Article and Video Courtesy of
FOX 35 NEWS -- ORLANDO
Published October 31, 2007 |
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ORLANDO Fla - Living in one of the over 140 gated communities in Orange County could soon bring some unexpected financial challenges in Orange County.
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Tuesday night, county commissioners made it clear they cannot pay to repair roads and other infrastructure behind those gates. This raises serious questions about whether some gated communities will have enough money to make critical repairs as the subdivisions age.
State law does not allow the county to spend public money on private property, like gated subdivisions. Teresa Jacobs has many of them in her district.
"These aren't just a neighborhood with a gate in front,” Jacobs said. “The streets are |
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Gated
communities face problems |
private, the sidewalks are private, all the pipes underground are all private."
State law won't allow Orange County to pay to repair roads, road signs, sidewalks, drainage pipes, retention ponds and culverts.
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"So if anything goes wrong, the streets start deteriorating, the retention ponds don't work, the drainage system doesn't work, it's up to all the people living in that neighborhood to pay for that," Jacobs pointed out.
That means as neighborhoods age, homeowners associations must learn how to repair infrastructure and they must put money in their reserve funds to pay for big ticket repairs.
FEMA does not reimburse gated communities on debris removal bills, and the county is not allowed to do it either. |
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So gated subdivisions will be on their own when the next big storm blows through
State law won't allow Orange County to pay to repair roads, road signs, sidewalks, drainage pipes, retention ponds and culverts.
"So if anything goes wrong, the streets start deteriorating, the retention ponds don't work, the drainage system doesn't work, it's up to all the people living in that neighborhood to pay for that," Jacobs pointed out.
That means as neighborhoods age, homeowners associations must learn how to repair infrastructure and they must put money in their reserve funds to pay for big ticket repairs.
FEMA does not reimburse gated communities on debris removal bills, and the county is not allowed to do it either. So gated subdivisions will be on their own when the next big storm blows through.
County commissioners say future gated communities will have to set up their own storm debris removal funds in order to win approval to be built.
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