Monday, July 19th, 1999
The Tampa Tribune
Scaling the Great Wall of Himsel
7/19/99 -- 4:39 PM
By DANIEL RUTH
To paraphrase the immortal words of Richard Nixon, who gazed upon the Great Wall of
China and proclaimed: "This is truly a great wall," once one ponders Charlie Himsel's
wall, what else can one say except: ``This is truly a nutty, wacko, zany wall.''
The Great Wall of Himsel, which you can see for yourself at 3009 Sabal Road in
Carrollwood, has pitted neighbor against neighbor and embroiled a 35-year-old engineer
in an ongoing bureaucratic dispute with Hillsborough County officials on a scale that
would make Webster Hubbell's legal battles with Ken Starr seem like a flap over a
parking ticket.
Last August, Himsel decided it would be a marvelous idea to build a wall around his
Sabal Road home. He went over to the county development services division, paid $35 for
a permit, received official approval for the wall and in September commenced
construction.
Tens of thousands of dollars later, Himsel has found himself sitting through countless
public hearings defending his wall, as the county officials attempt to have the size of the
wall - approved by the county - reduced.
The action against Himsel was sparked in part by the Carrollwood Civic Association,
represented by recently defrocked county judge Betsey Hapner, who also happens to live
across the street from the Berlin Wall of Carrollwood.
Obviously a block party is out of the question.

Single-handedly, Charlie Himsel has to be personally supporting the three-ring binder
business. His exhibits before code enforcement panels, numerous county permitting
agencies and land use hearing officers have grown larger than the U.S. Tax Code - all
over a wall.
He now faces potentially thousands of dollars in fines and liens against his property - all
over a wall.
And at least one Tampa lawyer has charged him $3,100 to write one letter (to no avail)
on his behalf - all over a wall.
Such a deal! The mouthpiece originally tried to bill Himsel $8,600 for the missive. No
wonder law schools are so overcrowded.
To be sure, Charlie Himsel's wall is something of an acquired taste. It is big. It is
imposing. And it's perfectly understandable if one happened to be living next door to the
Wailing Wall of Carrollwood, one might be rather annoyed to throw open one's bedroom
window and discover a slab of cement only a few feet away.
This is Florida, not the South Bronx.
Friday, land use hearing officer Harold Youmans cut to the heart of the Himsel
brouhaha. ``What is a front yard?'' he asked, precisely capturing the problem.
For Himsel's home sits on an awkwardly configured corner Sabal Road lot. And the
offending portion of the wall, depending on interpretation, sits on a side yard (Himsel's
view) or the front yard (the county's position).
If Youmans accepts Himsel's argument, the wall's 6-foot height remains legal. If he sides
with the county, at least 2 feet of concrete would have to be shaved off.
After hearing the case Friday, including the introduction of three more binders, Youmans
is expected to issue a ruling within 15 days for or against Himsel's request for a variance
on the wall.
Irrespective of how Youmans rules, the saga of the Bunker of Carrollwood raises two

other issues.
First, does not a government agency have an obligation to stick by a ruling, even if that
ruling is subsequently found to perhaps have been in error? Charlie Himsel built his wall
- at great expense - because county permitting officials said he could. And if Himsel
eventually has to reduce the size of his wall, should not the county bear part of the cost?
Second, even if you assume Himsel is well within his legal rights and has been royally
stiffed by county bureaucrats trying to cover their keisters for issuing an improper permit
(which he has), didn't Himsel have some obligation to
design his wall with the sensibilities of his neighbors in mind (which he didn't)?
If simple good manners prevailed in this case, with everyone admitting they all made
mistakes, an awful lot of time, money, high blood pressure and three-ring binders could
have been saved.
Instead, Sabal Road has been turned into Carrollwood's version of the Gaza Strip - all
because of a wall.