The winds of Hurricane Irma may have swept away Brad McBride’s fence more than a year ago, but another kind of storm is now brewing.
At the center of the controversy is a horse barn whose fate is wrapped up in a not-so-neighborly feud between McBride and Southwest Ranches, a small town at the edge of the Everglades.
The fight, already getting nasty, looks to be heading for a showdown in court.
All the trouble began when McBride tried to replace his hurricane-damaged fence, he says. To get a permit, the town told him he’d need to move the fence 30 feet back from the road.
McBride balked at the demand — and filed a lawsuit against the town on Sept. 11.
A month later, the father of three got a notice from Town Hall telling him his 20-year-old barn was too close to the edge of his property. His options: Move it, tear it down or face fines of $500 a day, the town warned.
Barns in Southwest Ranches have to be at least 50 feet from the property line unless the owner has a waiver. McBride’s is set back 35 feet 6 inches if you measure from the wash-rack fencing connected to the barn and 47 feet 8 inches if you don’t.
The town measures from the wash rack — another point of contention between the two parties.
They also dispute details about the fence that led to the lawsuit. Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff says it was built in the town’s right of way years ago by a former homeowner. And now the town wants the fence moved back.
McBride says the fence was on his property all along. Without that fence, he can’t let his horses enter the front paddock for fear they’ll venture into the road.
As the legal case winds its way through court, McBride and his attorney have been skirmishing with town officials in code enforcement hearings.
The board is usually advised by the town attorney, the very person who filed the complaint about McBride’s barn just weeks after the town was served with the lawsuit.
But on Tuesday, it was Assistant Town Attorney Richard DeWitt who sparred openly with McBride attorney Mark Gunderson.
Gunderson entered into evidence a news article about the barn controversy published by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He then claimed the town was hassling McBride at the behest of Mayor Doug McKay and the town attorney, who he says are close with a neighbor feuding with McBride.
Poliakoff, reached later by phone, denied the claim.
The mayor, advised by Poliakoff to stay mum due to the pending litigation, could not be reached for comment.
During Tuesday’s code hearing, former town councilman Don Maines sat in the audience watching in disbelief.
“I can’t believe what’s happening in this town,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “We’re not Weston. We never wanted to be Weston. This is the last frontier in Broward County where you can ride horses and have a pig if you want. Those were the promises we made when we became a town.”
At the hearing, McBride caught a break from the magistrate. Before imposing a daily fine, the magistrate is giving McBride time to seek a waiver from the Town Council.
If all five members grant their blessing, McBride can keep his barn where it is now. His attorney argues the mayor should abstain from voting because of his relationship with McBride’s neighbor.
Poliakoff already has a ruling on that. He checked with the state Commission on Ethics this week and was told the mayor can vote on the matter.
McBride’s attorney isn’t worried.
Even if the council votes no, he can take that to court, too, he said.
In the meantime, McBride is still waiting to replace the fence stolen by Hurricane Irma.
“It’s been down since September 2017,” McBride said. “Unbelievable.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4554. Find her on Twitter @Susannah_Bryan.