LONGWOOD, Fla. — Seminole County deputies canvassed the ShadowBay neighborhood late Thursday evening and Friday, speaking with homeowners door to door.
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The sheriff’s office confirmed deputies hoped to collect statements that could be used to bring criminal charges against the woman who hired a crew to plug the neighborhood’s stormwater drainpipe with concrete in April.
The near-constant presence of water since has caused property damage, including stalled cars, and rising frustrations among homeowners and county staff who collectively believe a repair needs to be made quickly but are at odds with who should be responsible.
The county has hit the woman with a code enforcement violation after giving her time to rectify the situation voluntarily.
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A hearing to determine what fine she will face daily until the pipe is repaired is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
County staff maintain that the entire community is private property and has limited jurisdiction.
The HOA, though, only controls one side of the street. The side where the woman lives and the pipe was plugged was overseen by another HOA that went defunct years ago.
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The woman maintains she had a right to block the pipe. Neither she nor her attorney responded to a request for comment about the possibility of criminal charges.
“They really wanted to know what is the personal impact to each person, what kind of damages, if any, what kind of risks we’ve had and what our concerns are,” Jennell Taylor, one of the neighbors who spoke to deputies said.
She and others said deputies were particularly keen to hear about the letter the woman wrote in March -threatening to plug the pipe if she didn’t receive payment. The letter warned of property damage if her demand wasn’t met.
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Taylor said she has to mop her bedroom floor daily because water and epoxy are leeching through the tiles, something she showed deputies when they knocked. Other neighbors spoke of a small car that stalled out after heavy downpours on Thursday.
“I really believed it was such a ridiculous threat that you’re going to flood the entire neighborhood,” she said. “There’s no way it would be allowed to go through -- and here we are.”
It’s not clear what charges deputies could pursue or how long it would take. Neighbors believe the woman broke a law that prohibits blocking drainage canals – a third degree felony, if so – and an attorney with general knowledge of the situation said he believed they could be correct.
Most neighbors said they just wanted the flooding to stop.
“I’m worried about neighbors who can’t get out of there,” Noreen Lantry said, speaking of some elderly homeowners who have missed doctor’s appointments and medication deliveries. “This not just the water, is people’s possessions, their own property.”
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