MARTIN COUNTY — A Palm Beach County firefighter hoping to build his forever home on a Southeast Loxahatchee River Road lot has been in limbo for months as Martin County officials grapple with land development regulations that appear to prevent him from obtaining a building permit, even as similar properties already have homes.
Back in mid-summer, county staff denied the building permit request by Cory Beaton, claiming that his agriculturally zoned parcel did not meet the minimum two-acre requirement for a single-family home.
Beaton appealed that decision to the Commission on Aug. 11, with survey, title and property tax documents all reflecting two-plus acres on his parcel. Both Growth Management Director Paul Schilling and County Administrator Don Donaldson insisted, however, that Beaton’s property couldn’t legally be considered two acres because part of it bordering the Loxahatchee River is submerged. They want him to rezone the property to Residential Estate District, but Beaton – who currently operates an apiary on the land – has refused…