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CNN's Mark Potter reports on the battle between homeowners and the parks system
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From Correspondent Mark Potter

April 19, 1999
Web posted at: 9:59 p.m. EDT (0159 GMT)

MIAMI (CNN) -- Despite an eviction notice from the National Park Service and a rejection notice from the National Register of Historic Places, homeowners in Stiltsville plan to fight to protect their unusual and colorful community on the water.

The odd collection of wooden homes on concrete stilts sits on the flats of Biscayne Bay, south of Miami.

Baked by the sun and cooled by the ocean breeze, the buildings are a unique vestige of South Florida's colorful past. They have starred in TV shows, commercials and novels.

Stiltsville came to life in the 1930s, when Crawfish Charlie's bait shack rose above the water. The neighborhood grew to 27 structures, including some clubs in the 1940s, '50s and '60s that were known for gambling and wild times.

"It also gave the area this mystique about it, sort of a Damon Runyon look -- like it wasn't below the law -- but people would always look at it as a shaky place," Paul George of the Historical Museum of South Florida says.

Hurricanes and fires have cut the number of Stiltsville structures down to just seven. Now they are used by families as weekend retreats.

"You can fish if you want to, or you can socialize, or you lie in the hammock, or you can read, or you can watch the birds," says Stiltsville homeowner Lee Stansell. "Whatever you want to do, you can do out here."

'It is not appropriate'

But maybe not for long.

The government and environmentalists want Stiltsville wiped off the water.

In 1980, Stiltsville became part of the Biscayne National Park. According to the government lease, the homes must be torn down by this summer.

"It is not appropriate for national parks to allow private individuals to have their own exclusive little cabins for private use in the middle of an area that was set aside specifically to protect its natural features and natural systems," explains park superintendent Dick Frost.

The homeowners argue that losing Stiltsville would cost Florida an important piece of history. They tried to sell that theory to the National Register of Historic Places.

But despite state and local backing for the historic importance of Stiltsville, the register ruled the homes weren't old enough for historic designation.

So homeowners are gathering support for what may be their final battle over what is more important: the sanctity of a national park or ties to a colorful chapter of Florida's history.

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