LONGWOOD, Fla. – The homeowner behind a major flooding problem in Longwood’s Shadow Bay neighborhood has now been given a deadline to fix it, according to public records released on Tuesday.
A “Notice of Code Violation” was presented to the homeowner — who lives along North Shadowbay Boulevard — after she hired a crew in April to fill a stormwater pipe on her property with concrete.
Back in March, she had sent a letter to neighbors, accusing the HOA of installing the drainpipe on her property without her permission.
“I advise you of this because once I close that pipe off, you will have a drain problem that will back up on the road and on your property and potentially on my property,” she wrote.
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However, HOA board member Robin Rodriguez told News 6 that a developer separated the houses on one side of the street from the HOA in the 1980s.
The developer then created an easement to run a drainage pipe between these two homes that flows out into a nearby retention pond, so the HOA isn’t responsible for its construction.
“As the treasurer, I can tell you that there is nothing in our records from that time or any other time that says that we ever paid a crazy amount of money to put a 110-foot pipe in the ground, and there would be financial records for that,” Rodriguez said.
Since the drainpipe was filled, the community has voiced concerns about flooding in the neighborhood.
“I have to walk it down the pavement on the sidewalk until I get to where it’s clear...” said neighbor Sherry Graham. “Well, I hope she does face severe consequences. All of this water, it’s full of mosquitoes, and we’ve got a mosquito problem now.”
Earlier this month, News 6 visited North Shadowbay Boulevard after storms passed through the area, finding it covered in standing water.
“When we moved in here, we had no idea that this was going to be a problem,” said neighbor Jack Graham. “And now, it’s turned into a real nightmare.”
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But now, the homeowner has been provided a deadline by the county to remedy the issue.
A county spokesperson told News 6 that it’s a private property/roadway, so the county isn’t responsible for funding the repairs required to fix the problem.
Instead, the homeowner has been tasked to figure out how to fix it, and she only has until Monday, July 22 to do so.
The Notice of Code Violation says that she’s responsible for damaging the pipe, and so she must remove the concrete and repair the stormwater pipe.
If she doesn’t comply in time, she faces a $300 fine for each day the violation continues to exist.
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