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Inventor proposes floating home community

Posted at 8:51 AM, Dec 10, 2015
and last updated 2015-12-10 08:51:13-05

Twenty one acres of Intracoastal Waterway near Riviera Beach could be home to a new floating neighborhood called "The Renegade."

U.S. Marine turned millionaire inventor Fane Lozman says the floating home development is his latest project.

"My main intent was to put my own floating home here. But I've acquired so much land, I figured why not allow other people to enjoy the floating-home lifestyle," Lozman said.

Lozman says the twenty plus acres of submerged land was first sold by the state to private developers in 1924.

He bought some of the underwater property in the last several years.

He says he is planning a community of 40 floating homes.

He says the name "Renegade" came after he won a Supreme Court battle against Riviera Beach involving his own 3,000 square foot floating home.

"People said you are a renegade. You are a renegade that you are fighting city hall. Other people just rolled over and played dead. People don't have the hundreds of thousands of dollars it took to get to the Supreme Court," Lozman said.

Some neighbors don't like the project.

Many said they didn't want to go on camera for fear of taking on Lozman,

They say they have environmental concerns and worry about the look of the new community.

"My argument to them is, 'hey this isn't going to be some 30 story condo.' These floating homes are 20 or 30 feet high. At the most there may be 40 of them. And no one forced you to build your condo across from private property," Lozman said.

He still has many hoops to jump through before the community takes off.

He says he'll have to apply for permits with the US Army Corps of Engineers and get plans approved by the city.