Venice Marker 4 restaurant adds tiki-type hut

The new "chickee" hut at the Marker 4 restaurant is nestled in between the restaurant and another Fisherman's Wharf building. Property owners do not need to file permits with the city or county if they have a member of the Seminole or Muskogee tribes build the hut, thanks to an exemption in Florida's Building Code. (March 4, 2014) Photo by Shelby Webb

VENICE - When it comes to tiki-type huts, the hands that build them can make the difference between a city violation and a no-hassle construction job.

The city of Venice issued a stop-work order against the owners of Marker 4 Restaurant at Fisherman's Wharf after officials learned the owners had commissioned a large hut without requesting a building permit.

But once the city realized what type of a hut it was, they immediately rescinded their order.

The structure, known as a "chickee" hut is exempt from Florida Building Codes when it is built by members of the Miccosukee or Seminole tribes of Florida.

Vince LaPorta, director of the Venice Building and Code Enforcement Department, said he encounters the structures at least several times a year.

"A lot of contractors try to build these huts without permits," LaPorta said. "But they're not Seminoles. They would have to be licensed through the tribe."

On his desk sat a license faxed to his office by the Seminole tribe, detailing how the project-leader for the Marker 4 chickee project, Alex Antunez, is a member.

Antunez, owner of Seminole Tiki Huts, said his company builds more than 300 of the thatched-roof structures each year out of cypress logs and sabal palm fronds.

"The huts have been being built residentially for 50 years," Antunez said. "But before then, it was a means of refuge in the Everglades from alligators and all that good stuff."

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Venice Marker 4 restaurant adds tiki-type hut