Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/264109
In addition to seeking a delay in the payment of the water and sewer capacity fees, the law- suit filed by Bob's owners sought to force the county to extend the TCO to allow them to make enough money to complete the required improvements on the punch list. But the county's response to the court pointed out that Bob's was asking for relief from a problem of its own making — insufficient funds to properly run its business in compli- ance with all existing codes. That possibly led the attorney for Bob's to delay an emergency hearing originally scheduled for Feb. 11. As it now stands, Bob's Boathouse has a long list of outstanding site requirements to be fulfilled, which should be cataloged in an expected Notice of Violation the county should issue on Feb. 20. That will require the owners to appear before a Code Enforcement Special Magistrate, who can begin levying fines of up to $500 for each day of continued noncompliance. And, most important, there is the matter of Bob's Boathouse conducting its business with callous disregard for the well-being of its neighbors in the adjoining residential areas. Partly as a result of this ongoing problem, the County Commission has ordered a public hearing on a proposed new noise ordinance which, if adopted, should provide enforce- ment officials with more leeway in reining in the excessive noise emanating from Bob's. In the meantime, the neighbors around Bob's Boathouse find its continued late-night musi- cal entertainment to be untenable. Ironically, one of the residents, forced awake in the mid- dle of the night by the noise, reported driving to the city of Sarasota and walking around downtown to escape the cacophony. Given the carping of downtown condo residents about how "noisy" the downtown area is — as it should be — that provides a stark reminder of just how intolerable living in the vicinity of Bob's Boathouse has become. Every business owner has a right to pursue the successful operation of his or her estab- lishment, within the limits of applicable laws. But such an establishment cannot be allowed to flout required building codes established for the protection of the public welfare, nor can it be allowed to cheat the taxpayers out of rightfully owed fees. And it certainly can- not create a public nuisance that destroys the quality of life of those living in the vicinity of the business. It is time for Bob's Boathouse to be cast off. % LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Sarasota News Leader wel- comes letters to the editor from its readers. Letters should be no more than 300 words in length, and include the name, street address and telephone num- ber of the writer. Letters should be emailed to Letters@SarasotaNewsLeader.com, with "Letter to the Editor" in the subject line. Let- ters actually printed will be selected based on space available, subject matter and other fac- tors. We reserve the right to edit any letters submitted for length, grammar, spelling, etc. All letters submitted become the property of The Sarasota News Leader. OPINION Sarasota News Leader February 21, 2014 Page 92