Working to Rid Rainbow Lakes of Trashy Squatters

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

A resident of Rainbow Lakes Estates told Levy County Commissioners this week that the problem with squatters setting up tents and campers on property they don’t own continues in her community, but county code enforcement is making an effort to address the situation.

“We have seen some of the campers move. I know some citations have been filed. I’m so happy to see something is starting to happen,” said Debra Coffee. “They are coming in faster than you can handle them and I know you guys have your hands full. Some of these people have sunk their teeth in so deep I don’t think they’re going to move.”

Coffee said a committee of residents in Rainbow Lakes Estates, a southeast Levy County subdivision, would like to be notified when squatters are taken to court for violations of county law. Residents want the judge to hear their side of the story and know the full impact on their lives.

County Code Enforcement Officer Dave Banton said he has good contacts with Coffee and he will notify her if cases go to court. He said neighbors have a right to tell the judge about what is going on in the community where they own property and have homes.

“Rainbow Lakes Estates is a small piece of the county and the same thing is going on all over the county,” Banton said. “My job is to identify the problem and give them reasonable time. Court is an option. The court doesn’t solve everything. If people are working toward packing up and moving out, I’ll work with them, but I also know when they are taking advantage of my time. Court is an option. Citations are an option, but if they are legitimately trying to get to an end result of having a home out there, that’s what I want. Voluntary compliance is my goal.”

Banton said education is an important part of code enforcement. He wants to make sure people understand there are rules they have to follow and they need to know what rules have been broken, and he said he has to give them reasonable time to change their behavior.

“There are a handful of people out there that the end result is to have a home there. We’re speeding up the process. I’m working with the zoning office to make sure that if they drop stuff off, I’m not out there harassing them,” Banton said.

Resident Renate Cannon asked what Banton meant by a reasonable time. Banton said it depends on the situation.

“There are times if I get a phone call and I roll out to the property and this property has become an issue five years in the making and people are hauling stuff on the property, I give them two weeks to come up with a plan, and show me they understand they’re in violation and that improvements must be made. After that, I give them 30 days. After the 30 days, I need to see great improvement or I can start doing citations,” Banton said.

He said he doesn’t know why people would wait five years to file complaints on a property when they could have done it six months after they first saw what was happening. However, in long-term cases like that, Banton said, as long as he sees things are moving forward, he will work with them.

“Things aren’t going to change overnight if it’s been around over five years. Reasonable time is going to be based on what’s in front of me when I go to a piece of property,” he said.

Keith Deering, a Rainbow Lakes Estates resident, said a second problem has developed with 4-wheelers and side-by-sides “terrorizing everything” in Rainbow Lakes Estates. He said he caught three or four kids on a 4-wheeler driving on a county road. He said they told him they had been given permission to ride on the side of the road as long as there was no traffic. They claimed to have talked to law enforcement from Marion County. Deering said he checked with Marion County law enforcement and they said they had made no such statement. They asked to be notified so they can explain the law to the kids.

“Now they run faster so we can’t catch them,” Deering said.

Deering said squatters continue to be a big problem in Rainbow Lakes Estates. He said one police lieutenant came out to the subdivision and ran off squatters who had showed up one day, built a chicken coop, and began letting chickens run around.

“We walked in there. They had nothing, no water, no nothing, and yet they’re squatting on a piece of property,” Deering said. “The Levy County Sheriff’s Department came. Gone. Done deal. He said they had no idea all this was going on. He said someone’s not relaying the information to the police department.”

Deering said squatters on another piece of property cut trees and fashioned fence posts that were stuck in the ground. They erected a gate. But they didn’t have any water or anything else.

“It’s getting ridiculous,” he said.

Commissioner Matt Brooks advised Deering against walking up to someone he doesn’t know to talk to them about squatting or the 4-wheeler problem.

“That’s dangerous. I would recommend calling law enforcement if you feel it’s a law enforcement issue or a nuisance. I would leave it to the authorities and keep yourself safe. Everyone is trying to do the right thing. Sometimes there is a communication issue between agencies,” Brooks said.

“I’m to the point now if these squatters can do this and get away with it, why don’t I put a little building up and I can run a hose from my property and an extension cord and run it to the squatters,” Deering said.

“You’re better than that. You’re not going to do that,” Brooks said.

“I said I could. It’s to the point that’s the way you feel; the people who just came in are from New York. They don’t have enough problems there so they bring them to us,” Deering said.’

Commission Chairman Rock Meeks also cautioned Deering to avoid approaching anyone about the squatter or 4-wheeler issues.

“There are people today, you don’t know what they’re thinking or what they could do. I’d definitely let code enforcement know or let law enforcement deal with it versus an individual trying to deal with it or have an altercation,” Meeks said.

Meeks said Deering should contact law enforcement about the ATV problems. He suggested Deering contact the Levy County Sheriff’s office to let the agency know what’s happening. He said they might be able to hinder the activities by having a presence on the roads.

Coffee and Deering were on the same page as far as being frustrated with the squatters.

“There’s new ones popping up faster than we can get them reported,” she said. I may have another pile going to code enforcement today. I have another load of complaints,” she said.

She said she appreciates what code enforcement officials and law enforcement are trying to do with this difficult problem in Rainbow Lakes Estates.

“Just so everybody is on the same page and we’re getting something done. I know it happens slowly, but as long it happens, we’re good,” she said.