SAN CARLOS ISLAND, Fla. — People who live on Nancy Lane who are still rebuilding after Hurricane Ian now face a two-month deadline to remove their temporary homes, despite county rules allowing them to stay longer (October 2027).
Watch as Fort Myers Beach Community Correspondent, Anvar Ruziev, speaks with the concerned island neighbors:
After Fort Myers Beach began enforcing FEMA compliance by ordering the removing of trailers last week, a San Carlos Island condo association was revealed to have a similar deadline.
Jackie Ocanas, who has lived on Nancy Lane since 1998, is among several neighbors who received notice that they must remove all RVs and temporary trailers within two months.
"We planned ahead for our rebuild, we planned to be able to be there, to be able to supervise it and to be able to be comfortable during it, and our RV is comfortable, so I don't understand why that would be a problem," Ocanas said.
Florida Senate Bill 250, passed in 2023, allows homeowners whose properties were damaged by natural disasters to place temporary shelters like RVs on their lots for up to 36 months after a state of emergency, as long as they are actively rebuilding. However, this law only prevents counties and cities from prohibiting RV use – it doesn't restrict condo associations from enforcing their own rules.
Erik Perez, a shareholder at Perez Mayoral P.A. who specializes in HOA cases, explained the legal situation.
"Attempting to apply SB-250? If you take a narrow interpretation of the statute it does not appear to provide homeowners protection against their association but rather their county or municipality," Perez said.
Nancy Lane Condo Association President Jeffery Groll said residents voted to enforce a "no RV" policy to prevent the community from turning into an RV park. He explained that allowing owners to stay while banning renters is legally difficult, even though they want to work with owners who are actively rebuilding.
Ocanas and other homeowners are asking for basic accommodations during their rebuild process.
"So the only thing we're asking is to be hooked up to water and sewer, that's the only thing we're asking, and given provision to stay in our campers as owners over night," Ocanas said.
Groll stated the board is trying to preserve property values and prevent an influx of new renters relocating from Fort Myers Beach, especially while FEMA is requiring trailers to be removed there. For homeowners like Ocanas, however, the September 27 deadline to remove their trailers and RVs feels rushed.
NEIGHBORS ON FORT MYERS BEACH HAVE THE SAME ISSUE:
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