ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After Hurricane Irma, many of unincorporated Orange County's 270 gated communities piled storm debris outside their gates to be picked up by privately-contracted haulers.
However, Orange County's Public Works Director Mark Massaro said at Tuesday's commission meeting that county haulers picked up debris from 18 gated communities after they asked for help with removal.
"You're looking at a dollar figure of approximately $2.2 million," Massaro said.
By comparison, Massaro said Orange County spent 90 days and $20 million picking up debris from public roadways in unincorporated Orange County after Hurricane Irma.
Unincorporated Orange County has 270 gated communities housing as many as 65,000 people. Massaro said that's 5 percent of the Orange County population.
Most gated communities paid contractors to cut, collect and haul away storm debris, as they are obligated to.
Unlike open public neighborhoods and subdivisions, gated communities are privately-owned, which includes all streets and sidewalks in the neighborhood. Residents are responsible for maintenance and, when necessary, storm debris removal.
Gated communities incorporated after 2009 in Orange County are required to establish a "storm removal account," a fund managed by a homeowners association funded by homeowners. The county is paid from that storm removal account in the event that county haulers assist in debris pickup.
Massaro said the 18 communities that the county assisted without reimbursement didn't have a storm removal fund.
Orange County provided a list of the 18 gated communities that officials said did not reimburse the county for debris removal:
Orange Tree, Stoneybrook Hill, Sweetwater West, Lake Hill Woods, Preserve at Eastwood, Villages of Rio Pinar, Lake Kehoe Preserves, Reserve at Wedgefield, Moss Park Reserve, Porter Place, Magnolia Park at Windermere, Lake Sheen Reserve, Lake Butler Sound, Waterford Point, Lake Drowey, Lakeside Reserve, Belmere and the Reserve at Belmere.
Some residents said that after Hurricane Irma, they called the county, either because they didn't know it was the HOA's responsibility to remove the piles, or because privately-contracted haulers were not picking up the debris.
Orange County officials said county haulers are not allowed to enter gated communities to pick up storm debris. Haulers are only allowed to pick up debris piles from an agreed-upon location, usually outside the gates, if the county grants the pickup.
Massaro said he will communicate with all gated communities to make them aware of their responsibilities and the costs associated with county debris pickup, should they need it, before the next storm.