December 2, 2002

By Amy Oshier

AmyO@nbc-2.com

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CHARLOTTE COUNTY - There are about a half dozen dock builders in Charlotte County and they are closely watching the dock ban controversy in Lee County. Some of them will attend the meeting in Fort Myers because they could be in a similar boat.

A blue crab dinner is often on the menu at Dick French's house. Life is good for the Punta Gorda retiree.

"We decided on Punta Gorda because you could get water. You could be on the water and you could have a boat dock," said French.

He didn't realize at the time just how valuable his boat dock might be since a federal ban on docks may spoil the dream for newcomers.

The waterfront lifestyle goes hand in hand with boating and many people justify the cost by docking in the backyard. If the moratorium holds up in Lee County, builders fear it could cause the waterfront market to dry up.

"The only thing I can compare it to is if you move into a golf course community and spent and exorbitant amount of money to live near the golf course and after they get the money off the people, they stop cutting the grass," said Peter Artari of Keesling Construction.

Despite the move to protect manatees, he has had no trouble pulling city and county permits.

"We have not been notified by the DEP or Army Corp of Engineers yet to cease and desist," said Artari.

So work is still flowing in Charlotte with many more untapped resources waiting for a resolution.

"Look around, there's a lot of vacant land with opportunities to put in boat docks," said French.

The dock construction business is good in Charlotte County. Artari says he's booked until April, but they know that is all subject to change.

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