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Judgment Day For Hillsborough Watering Violators

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By JOHN W. ALLMAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 23, 2009

TAMPA - One man said he got stuck between appeasing his homeowner association and adhering to local water restrictions.

Another woman said she was never notified of a water violation – until a lien had already been secured against her property.

One by one, four individuals stepped before a Hillsborough County special magistrate today to explain why they had yet to pay a citation for violating the county's strict water use ordinance.

Residents in unincorporated parts of the county can water their lawns once a week, but must do it before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m., and not at all on weekends.

All but one of the people appearing today was forced to pay either the citation or a daily penalty imposed by the magistrate for long-standing, unresolved cases. Some residents, such as Nancy Larsen of Riverview, said the hearing was not fair.

Larsen and her husband Daniel were renting a house they owned when the violation occurred in 2007. They never received a citation notice. Then they lost the property last year to foreclosure. Then they learned the county had a lien on their property, and that a daily fine had been accruing.

The Larsens paid the $100 citation late last year, and appeared Monday before Special Magistrate Chuck Porter to argue against the daily fine, which had grown to $1,700. Porter reduced the fine to $300 plus a $55 administrative fee.

"I feel frustrated," Nancy Larsen said. "I just want it over and done with."

Others at the hearing said the Water Resource Services department could be more user-friendly.

Property owner Ron Simon said the citation was mailed to the wrong address for his business. And when he tried to pay it, his payment was not processed promptly.

Wade Edwards Jr. received a continuance on his $200 citation because he provided information showing he was watering new landscaping, which is allowed by the ordinance.

Edwards said it's tough trying to comply with his homeowner association at Canterbury Lakes, which forced him to improve his landscaping under threat of penalty, and still not violate water restrictions.

"I was replacing plugs of grass and shrubs and I got fined for it," he said. "It's very frustrating, but hey, I know we have a serious water problem."

Porter, the special magistrate, showed little remorse during a recess.

"There is a lot of violations, and people don't take it seriously enough," Porter said. "They have an obligation as property owners."

Reporter John W. Allman can be reached at (813) 259-7915.

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