SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. – A permit issued in error, a neighborhood divided, and taxpayer money used to fix what officials called a mistake.
It began quietly, with construction neighbors say they didn’t expect.
Jason White, who lives across the street, said he first noticed the project in September.
“Around about the middle of September, I noticed he was building a pool. So I had no idea until they dug a hole,” White explained.
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That hole was for a pool planned in what zoning rules consider the front yard of a corner-lot home. After seeing the excavation, White contacted the county building department.
County officials later acknowledged the permit had been issued in error and told the homeowners, Robbie and Melissa Taylor, they would need a variance to continue.
“We’re actually the pool builder as well. So we did all of our due diligence and, you know, got our setbacks, got a permit,” Robbie Taylor said at the meeting to get permission for the permit.
Melissa Taylor said the family felt they were being blamed for a mistake they didn’t make.
“We did not do anything wrong. And we have this massive hole in our yard and all this money we put in, and it’s dangerous.”
The variance request split the neighborhood and the Board of Adjustment which voted 2 -1 to approve the variance.
Days later, the controversy deepened. The county fired the code enforcement employee who originally approved the permit. In a disciplinary action form, the county described the approval as a “mistake” that “does not comply with code requirements.”
White said the pool never met zoning standards.
His kitchen table was covered in paperwork where he pointed out the issue.
“Per the zoning code for corner lots, the red is where you’re not allowed to put a pool,” White said pointing at the piece of paper on the table.
He went on to say, “The pool is right here. It’s totally in the red.”
White has spent thousand of dollars of his own money on attorneys to fight the decision to build the pool.
Just as he considered his next steps, the hole disappeared. As quickly as it appeared, it was gone.
Neighbor Cheryl Anderson said the situation left many people confused.
“It was kind of silly to everybody, you know, that I know it was just like, well, what’s the big deal?”
Turns out the “big deal” is the settlement between the county and the Taylors – $40,000 used to fill the hole and return the property to its original condition.
Taxpayer money for the county to dig itself out of the hole it created.