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Commission hikes fines for illegal watering
By JAMES THORNER © St. Petersburg Times, published March 28, 2001 NEW PORT RICHEY -- John Woods was riled, defiant and in their face. Clutching a walker at the West Pasco Government Center on Tuesday, the 94-year-old Gulf Highlands resident harangued county commissioners about their get-tough policy on lawn-watering violators. Woods was among the first group of homeowners nabbed for sprinkling grass on the wrong day. During a pre-dawn inspection on Friday, code enforcement officers hit him with a $38 fine. Not only did he want the citation expunged, but he also vowed to continue watering until his newly plugged lawn takes root. "You people are not going to push me around," Woods told commissioners, referring to an exemption in the law that lets homeowners water new lawns for the first 30 days. Less than an hour before Woods' tirade, commissioners had voted to quadruple fines for illegal watering: $250 for second-time offenders, up from the current $60, and $500 for third-time offenders, up from $120. Suspected first-time offenders such as Woods will continue to pay the old fine of $30 plus court costs. To help ease the region through the drought, the Southwest Florida Water Management District has mandated extra policing of water violations. Pasco, however, hasn't needed much encouragement to go after people county officials have labeled water hogs. So far in March, the county has cited 159 residents for violating one-day-a-week watering restrictions. Before the county got tough this month, Pasco nabbed a monthly average of about 20 violators. Joe Richards, Pasco's newly hired water attorney, said few people can claim ignorance about restrictions on the books for a year. "Everyone should be aware of it unless you're living under a rock," Richards told the board Tuesday. Even greater scrutiny may follow. Commissioner Peter Altman recommended that the county scan its utility billing records and confront households using unusually large amounts of water. "Why not say, "You're using a lot of water. Why?' " Altman said. Commissioners also toyed with the idea of requiring drought-resistant plants for new developments and distributing rebates to homeowners who invest in water-saving drip irrigation systems. Joining Woods in opposition, Frank Balogh, a sod farmer on Ridge Road, complained he had lost $350,000 worth of his crop to dryness last year. And homeowners strapped with once-a-week-sprinkling won't buy sod like they once did, Balogh said. "I can't run my business like this," he said. "It's absolutely killing me." But the most forceful words came from Woods, whose tirade forced Commission Chairman Steve Simon to threaten him with ejection from the meeting room. Woods replied to Simon: "Oh, why don't you dry up." Also at the meeting, commissioners rejected an appeal by Wal-Mart to boost the size of its signs at a new supercenter at Little Road and State Road 54. Wal-Mart representatives sought a variance to the county's land-development regulations. The company said it needed bigger signs -- in one case four times bigger -- to attract passing motorists. Rejected by the county's Development Review Committee on Jan. 25, Wal-Mart's request proceeded on appeal to the commissioners on Tuesday. Agreeing with the commissioners' denial of the Wal-Mart request was a group of keep-Pasco-beautiful activists wearing stickers reading, "No To More Signage." "We've stopped water pollution. We've stopped land pollution . . . and air pollution. This might be the time to stop visual pollution," Trinity Oaks resident Milton Chojnowski said. Commissioners also directed county staffers to pursue as much as $350,000 in state money to straighten the misaligned intersection of Livingston Road, Collier Parkway and County Line Road. After more than a year of negotiations, Pasco persuaded Hillsborough County to spend $300,000 on the intersection, far short of a $1.74-million major realignment sought by homeowners on County Line Road. Commissioners added the project to its capital improvement plan, the first step toward seeking state dollars. The project depends upon the county's purchase of property south of County Line Road from the Greenslade family. - James Thorner covers county government and growth and development in Pasco County. He can be reached at (813) 226-3458 or thorner@sptimes.com.
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