Erosion concerns Lakewood Ranch residents

LAKEWOOD RANCH — As Summerfield Bluffs resident Tammy Kovar looks out her office window, she sees a view few other Lakewood Ranch residents enjoy: a serene glimpse of the Braden River.

But that view is changing.

Since moving into her home in 1999, Kovar has lost one to two feet of land to erosion each year. Now, the drop-off to the river that once was several yards away is only a few feet from her property line and home.

“The more rain, the more the river moves and things happen,” Kovar said. “I’m in an unpredictable (place).”
Kovar worries the river’s edge is creeping dangerously close to her home and eventually could undermine the structural integrity of her house — or one day cause it to fall into the river altogether.

Fellow residents of Summerfield Bluffs, who say the erosion is causing their yards to slope as well as causing sink holes along the river, asked for the issue to be placed on the agenda for Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 1’s monthly meeting in March and now are waiting for an answer from the board.

“This is a situation that has gone from bad to worse over the past several years that now places our homes, families and property values in jeopardy,” resident Stuart Siegel said in a letter to the district. “This is an issue that needs to be addressed with a sense of urgency. Another season of summer rain resulting in increased river flow, and volume can only accelerate an already-critical situation.”

The board was slated to discuss the issue this week, after the East County Observer went to press.
Manatee County official records show Lakewood Ranch developer Schroeder-Manatee Ranch CDD 1 granted a conservation easement on the river property to the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission in November 1994.

Following severe floods in Summerfield in November 1997 and March 1998, SMR installed a flood control system to change water flow patterns. It also planted shrubbery in 2002 along property behind Kovar’s home to help slow the erosion.

Since then, SMR granted title of the property to the CDD, SMR President and CEO Rex Jensen said.

Therefore, any new work must be done by the CDD.

“You can’t exercise self help on somebody else’s property,” he said.

However, when Siegel questioned the CDD about the issue in October 2010, he was directed to SMR for answers.

In his letter, Siegel also suggested SMR’s flood control system may have contributed to the erosion.
Jensen said the idea was “ludicrous” because the system diverts water to a spot farther south along the river — and away from the bend where Kovar’s house sits.

But those solutions haven’t stopped the erosion. Several trees now lay fallen against the river’s bank, and the shrubbery has fallen down the riverbank as well.

Kovar said she doesn’t want to cause trouble but hopes something can be done. She also does not want her neighbors to have to foot the bill for repairs. Inquiries to various agencies over the years have not resulted in a permanent solution to the problem. Repairing the bank herself would be financially unfeasible, and she does not own the property currently eroding away, she said.

Kovar, a biologist, said she is open for any ideas on resolving the issue, including the use of new technology.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

UN-DEVELOPABLE
The deed of conservation easement was given Nov. 15 by Lakewood Ranch Community Development District 1 and by Schroeder-Manatee Ranch to the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.

EASEMENT TERMS:
“2. Grantors reserve to themselves, their heirs, successors or assigns, all rights as Owners of the Property, including the right to engage in all uses of the Property that are not expressly prohibited herin and are not inconsistent with the purpose of this Conservation Easement as set forth in Section 704.06, Florida Statutes. The following are prohibited activities unless otherwise consented to in writing by Grantee:

(a) Construction or placing of building, roads, billboards or other advertising;

(b) Dumping or placing of soil or other substance or material as landfill or dumping or placing of trash, waste, or unsightly or offensive materials; except as required for the construction of nature trails as provided in the management plan;

(c) Removal or destruction of trees, shrubs, or other vegetation; except as provided in the management plan;

(d) Excavation, dredging, or removal of loam, peat, gravel, soil, rock, or other material substance in such manner as to affect the surface; except as required for emergency maintenance to prevent erosion or stabilize the banks of the Braden River;

(e) Surface use expect for purposes that permit the land or water area to remain predominantly in its natural condition;

(f) Activities detrimental to drainage, flood control, water conservation, erosion control, soil conservation, or fish and wildlife habitat preservation;

(g) Acts or uses detrimental to such retention of land or water areas;

(h) Acts or uses detrimental to the preservation of the structural integrity or physical appearance of sites or properties of historical, architectural, archaeological or cultural significance;

3. No right access by the general public to any portion of the Property is conveyed by this Conservation Easement

4. Grantors, or their assigns, agree to bear all reasonable costs related to the operation, upkeep and maintenance of the Property.