Plant City commissioners approved unanimously May 12, an amendment to the city’s nuisance ordinance.
The amendment will require Walden Lake Golf and Country Club owner Visions Golf LLC to maintain more of the property of its closed Hills golf course.
Under the revision, plant material cannot exceed 10 inches within 200 feet of any building, structure, recreational area or street right-of-way.
“Such accumulation affects and impairs the economic welfare of adjacent property,” the code states.
Walden Lake resident Shelly Orrico celebrated the decision. Resident say The Hills’ knee-high weeds and deteriorating golf-cart paths and bridges have impacted their property values significantly.
“People could go out on their golf carts and get killed out there,” Orrico said after the meeting. “I think it’s great. I’m glad it passed. It helps us out a lot.”
Orrico, who spearheaded the residents’ anti-development campaign and petition, was the sole speaker during the public hearing before the vote. She asked commissioners to make the amendment.
“(Visions Golf exists) within our community and should not be allowed to continue the blight they are imposing on Walden Lake’s community,” Orrico said. “Walden Lake’s residents are required to maintain their homes and properties. Should we be expecting less from a property, formerly a viable golf course, to allow such deterioration that wreaks havoc on our property values and property rights?”
Orrico said the overgrowth makes the property unusable and wild, leading to other problems. She said kids on dirt bikes and loitering strangers are common sights.
“Since the closing of The Hills, some individuals have turned it into a public playground,” she said.
Frank VanDeBoe, an avid golfer, lives on The Lakes course. But, for him, it’s still hard to ignore the changes that are being proposed by Visions Golf.
“I’m disturbed by the people in general,” VanDeBoe said. “I haven’t played in 17 weeks. My wife and I are very disappointed. We moved here just for (the golf course). What’s going on there is just a joke.”
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
IN OTHER NEWS
• Mayor Mary Thomas Mathis presented a proclamation designating May 15, 2014, and declaring the week of May 11 to 17 a “Peace Officers Memorial Day and Police Week in Plant City.” She presented the proclamation to Plant City Police Department Capt. Susan Pruett. Pruett was also the lead detective in a recent homicide case and was instrumental in helping the department find the suspect within 24 hours.
• The commission voted unanimously for an ordinance that would regulate the placement of shipping and cargo containers. The guidelines stipulate that containers should be limited to one for every 20,000 square feet; be located to the side or rear of the primary building; and are excluded from residential areas, the downtown core and Midtown.