Islamorada

Islamorada has less than 30 days to appeal a court decision forcing it to begin processing a redevelopment application for its largest trailer park. The Village Council erred in 2004 when it voted to put Seabreeze Mobile Home Park under a citywide moratorium on mobile home park redevelopment, Judge Luis Garcia wrote in his June 4 ruling. The village instituted the moratorium, which remains in effect, to buy time as it seeks to create regulations that would protect affordable housing.

Seabreeze Associates has sought to turn the oceanside property into an upscale RV park, a move that likely would displace most, if not all, the residents at the 101-unit park. In his ruling, Garcia noted that Seabreeze Associates had submitted its redevelopment plan a day before the Village Council passed a resolution declaring its intent to impose the moratorium. In previous moratoriums, the village had exempted properties that submitted their application prior to passage of the resolution.

In addition, the Islamorada Planning Department and village attorneys had continued working with Seabreeze on the site plan up to the Sept. 23 meeting when the moratorium received final passage. Attorneys and staff advised the council to exempt Seabreeze from the legislation. "It is not fair to change the rules, even when the motivation for such a change is honorable," Garcia wrote.

Seabreeze owner Joe Wieselberg, who has long expressed confidence that he would win the case, said the decision does not mean park residents face imminent eviction. "There are a bunch of things we need to do, along with getting the site plan approved from other agencies," he said last week. "So I'm not rushing into anything. The truth is, the park might be there for a while."

But the future of Seabreeze might not be entirely up to Wieselberg or his Seabreeze Associates partners. Last month the Monroe County Health Department asked the court to shut down nearly half the waterfront property because sewage in that portion of the park is treated only by a cesspit. Wieselberg has long blamed the village for the inadequate facility, arguing that his stalled redevelopment plan would fix the problem.

On Tuesday, before Garcia's decision had been announced, attorneys for Seabreeze and the Health Department met to discuss a settlement. Both Health Department attorney Morton Laitner and Wieselberg described the meeting as productive. Laitner said the department is asking that the 11 spaces currently unoccupied at Seabreeze remain vacant. In addition, he said, health officials want an as-yet unspecified number of Seabreeze residents to move out per quarter.

The department is already searching for alternative housing options for those who would be displaced, he said. "We want to have a timetable and we want it to be tight," Laitner said. "I want people to be moving out."

Seabreeze attorney Charles Forman said last week that the court's decision in his client's case against Islamorada sets the groundwork for the sewage problem to be solved. "It should be the ultimate solution, because it should provide for the orderly redevelopment of the park," he said.

Michael Burke, who tried the case for the village on behalf of the Florida League of Cities, had little to say about the court's decision. "I can't speculate as to why the judge ruled the way he did," Burke said.

Wieselberg said Seabreeze might still pursue financial damages. "Let's see how the village behaves," he said.

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Three decades strong and beloved by resident artists and art lovers alike, the Rain Barrel Artists Village in Islamorada was the vision of owner Carol Cutshall, a transplant from Pennsylvania who came to the Keys 35 years ago for a two-week vacation and never went home. Once here, she decided to create an artist colony in the Upper Keys where local artists could work and residents and visitors could stop in and enjoy the creative community.

“When customers come in they are mesmerized, with a look of wonderment on their faces,” said Cutshall of the Rain Barrel, located at mile marker 87 bayside. “Seeing this every day is a joy.” She credits the juried art show hosted at the Rain Barrel for 20 years for putting the place on the map. Featuring 100 exhibitors set up throughout the property, it was traditionally held the third weekend of March each year. After two decades, however, she felt the event had run its course and ended it.

The quaint, open-air artists’ village still attracts plenty of folks who come to see works by the 10 resident artists — and pieces by the more than 500 artists represented through the Rain Barrel’s galleries. Cutshall is responsible for the name of the artist village, which combines the structure’s history and her vision. It was inspired in part by the fact that the property, previously called the Cypress Barn Building, included a 5,000-gallon cypress cistern.

“I wanted the word rain incorporated into the name because water is as important to life as to art,” she said. “And because of the cistern, I actually do have a rain barrel.” Cutshall’s love of the place overflows to the resident artists, and the feeling is reciprocated.

Resident artists Cindy and Dwayne King have evolved through their work at the Rain Barrel. Dwayne brought Cindy to the place, which he knew from growing up in the Keys, in the late 1980s. Then Cindy met Carol Cutshall and worked for her in the property’s front store while working on her art at her home studio. At the time, Dwayne had a shop named King’s Treasure where he displayed 30 years worth of coins and artifacts discovered by his father on an Upper Keys shipwreck in the 1970s. He also created his own original 14-karat gold designs in the shop.

Cindy King eventually left the front shop and joined her husband in their current space, a sculpture gallery toward the back of the garden. They now display her dimensional clay art and his bronze sculptures. They also stay busy on regular commissions for bronzes of individuals — as well as Dwayne’s variety of door handles, including sailfish and mermaids, purchased by Bass Pro Shops for their stores. The Kings love working at the Rain Barrel and in the Keys.

“The artists at the Rain Barrel all have their own talents and style, and this diversity is very complimentary and creates a tremendous amount of respect among the artists and a sort of harmony amongst the community,” said Cindy King. Artist Dan Lawler, a 40-year Keys resident and 12-year veteran of the Rain Barrel, began as a weekend painter. He was displaying his art in restaurants and galleries in the Keys when Cutshall discovered him and offered him a studio. The 72-year-old Lawler trained at the Art Institute of Chicago. His trademark pieces are seascapes created using oils on linen canvas, as well as fishing and early conch and Keys scenes. He also paints images of Monet’s gardens in France, inspired by his travels to Europe. Lawler is very content with his affiliation with the Rain Barrel.

“It’s a beautiful and popular spot where folks enjoy stopping in — and a place where the management is very nice,” he said. John David Hawver, a graduate of the University of Miami, came to the Keys 15 years ago and has been at the Rain Barrel for the past eight years. He became a resident artist after inquiring about studio space at a Rain Barrel art show. Hawver paints Florida landscapes and seascapes in a contemporary impressionist style. He works in oil on canvas, and pastel and mixed media on paper. “My process involves drawing with pastels, smearing it with water and then drawing back into it when it dries,” he said. Hawver echoed the Kings’ feelings about the Rain Barrel.

“Carol has a great vision and is always very careful to select the right artist — and that’s very important,” he said. “It would be hard for an artist on their own to stop traffic, but with a group of 10 different shops we an accomplish that.” Cutshall’s appreciation for her artists, and the living work of art she has created in the Rain Barrel, shows in her work philosophy. “If I’m not talking to customers, I’m either working on the garden or moving a piece of furniture,” she said. “I am a hands-on business owner and that’s what it takes to succeed.” Islamorada’s Rain Barrel is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days per week. For more information, call 305) 852-3084.

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