Wilton Manors and a Lazy Lake resident are having a little quarrel over a sidewalk.

At the Jan. 26 Wilton Manors Commission meeting, City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson gave an update on the property line with a Lazy Lake resident.

“Their fence and vegetation have been pushing into Wilton Manors’ sidewalk on Northeast 21st Court,” Henderson said. “The city has been able to trim the tree branches and foliage that encroaches on the sidewalk. That vegetation has been pushing a chain-link fence into the sidewalk impeding pedestrian traffic.”

Incorporated in 1953, the Village of Lazy Lake is the smallest municipality in Broward County, surrounded entirely by the City of Wilton Manors.

The property in question regarding the sidewalk issue is owned by Oliver Kamm, 48, a retired art dealer. On Jan. 29, Kamm was issued a code violation by Broward County for sidewalk encroachment for a chain-link fence and trees. The county described the violation as unkempt groundcovers and landscaping on property and/or swale.

Kamm has until Feb. 22 to cut, trim and remove overgrowth encroaching the sidewalk and obstructing views of approaching traffic.

Damaris Lugo, assistant director of the Environmental Protection and Growth Management Dept. at the Broward County Building Code Services Division, said a daily penalty of $50 to $500 can be imposed by a special magistrate if the violations are not corrected by Feb. 22.

However, Kamm believes that the citation of his sidewalk is actually a part of a larger problem, of Wilton Manors wanting to annex Lazy Lake.

“We’re a landlocked island, surrounded, and I’m a gay HIV-positive man who simply got in the way of their land grab, and I’ve paid a price far dearer than anyone should ever have to,” Kamm wrote in an email to SFGN.

Wilton Manors Vice Mayor Paul Rolli said he knows of no imminent plans to annex Lazy Lake.

“There have been years of talk that Lazy Lake wants to be annexed to Wilton,” Rolli said.

Kamm insists he won’t back down, and has no plans to correct the violations.

A close-up shot of the sidewalk. Photo by Carina Mask.

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