Community Development District 5 has decided to waive prosecution in last year’s unlawful tree removal if the money is offered up to reimburse the remediation of the damage.
The trees were unlawfully removed at Lake Miona last year. The theory has been that a homeowner did it to improve the view of the water.
Investigators have had no luck finding the responsible party.
That left the Project Wide Advisory Committee to bear the costly remediation, which thus far has added up to more than $23,000.
At Friday’s CDD 5 meeting, Supervisor Gary Kadow proposed waiving prosecution in lieu or reimbursement for repair and replacement of the damage.
“We are not looking to hang anybody. We aren’t looking to shame anybody,” Kadow said.
He added that what is wanted is reimbursement of the costs of remediation work.
District Manager Janet Tutt said she checked with the state attorney’s office to see if this was possible.
“Because we are the victim, it would be at that point our decision either to move forward or not,” Tutt said.
The damage occurred in CDD 5, but the cost of remediation is being paid by PWAC, which includes CDDs 5 through 10.
CDD 5 voted unanimously to waive prosecution if the money is received.
