Jug Creek Marina cited for alcohol violations and failure to obtain permits

BOKEELIA, Fla. — Jug Creek Marina is facing multiple county code violations, including illegally serving alcohol and operating without proper permits.

Senior Reporter Kaitlin Knapp was the only journalist at the code enforcement meeting when these claims were brought forward against the marina.

Hear the accusations made and what the owner thinks about them:

Lee County says the marina is serving alcohol, which they are not allowed to without a license. They cannot serve it within the zone they're in.

The Hearing Examiner agreed — they are violating this code, which prohibits "on-premises consumption" without the license.

"You have the option to cease immediately, so one your abatement of methodologies is to cease, so you can stop serving the alcohol in this area," the examiner said at the code enforcement hearing on Monday.

That's not the only accusation. There are eight violations the county submitted to the examiner.

1. No use permit: Tortuga Fish House and Marina
2. No use permit: Freedom Boat Club
3. No permit: Tiki hut over ship store without required permit
4. No permit: Remodeling structures due to hurricane damage
5. Zoning violation: Sale or service for on-premises consumption is not compliant with COP2020-00038
6. No permit: Operating restaurant without Certificate of Occupancy
7. Development order (DO): Work done without a DO, including tiki hut installed, boat dock installed, sign installed and gravel added
8. Permitted use: Outdoor bar/cocktail lounge and outdoor live entertainment, including amplified sound, observed in Marine Industrial zoned district

"Nothing that's being operated here at Jug Creek Marina is not not allowable," said Joe Williamson, co-owner of the marina.
He believes because the land is zoned for Marine Industrial, everything he's doing is allowed.

"I'm not doing anything that we're not going to be able to get resolved," he said. "There’s a couple issues in there that we definitely have to get straightened out, but some of this stuff will just go away."

The violation at the core of this battle is whether or not the marina can have a bar.

It says Jug Creek is serving alcohol at an outdoor bar or cocktail lounge, which the county believes isn't allowed in the area they're zoned in.

"So the restaurant is among the uses of this marina," the marina's lawyer said at the meeting.

As for the sound, neighbors tell Knapp the music is keeping them up at night.

"With the music blaring and the decibels are very loud, we can feel the vibrations in our homes and we can't sleep at night," said Margaret Madden, who lives near the marina.

"The music starts at noon and goes late into the evening and this quiet beautiful place is noisy," said Mike McCarty, who lives near the marina, "You can't sleep at night."

At the meeting, they didn't get the conclusion they had hoped for.

The county dropped two violations: the violation about the bar with the music and the certificate of occupancy.

"Just work with us. We’re not against fun. I like fun. We just need to turn the decibel down because it is a residential area," Madden said. "I think a lot of the important things were dismissed until they can maybe be reworded."

Knapp dug into other violations and found the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services conducted three inspections since January. In all three, the reports say Jug Creek Marina is operating a food establishment without a valid food license.

It says the establishment should complete the permit process in 10 days.

The inspections happened on Jan. 21, April 7 and May 6.

Fox 4 reached out to the department about the status of the citations and we are waiting to hear back.

Knapp also discovered violations with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

A spokesperson said they "conducted an unannounced inspection" on April 7.

"The list of observed violations included a citation for operating without a license," the statement said. "DBPR prioritizes education over punitive measures and works to bring businesses into compliance and ensure public safety with minimal disruption to business. As is common for newly operating establishments, DBPR educated the operator on Florida’s licensing requirements and is actively working with them to bring the establishment into compliance."

In DBPR records, it says the marina has an application in process for "permanent food service."

There are other active permits. However, those are for the marina's catering business, not serving at a restaurant.

Each violation has different compliance dates.

1. No use permit: Tortuga Fish House and Marina (must comply by June 18 or show good faith efforts. If not, they must cease operations or face a daily $250 fine).
2. No use permit: Freedom Boat Club (must comply by June 18 or show good faith efforts. If not, they must cease operations or face a daily $250 fine).
3. No permit: Tiki hut over ship store without required permit (must comply by July 16 or face a $250 daily fine)
4. No permit: Remodeling structures due to hurricane damage (must comply by July 16 or or face a daily $250 fine).
5. Zoning violation: Sale or service for on-premises consumption is not compliant with COP2020-00038 (must comply by June 4. If not, they must cease operations or face a daily fine of $1,000).
6. No permit: Operating restaurant without Certificate of Occupancy (Dismissed).
7. Development order (DO): Work done without a DO, including tiki hut installed, boat dock installed, sign installed and gravel added (must comply by Nov. 19 or face a $250 daily fine)
8. Permitted use: Outdoor bar/cocktail lounge and outdoor live entertainment, including amplified sound, observed in Marine Industrial zoned district (Dismissed).

During the meeting, the lawyer said some of the permit applications have been submitted, which was confirmed by the county.

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