INVERNESS, Fla. — When Kerri Gladden and her family bought a home in Inverness Village 4, they thought they were making a good decision. Instead, it’s one they’ve come to regret.
Their neighborhood, Inverness Village 4 (IV4), was built without a drainage system, so the subdivision’s unpaved streets have become a series of sandy, treacherous canyons that continues to deteriorate.
“We think about it every time we go outside,” Gladden told ABC Action News. “Every time we get in the car, every time we look in our backyard where we can see all the unfinished houses.”
WATCH: Sandy roads, no drainage, and now a lawsuit: Citrus County neighborhood in legal crosshairs
“What did we get into?" she asked aloud.
She’s not alone. Dozens of homeowners in IV4 have been speaking out about the neighborhood’s plight for years. They say they’ve been left with dangerous conditions and broken promises.
In late February, an on-duty Citrus County Fire Rescue truck got stuck in a sandy intersection in Inverness Village 4.
Now, the Southwest Florida Water Management District (SWFWMD) is taking action. Last week, SWFWMD filed a lawsuit against Citrus County Government, homebuilder Van Der Valk Construction, and several other entities tied to the neighborhood’s development.
The complaint accuses the defendants of building homes without securing legally-required environmental resource permits, which SWFWMD says are necessary “before beginning any construction activity that would affect wetlands, alter surface water flows, or contribute to water pollution.”
“None of these homes should have been built without what they needed,” Gladden said.
According to SWFWMD, the lack of a drainage system “has resulted in flooding, erosion, and other off-site environmental impacts.”
In a separate court filing, SWFWMD explained its enforcement action isn’t about punishment; it’s about compliance.
“The development…must have a [drainage] system…for the health and safety of the public,” it reads.
Gladden, however, isn’t convinced the case will lead to meaningful change, at least not quickly.
“I don’t think that the resolution is going to be anytime soon for anybody to get us out of the situation that we are in,” she said. “Unfortunately, I think it will be years.”
Still, she said it’s one of the first times she’s felt like someone outside the neighborhood is paying attention.
But even that optimism is cautious.
“Who is the lawsuit really benefiting?” she asked.
Gladden’s skepticism comes from years of inaction.
Relentless finger-pointing between the Citrus County government, the home builder, and the person who sold many of the lots to the home builder has led to a stalemate and no solutions for the neighbors, who feel that the neighborhood’s lack of infrastructure poses a public safety threat.
Although the neighborhood’s roads were dedicated to the public, Citrus County has refused to perform maintenance on the right-of-ways, claiming that no roads were ever constructed.
When contacted by ABC Action News on Monday, neither the homebuilder nor the county had a comment about SWFWMD’s lawsuit.
Anton Van Usen, who sold many of the lots in IV4, and whose companies are named as co-defendants in the lawsuit, sees SWFWMD’s involvement as a positive development toward a future solution.
“There’s only one entity that should install the run-off system,” said Van Usen, who maintains that installation of the drainage system is the county’s responsibility. “The real question is who’s to pay.”
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