Some property owners paid without much of a fight. The most recent wave started in 2017 when NPB Properties ramped up its efforts to sell off the rest of the canal, which the company claims to have owned since the 1950s when it started building the village’s first homes. Off and on, since at least 2006, dozens of residential and commercial property owners up and down the river have gotten similar demands. But when he vented to his neighbors on Ibis Way, a cozy cul-de-sac of well-kept homes north of Northlake Boulevard, he found out most of them received letters, too. “Should you choose not to take advantage of this offer, NPB Properties will be forced to prohibit any further use of its property by you,’’ the three-page letter said, adding that the company might also sell its submerged land to anyone, effectively blocking his access to the water.Īt first, Apgar thought someone was playing a practical joke. All he has to do is pay $40,000 for the submerged land anchoring the dock - land Apgar always assumed came with the property he bought in 1988. The river is owned by a company called North Palm Beach Properties Inc., the letter continued, but Apgar can avoid trespassing and having to tear down his dock. The letter advised Apgar that his dock - with it jet skis, deck chairs and whimsical “No Peein’ off the Dock” sign - is trespassing on private property, specifically the Earman River, a 1.5-mile extension of the C-17 Canal from Prosperity Farms Road to the Intracoastal Waterway. One day last May, Apgar said his “little patch of paradise” came under attack when he opened his mailbox and found a letter from a lawyer. ![]() ![]() First with his late wife and more recently with his grandson, he has launched his motorboat, watched dolphins and manatees cruise by and caught sunsets from his deck chair. NORTH PALM BEACH - For 30 years, John Apgar has enjoyed the perks of his backyard dock on the scenic Earman River.
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