Posted on 05/14/2002 5:05:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
EAST LAKE -- Many residents thought they owned the lake behind their $300,000 homes. They mowed up to the water line and chipped in yearly to treat the lake for algae blooms.
So it came as quite a shock Thursday when workers began erecting a 6-foot-high fence around the lake, obliterating their view.
For good measure, the workers painted a portion of the fence behind Alice Beehner's home bright pink and decorated it with sparkles.
"Isn't that atrocious?" Mrs. Beehner said Monday, pointing to the fence a few feet from her screened-in pool. "It's sickening!"
For 10 years the developer of their Tarpon Woods subdivision had let the taxes lapse on the 4-acre lake and a thin band of land around it.
A real estate speculator swooped in to purchase it for $1,000 at a delinquent tax sale in February. The speculator, 44-year-old Don Connolly of Valrico, now is offering to sell the land behind each of the homes for $30,000 per homeowner.
Residents ignored a letter from Connolly, trustee of the Lake Alice Land Trust that purchased the lake, offering to sell. Instead, someone took a couple of survey posts marking the property boundaries and threw them into the lake.
Connolly said that's when he decided to build the fence.
He started behind Beehner's meticulously landscaped property. The new fence separated her from two mature laurel oaks she planted shortly after moving into her home 17 years ago.
[Times photo: Jim Damaske] The fence behind the house of Alice Beehner, with dogs Beethoven and Bridgette, is pink with sparkles. Don Connolly says the color is to warn workers to stay away "because that person is very volatile and confronted us in the past."
"It's total extortion," Mrs. Beehner, 61, said Monday.
Connolly said he offered to sell the property to the homeowners as a courtesy.
"Is selling a piece of land extortion?" he said. "That doesn't make any sense to me."
He said he specializes in buying properties at tax sales. Records show he owns 50 properties in Pinellas County. Connolly said he owns 150 to 200 statewide.
"When people don't pay their taxes, this is what happens," he said. "I was willing to pay more than anyone else for this property. . . . The business we're in is unpleasant sometimes."
Connolly knows the consequences of failing to pay taxes.
Records show that in 1997 he was charged with failing to remit more than $100,000 worth of sales tax for an auto sales business he owned in Hillsborough County. Connolly blamed it on the company's accounting firm and said he reached a settlement with the state.
Because homeowners have rebuffed his offer, Connolly said, he now plans to develop two or three "executive" homes overlooking the lake. It might entail a dredge and fill project to move the lake a bit to the south, he said.
County officials said that would be difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish.
"He can't build on it unless he replaces the stormwater drainage," said Al Navaroli, a manager for the county's Development Review Services Department. "And pretty much all of it is stormwater drainage. . . . He's limited in what he can do."
But there's nothing to prevent Connolly from erecting the fence, Navaroli said, or painting it any color he chooses.
"I certainly see the man is trying to be obnoxious to his neighbors," Navaroli said. "But I don't see that he's violating any codes."
On Monday, the fence stretched across three of the 15 waterfront lots. He plans to extend it all the way around the lake.
"My intention is not to annoy anyone," he said.
As for painting the fence pink behind Mrs. Beehner's property, Connolly said, it was done to warn workers to stay away from that site "because that person is very volatile and confronted us in the past."
Connolly said he was shocked by the vitriol from some of the residents. The offer to sell small pieces of land to individual homeowners is off the table. Connolly said he is now negotiating with one homeowner interested in buying the entire 4.7-acre property.
He would not say how much he is asking. "I'm a reasonable man," Connolly said.
Mrs. Beehner warns the pink fence behind her property could be erected behind any number of homes in Pinellas.
"People need to be warned," she said. "This could happen in your back yard."
Connolly said he owns one other lake in Pinellas County.
But Navaroli said his office believes Connolly may own several properties that neighborhoods consider common areas. Navaroli said he warned the county property appraiser's office more than a year ago about the danger of taxing undevelopable lands, such as retention ponds, or selling those lands at tax sale.
"It's a pretty disgusting mess," said County Commissioner Susan Latvala. "We have to prevent this from happening again. That kind of property should not be for sale."
As for the Tarpon Woods lake, however, county officials said there may be nothing they can do to help the homeowners.
Some homeowners blame the developer, Lloyd Ferrentino for allowing the taxes to lapse. At the very least, some said, he should have notified the property owners so they could have tried to buy it. Ferrentino could not be reached Monday.
On Monday, Connolly's workers continued their fence-building, extending it behind the home of Peter Cieslinski. Cieslinski, 44, who was just released from active duty in the Navy a week ago, said he can't believe the county would allow someone to come in and take away his view of the alligators, turtles and wading birds.
"I look at it this way: There's the spirit of the law and the letter of the law," Cieslinski said. "The county is looking at this as the letter of the law. There's got to be a legal Latin term for "the law says this, but wait a minute, look at the extenuating circumstances.' "
Mrs. Beehner said neighbors plan to hire an attorney.
If they have been maintaining the property for an extended period of time (and it sounds like they've been doing that since the homes were built) then they could argue implied posession and argue that they should be able to buy out the speculator under hostile circumstances for what he payed for the property.
My brother and sister in-law had to deal with an issue like this once after they bought an older home. The only thing that saved their butts was that the issue wasn't brought up until AFTER they had already purchased the home. Had the "neighbor" begun legal proceedings before they bought it they would have had a hell of a fight on their hands in court.
Then why does he take them down for $30k? Your supposition is rather faulty.
The truth is the guy is a jerk! They won't pay him so he is trying to get back at them.
And everyone will be on the lookout for this guy. He will have so many complaints for all his property all over the state, he will get his just rewards.
One of my favorites is "What goes around comes around"!
Then why is he dismantling them for $30k? Face it, this is extortion. You can dress it up in fancy patterns but it is still extortion.
I didn't say a word but I will. This is slimeball's using the system to his advantage. Slimeballs are everywhere. There's one here in Houston who bought a free and clear home (aprox. value 150K, I believe) for $5k. over a disputed homeowners bill (inflated by lawyer's bills). It has been resolved in court and her home was returned. Her lawyer is currently suing to have all her expenses to fight this case covered.
At the onset of the Houston case, it came out early on, that the man who purchased her home at auction has hundreds of these properties and uses them as rentals. It was also disclosed that he owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes on these rental properties. People like this man, work the system both ways.
It boils down to buyer beware - owner beware.
And in some cases, you can get a twofer! lol
These idiots didn't pay attention to the details of their property. They should just stop whining and cough up the dough!
About 20 years ago, I purchased a portion of the lake bottom behind my lot from the developer. Some neighbors said "I'm not going to pay for what I already have" (it only cost $200 at the time). In order to make sure that the entire lake was purchased from the developer and not subject to being acquired by who knows who, several of my neighbors and I purchased portions of the lake which others refused to buy.
Now, 20 years later, the Florida drought has greatly diminished the size of the lake and some property owners who refused to buy their portion of the lake bottom now have NO WATERFRONT AT ALL (their property lines are hundreds of feet from the remaining lake)! Should the drought continue, these acres of lake bottom will eventually be farmed or grazed by cattle owned by those who had the foresight to purchase them.
The obstinate property owners "saved" $200 each and now have seen their property values decline by $20 - $30 THOUSAND EACH!
Sounds like The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. A fantastic novel for anyone looking for something to read.
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