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Land O'Lakes residents seeing backyards erode away

HOA suing Pasco County over canal fix
Posted at 6:47 PM, Jul 21, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-21 18:48:10-04
Jeff Cole comes out to check on his backyard just about every day.
 
 And his anxiety is up since a sinkhole destroyed two homes just three miles from here.
 
“When I purchased the home I had no idea that this was an issue,” he said.
 
The problem in the Plantation Palms subdivision is not a sinkhole, but erosion eating away at the land behind a group of homes along a canal.
 
It’s about a 30 foot drop down.
 
In recent years, there have been attempts to stop the erosion.
 
But land continues to sink, taking trees and even a deck with it.
 
Mario Caldarola just moved here six weeks ago.
 
“The previous owner moved his fence in off the drainage easement. But his old fence post since we moved in they are foot further down,” he said.
 
He said while he knew about the problems, he’d hoped to see more action by now.
 
“Now the county is involved or they are not involved. There’s supposedly a lawsuit and then oh we can’t do anything because it’s the rainy season,” he said.
 
Plantation Palms’ home owners association is suing Pasco County over the canal. 
 
The issue is over who’s responsible for what.
 
But an attorney for the HOA said their goal is to work with the county to find a solution.
 
Pasco County officials agree saying engineers from both sides are looking at options.
 
“Bottom line is it needs to get fixed and fixed correctly,” said Cole.