Florida City to Evict Woman from Her Paid-for House for Living "Off the Grid" (Cape Coral: transfer, appraise)

[Hemlock140]

This has nothing to do with any over-regulation on the part of Cape Coral. I have spent about 25 years in the utility business in CA and WA and in most every city/county there are regulations requiring people to connect to the local municipal services if they are available. Even people with a well and septic system are forced to pay for and connect to the sewer and water main when those are extended past their home. Some may grandfather homes for existing owners but at the very least require that they be connected before the home can be sold. People have fought it but always lose. The worst part is that it may cost them $20,000 or more to get connected, despite being happy with their private well/septic. Typically a developer extends the mains to serve new homes and the homes in-between have to reimburse for their share of the cost plus their own water houseline and side sewer, and then pay for the monthly service.


Electricity is another matter, people can have solar or other alternative sources, but if they try to manage permanently on a gas powered generator they will run into the same problem.

[leigh9090]

An article I read the other day said the city just wanted access to her house to give her suggestions on living off the grid.

That is so far removed from the truth. And scary as well. They want IN, period.

[loki2330]

Cape Coma along with all governments has become a cancerous tumor living off the public and it along with all governments is out of control. I severely regret moving here and plan on leaving in the next year.

[Kim in FL]

Originally Posted by meekocat

I've kind of looked around on the CC site and don't see anything for noise restrictions. There must not be any, I live very close to Viscaya and it's a normal daily occurrence to hear super loud motorcycles early in the am during the week not to mention boom box speakers in cars.

Are you talking traffic noise (which the City and/or CCPD won't do anything about)?

Or are you talking about a neighbor letting his bike run for a long time in the morning or a neighbor blaring their car stereo in their driveway? (which both City and/or CCPD will do something about)

[meekocat]

I'm talking about some guy on a super loud motorcycle who goes to work every morning down SE 10th to Del Prado and the people who drive down the street with rap music playing so loud their cars are vibrating. I hate sitting next to people like that at lights. If there's a noise ordinance I haven't been able to find one, it should cover both scenarios.

Deafened by Hogs: Motorcycle Noise and the Environment - Forbes

[nhkev]

Interesting that the newspress "hints" that the woman took possession of this house fraudulently. They report that a 73 year old "former owner" filed a report that there was forged documents involved with this woman taking ownership of the property. This woman has a history of larceny at some point even stealing 30,000 from a client. It even makes me scratch my head that the woman's ex husband was 30 years older than her. I think when this story finally unfolds we are going to find this woman to be a con artist that preys on the elderly. I hope the police are really investigating this.

http://www.news-press.com/article/20...ving-off-grid-

don't know why this link won't work but maybe someone else can repost it

from the article
Her first experience off-the-grid was medical. Her husband, Xenophon “Zenny” Speronis, died in 2010 at the age of 84. In his last days, she was his caretaker treating his neuromuscular disorder without pharmaceuticals.

also from the article
Mayo kept tabs on the grieving widow, losing sleep when she lived off the grid in an RV for seven months in North Fort Myers. A year ago, he let her live in his Cape Coral duplex to “help her get back on her feet.” On Jan. 3, an information report Mayo filed with the Cape Coral Police Department cited “possible fraud.”
The Lee County property appraiser’s website shows Mayo transferred ownership of the duplex to Off the Grid Living Inc. last February. He thinks the paperwork was forged.
“She was a friend of mine, could have been one of my daughters,” Mayo said. “To have the nerve to file this paperwork saying I sold her the place for $10? You can’t just do that.”

[hiknapster]

Yes, her husband was fairly well-known, from Mass. She met him when she was a waitress. I let it go when this subject first came up but there is far more to her then was originally reported.

[Randy Fox]

Originally Posted by Compression

While no address was given in the story, the areas just off of Del Prado Blvd are serviced by city water and sewer.

Cape Coral city council has a dubious reputation, and history at best.

The city was living high on the hog during the boom years, then became one of the top five foreclosure areas in the nation for a while. They use code enforcement and the police department as revenue generators to replace the tax base lost over the past five years.

This story does not surprise me.

CN.......

What if a family owns an island in Lee County and the city does not provide any services what so ever, what happens then if you have no water,power,sewage that the city normally proves, then what?

[NoSnow4me]

Originally Posted by Randy Fox

What if a family owns an island in Lee County and the city does not provide any services what so ever, what happens then if you have no water,power,sewage that the city normally proves, then what?

Well, this is as random as it could possibly be.

I own an island in Lee County, and the city does not provide any services whatsoever. What happens is purple elephants wearing tutus explode into giant fireballs in the sky. What else would happen?

Or maybe there was some point here and I missed it.

[PonceDeLeon]

Originally Posted by Randy Fox

What if a family owns an island in Lee County and the city does not provide any services what so ever, what happens then if you have no water,power,sewage that the city normally proves, then what?

That would be a great question for Collier County, especially with it's many small islands, the Ten Thousand Islands region, etc. It would be a less likely scenario in Lee County, but still a possible situation. Anyway, nothing would happen. The government is forcing people to hook up to the public utilities only where the public utilities are available. If not available, then of course there's no requirement to hook up to them.