INDIALANTIC, Fla. – A backyard “man cave” made of stacked shipping containers has to come down, according to Brevard County officials, and the owner has 10 days to do so.
A spokesperson for the county said the homeowner on Diane Circle was issued a notice of code violation for the structure. The county says if the owner does not take the stacked containers down in the 10-day period, they could face fines of up to $1,000 a day.
The homeowner said the county initially approved the project, which involved shipping containers welded together to make a modern living space.
County officials sent News 6 a document saying that the permit was “issued in error due to a process failure.”
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But angry neighbors complained about the structure, particularly since the county’s code says shipping containers cannot be stacked together.
The county has since said the permit to build the structure “was issued in error due to a process failure.”
County leaders met with the homeowner last week privately.
The homeowner has said in the past that he would consider legal action if he was ordered to take it down.
On Tuesday, deconstruction of the controversial “man cave” appeared to be underway.
“I’m sad to see it won’t be completed,” Brett Fry said.
Fry lives on Diane Circle and said the structure really wasn’t a problem for him, but he understands why others wanted it gone.
“I think the major thing with that is where the shipping containers back up to,” Fry said. “You have two-story complexes that can look down on it.”
A few weeks ago, News 6 spoke with Bluma Bofford. As a realtor with two decades of experience, her concern was the impact of the “man cave” on their property value, adding that the containers were violating county code.
“When I look out my window and I see those shipping containers, I’m not happy,” Bofford said. “This needs to be dismantled and come down, and that’s it. You’re only allowed to have one container in the back for storage purposes. That’s all code allows you to do.”
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