For 20 years, a pretty little red barn has sat next to a home on Palomino Drive in Southwest Ranches, a rural paradise known for its “live and let live” approach.
But now, the same barn that has given horses shelter and sanctuary is in the crosshairs of town officials, all over a matter of inches.
Southwest Ranches officials say the barn is in violation of town code because it was built too close to the property line. If homeowners Brad McBride and wife Michele don’t move the barn or tear it down, they could face a fine of $500 a day, town officials say.
McBride, who was cited on Oct. 15, has filed a lawsuit against the town in an attempt to save his barn. A hearing before the town’s special magistrate is set for Tuesday.
Town code requires barns that are home to farm animals be set back 50 feet from the property line, all in the interest of protecting next-door neighbors from unpleasant odors.
The barn in question was built 35.5 feet from the property line, says Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff.
Professional surveys tell a different story, according to Mark Gunderson, attorney for the McBrides.
The McBrides have two surveys showing the barn is 48 feet and nine inches from the property’s northern boundary and 47 feet 8 inches from the west boundary, Gunderson says.
McBride rented the home for three years before buying the 2-acre property in mid-2017.
“This barn has been here forever,” McBride says. “Our family, our horses love it. This is really one of the reasons we liked the property, because of the red barn.”
He figures it might cost up to $20,000 to demolish the barn and haul it away. Building a new one would cost $50,000, he estimates. And moving it would cost thousands as well, he said.
The six-stall barn was featured in the town’s 2016 calendar with a photo of the McBrides’ four horses.
McBride says he never thought he’d be facing such nonsense in a place like Southwest Ranches.
The guy who turned him into code enforcement is none other than Poliakoff, the town attorney.
On Sunday, Poliakoff said he couldn’t recall whether he was the one who filed a complaint against the McBrides.
But in a letter sent to the couple’s attorney in November, he acknowledges that he indeed was the person who turned them in.
“You are correct that I advised staff to investigate this issue,” Poliakoff wrote in a Nov. 6 letter to the McBride’s attorney, adding that he had the right to do so.
Poliakoff insists the barn is 35.5 feet from the property line — as shown by surveys initially provided to the town by the McBrides — not the 50 feet required under town code.
“That’s been the law since 1968,” Poliakoff said. “We’re not telling him he has to tear down the barn. We’re just telling him he has to move it 50 feet from the property line.”
According to McBride and his attorney, 174 residents throughout the town are in the same boat, based on town records.
If McBride is forced to destroy his barn, he and his attorney say they plan to file complaints against every other barn owner currently in violation of the setback requirement.
“There’s 174 other certified farms within Southwest Ranches that don’t meet the setback and are in a very similar situation to us,” McBride said. “But none of those other residents have been cited. We are the only ones who’ve been cited and told to tear down our barn.”
McBride’s attorney accuses the town of bullying his client and “selectively enforcing” its own ordinance.
McBride applied for a variance on Jan. 25 that would have allowed the barn to stay. That request was denied by the town on Feb. 15, Gunderson said.
“We will appeal that to the town council,” he said. “If they reject it, we will [take it to] circuit court.”
The idea of moving the barn is ridiculous, McBride’s attorney says.
“It would have to be torn down,” he said. “There’s no way you can move a barn. You’d have to disassemble the whole thing [all to] move it one foot. It would cost thousands of dollars.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554. Find her on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan.