The Town of Lake Clark Shores Code Enforcement Board on Sept. 25 extended the compliance deadline for a dock removal at 7012 Venetian Way to Oct. 15, 2025, after the property owner told the board she had begun removing the structure and was waiting on a state water management permit.

The extension was requested by the property owner and discussed at the hearing after Code Enforcement Officer Eric Rich Wagon presented photos and testimony showing partial removal. The board set a fine-assessment hearing, if needed, for the board's next meeting on Oct. 21, 2025.

Code Enforcement Officer Eric Rich Wagon told board members he had received an “even more updated photo” from the owner showing progress and that “all that's left are just the pilings.” Wagon said the property owner had been communicating with staff and that the owners chose to remove the dock because the South Florida Water Management District process was taking longer than they'd expected.

Property owner Jessica Mendez, who said she lives at 7012 Venetian Way, told the board the family had been trying to secure a South Florida Water Management District permit but had decided to remove the dock while pursuing the permit so they “want to do it the right way.” She described work that began the prior weekend and said weather had slowed progress: “The only reason why it hasn't been, like, fully removed is because we just started this past weekend. And due to the weather, the rain, we still have, like, the pilings, just the bases on it, but that will be removed later this weekend.”

Board member Wesley Cook moved to extend the compliance date to Oct. 15, 2025 and to schedule a fine-assessment hearing, if necessary, on Oct. 21, 2025. The motion carried. The board's action is recorded as an extension of the compliance deadline rather than a finding of full compliance; the town will revisit the matter at the Oct. 21 meeting if removal is incomplete.

Discussion vs. decision: the board's formal decision was to extend the compliance deadline and to schedule a potential fine hearing; the owner's remarks and the code officer's photographs supplied the factual basis for the extension. The transcript records no vote tally by name; the board chair announced the motion carried.

Background and next steps: the property owner told the board she plans to continue the permitting process with the South Florida Water Management District and to re-install a dock only after securing permits. The board expects staff to confirm whether the pilings are removed by the Oct. 15 date and to proceed to the Oct. 21 hearing if the property is not in compliance.