Lady Lake Commissioners approved three abatement requests from residents of the town whose properties had fallen out of compliance.
All three properties were in violation of various town ordinances, including ordinance 7-67, which prohibits any resident of the city from allowing “garbage, trash, yard trash, rubbish, debris, and unsightly and unsanitary matter” from accumulating on a property within the town limits.
The ordinance also prohibits high “grass, weeds, or uncultivated growth exceeding ten inches in height,” no matter the yard (e.g., front, back, side).
When a property does not come into compliance within 10 days of receiving notification from the town of Lady Lake, the city may assess a fee for each day the property is out of compliance.
The first property at 101 Mark Avenue, whose owner accrued a $250 fee every day for over three years dating back to February 2013, owed approximately $317,837 for noncompliance. The property owners indicated that they were never notified of the compliance concerns on account of a clerical error on the county’s part. Commissioners voted 3-2 in favor of reducing that amount to $1,500, with Commissioners Paul Hannan and Dan Vincent voting against the abatement.
The second property located at 226 Lake Griffin Road had been noncompliant for nearly a year and had accrued $4,362 in fees, but changed ownership and became compliant within a day of changing hands. Commissioners approved abatement of the fees to $1,500 by a margin of 4-1, with Commissioner Paul Hannan voting against.
The final property, located at 236 Skyline Drive, accrued $179,337 during the time that it was noncompliant. The property owner previously reported to the town of Lady Lake that health issues had prevented them from bringing the property into compliance. Commissioners approved abatement of the fees to $750 by a margin of 3-2, with Commissioners Paul Hannan and Dan Vincent voting against abatement.