑floor plumbing and enclosing walls that exceeded approved plans.
The town presented a prior order, filed Sept. 12, that required the property to be brought into compliance by Oct. 31 or face a $200‑a‑day fine. Floodplain manager Kelly DeFederichis told the hearing the property’s “Ground Floor is not allowed” to contain plumbing and that the owners had enclosed a previously open lattice area and added walls higher than the knee walls originally approved. She said the structural reviewer has approved the stucco walls’ revised design, but the bathroom plumbing has not yet been removed or documented for removal.
Owner representatives told the magistrate they replaced deteriorated cast‑iron plumbing after raising the house and described a makeshift bathroom that they said existed under the structure. One owner said, “I will comply with it,” and said they intend to cap the drain, lavatory and stool drain and convert the area to storage.
Magistrate Schmeicher gave the owners one week to upload a drawing showing where the bathroom will be capped and how the plumbing will be sealed, saying she would set a reminder to follow up if the town had not received the submission. She said the structural inspections required by the engineering letter must also be passed before the wall revisions are considered compliant, and she told the owners she expects them to be “in substantial compliance within the next 30 days.” A status conference was scheduled for the mid‑January hearing.
The town’s floodplain manager said inspectors must validate in the field that the plumbing is capped before the permit revision can be signed off. The magistrate said she would issue a written order documenting the deadlines and findings.
Next steps: the owners must upload the bathroom‑removal plan to the town portal, schedule required inspections, and remain in contact with code enforcement. The magistrate warned that if progress stops the matter could return with fines or further orders at the next hearing.
