LONGWOOD, Fla. – An HOA said Tuesday that Seminole County has issued a 15-day extension to a woman who filled a drainage pipe with concrete on her property in the Longwood Shadow Bay community.
Shadow Bay HOA Treasurer Robin Rodriguez said news of the extension, in which the pipe needs to be fixed or replaced, comes a day after the HOA had to install a No Wake Zone sign along Shadowbay Boulevard to prevent drivers from pushing standing stormwater onto nearby properties.
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The woman was initially given until July 22 to fix the pipe — a deadline of 90 days — after she hired a crew to fill it with concrete in April, according to public records.
The HOA discovered this after reaching out to the county early Tuesday morning over email to request an update and that the case be added to the magistrate meeting agenda on Aug. 8, since the community was experiencing increasing flooding problems as a result of the blocked pipe.
The county replied, “No, the deadline for requesting a hearing has passed. Additionally, the owner at (address number) Shadowbay Blvd. has been issued an extension of 15 days.”
This message led community residents and the HOA to ask why the extension had been granted. However, they have yet to receive a response.
In March, the homeowner accused the HOA of installing the drainpipe on her property without permission and threatened to have it filled with concrete in a letter sent to neighboring residents. But the HOA told News 6 there was no evidence that the board had been responsible for it.
The Shadowbay Club HOA reported that Seminole County’s Public Work Engineers were on-site at the homeowner’s property last week, and as of Tuesday, the homeowner still had not made any attempts to fix the pipe.
News 6 reached out to the county for an explanation as to why the extension was granted. The county’s response is as follows:
“The deadline to comply was extended for two weeks until August 7th, as we complete a title search. The title search is needed to complete the County investigation on the ownership of the Drainage Easement.
A new letter was sent to the homeowner advising of the extension. If nothing happens by then, the issue would go before the magistrate for the first meeting and that would be on September 12th.”
Seminole County Public Information Manager Andy Wontor
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