Settled lawsuit over grass leaves few answers

Article Courtesy of The Orlando Sentinel

By Kevin Spears

Published September 5, 2016

 

A legal battle between an Orange County homeowner wanting to eliminate irrigation and fertilizing in her yard and a neighborhood association favoring lush lawns has ended in a secret settlement, disappointing those hoping for an environmentally favorable precedent.

 

Renee Parker was sued by a homeowner association in 2012 for planting drought-tolerant landscaping in a neighborhood dominated by pampered lawns. Although the case was widely watched for an interpretation of state law, Parker said the court fight left her ill from stress and not able to continue.

She was not available to speak in person and in emails shared photos of her yard, now covered with a new, conventional lawn.

"The house is for sale," Parker said of her home in the Summerport community near Windermere and west of Orlando.

At issue was a 2009 state law crafted to protect Floridan Aquifer, river and lake waters from overuse and pollution by promoting use of turf and plants that don't need irrigation and chemicals.

Renee Parker's drought-tolerant landscape was target of lawsuit.


   
Parker, who works as a program supervisor at Orange County's Environmental Protection Division, had planted flowers, shrubs and Argentine bahia grass that allowed her to eliminate most water and fertilizer costs.

The law also declares residents who pursue environmentally friendly yards are shielded from homeowner association demands for more conventional lawns.

Yet homeowners and associations have had sharply different interpretations of the law.

"It's a very weak law," said Jeannette Moore, a St. Augustine real-estate broker who specializes in environmentally friendly properties. She maintains a Facebook page as a resource for Floridians stymied in applying the 2009 law.

The page title is "Homeowners for Florida Friendly Yards."

"The Parkers were dragged through the mud, swamp and everything else," Moore said. "It was an ugly, ugly case."

The suit was filed by the Summerport Residential Property Owners Association. The association's president, Steve Fisher, did not respond to requests for comment.

Summerport lawyer Robert Taylor of Orlando commented briefly on the lawsuit. Both sides agreed in March to have the case dismissed, although a final order is still listed as pending.

Taylor said the litigation was not likely to have meaning for similar cases elsewhere in Florida.

"This was an individual case about an individual community with an individual person with an individual set of documents," Taylor said.

Moore disagreed, saying many residents were watching the case for lessons in how to defend against an association lawsuit and for possible legal precedent.

"Since there are no teeth in the statute it has become a political issue," Moore said. "It shouldn't be political."

The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, a primary promoter of Florida-friendly landscapes, distances itself from legal fights.

"I would like to make it clear that we are educators, not lawyers," said Esen Momol, now director of the institute's Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program, when the Parker lawsuit was filed. "We will not get involved with any disputes."

Landscape and fertilizer companies contend lawns can be of minimal harm and even beneficial by preventing erosion when lawn crews and residents carefully follow product directions and irrigation guidelines.

But local governments exert much effort in addressing sloppy application of fertilizer and pesticides, poorly maintained sprinkler systems and homeowners and lawn crews who sweep yard cuttings into streets and storm drains.

Parker said she attempted to solve those concerns and another matter; her sandy yard drys out rapidly, requiring heavy irrigation to sustain conventional grass.

An Orlando lawyer who focuses on community associations, Barbara Stage, agreed to represent Parker without charge, although she faced potentially significant legal costs.

Stage said she had hoped the case would provide clarity for the state law and relief to homeowners who are often exhausted by the grind of litigation.

Stage said residential landscaping is a critical issue for the state's environmental health that should not be shaped by lopsided contests.

"You are fighting over grass and when it starts to take a toll on your health it gets to be too much," Stage said. "Associations count on you not having the money to litigate or not being able to stand up to the stress."

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