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Longwood resident complains of property damage from fiber installation; commission directs staff to draft ordinance
Summary
A Longwood homeowner told the commission contractors excavated on his yard while installing fiber-optic lines, leaving deep holes and a large utility box on private property; commissioners voted unanimously to direct the city manager and city attorney to draft an ordinance to hold telecom owners responsible and require financial assurance.
Charles Bassin, a Longwood resident, told the City Commission on April 21 that contractors installing fiber-optic lines dug large holes, parked equipment on his lawn and left a utility box partly on his property.
Bassin said the work began on or about Jan. 13, 2025, at his house, 515 Devonshire Boulevard, in the Longwood subdivision. “They started out with 3 large holes dug in my front yard… about 3 and a half feet deep, large enough for a man to stand in up to his waist,” Bassin said. He said workers placed a roughly 2-by-3-foot box 18 feet from the roadway “well beyond the right of way.” Bassin also described litter and ruts from parked equipment and said a promised remediation produced dead sod.
The commission discussed the broader pattern of installation problems and limited local authority to regulate such work. The city attorney explained state law restrains some local regulation of telecommunications but said cities can require a single, identifiable responsible permit holder and could require cash escrow to ensure repairs. “That company has to register with the city… [and] post a cash escrow of a certain amount that sits in the city bank account,” the city attorney said, describing a template ordinance used elsewhere that holds the top-level service provider accountable rather than an untraceable subcontractor.
Commissioners emphasized the need to identify who is responsible for work in Longwood and to ensure property owners are made whole. Commissioner Tony Boney said the city should “get that covered for Mr. Bassin because that shouldn't be happening.” Deputy Mayor Bridal Sackett said staff had taken photos and that the work on Bassin’s property “definitely violated his private property.”
On a unanimous voice vote and roll call, the commission approved a motion directing the city manager to work with the city attorney to draft an ordinance regulating fiber-optic companies’ work inside city limits, including mechanisms to identify responsible permit holders and financial assurance to pay for remediation when work damages private property or city infrastructure.
The commission did not adopt an ordinance that night; the motion directs staff to prepare proposed language for future consideration. The city attorney warned the draft could draw legal challenges from telecom firms and noted the approach used elsewhere has attracted lobbying and threats of litigation.
Residents who described damage urged the city to document incidents with photos and video. Commissioners encouraged neighbors to collect evidence to help enforcement or claims.
