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Highlands Today

County Gets Tough With Viking Village Trailers

Jesse Osbourne/Highlands Today

Interim Lead Officer of Highlands County Code Enforcement April Hartseil spray painted a pink number 15 on the side of the condemned Viking Village unit in Lake Placid. Twelve units were condemned.

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By Bill Rettew Jr. | Highlands Today

Published: October 10, 2007

Since condemnation notice proceedings were posted Tuesday on most buildings in his neighborhood, Francisco Garcia said it's time to move out.

April Hartseil, Highlands County interim lead code enforcement officer, and Guy Allen, county building inspector, marked 12 former homes at the Viking Village trailer park with pink paint Tuesday.

Most had several structural gaping holes and broken windows, with grass and plantings several feet higher than is typical.

The pair posted nuisance notices on the mobile homes as part of condemnation proceedings at the development, located at the intersection of County Road 17 and Lake June Drive.

Garcia said he has lived alone for more than three years at the site and pays $200 per month for rent, which includes the cost of water, while he is billed separately for electricity.

He also said that three other units in the former senior retirement community are also inhabited. None of the occupied residences were declared nuisances or inspected because they were locked.

Allen said that "eventually" all of about 18 former senior homes in Viking Village will either be removed by the property owner, currently Randy Herscovici of Sebring Properties LLC, or by the county.

County commissioners voted unanimously at last Tuesday's meeting to post the property and send Herscovici a "Notice of Nuisance," which reads in part: "These conditions constitute a menace to the health, safety, and welfare of the persons and property in the vicinity ..." County Commissioner Don Bates is also a Lake Placid resident.

"This is the role that the code enforcement office should be serving for the county – to give the owner an incentive to clean it up, with the hammer to clean it if he won't."

Herscovici will be notified of the notice and the county's action by certified mail sent on Tuesday, and he will have 15 days to respond.

"At least we can get his attention," said Hartseil. "We are doing everything we can to have the structures removed by the end of the year."

With no response, an inspection for asbestos would be scheduled by the county. If removal would cost more than $25,000 — as Hartseil expects — then the county would need to advertise for sealed bids through newspapers throughout the state.

If the county is charged with removal, a lien for county costs would be placed against the value of the property before removal starts.

Making Neighbors Happy

Two neighbors were ecstatic when county workers showed up to officially post the buildings. Both Jean Dunn and Donna Guzman launched a public relations campaign to attract attention to the eyesore located just a few steps away from their homes and Lake June.

"Relieved is an understatement," said Dunn, while Guzman said, "Everybody is so happy to see somebody doing something."

Herscovici had the property rezoned during the spring of 2005. The former mobile home park zoning was changed to R-3 zoning. Plans were drawn to build 32 condominiums — many with lake views.
Hartseil said that along with a notice of nuisance, Herscovici would likely also receive citation for having mobile homes in an R-3 zone. The fine would cost the property owner $50 per day until the trailers are removed.

Allen explained that the properties were declared unsafe for health and safety reasons because of structurally un-sound walls and rotted floors.

"The cost to repair would exceed the value of the homes," said the code enforcement officer about the structures he estimated were built during the late 1960s or early 1970s. "It's not feasible to repair."
Herscovici did not return phone calls.

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