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Land Trust appeals magistrate order, argues county drainage worsened erosion and asks to stay penalties
Summary
Trustee Thomas Scheigle asked the magistrate to stay penalties and reconsider a November 2023 order requiring a site plan within 90 days, saying county grading and filled culverts on Veterans Way and 59th Street divert stormwater onto the trust property and make remediation infeasible; the county opposed a stay and said a site plan is the proper remedy.
Thomas Scheigle, trustee of Land Trust 17601, asked the Alachua County Code Enforcement Special Magistrate on Dec. 5 to stay accruing penalties while he pursues a timely appeal and to reconsider or clarify the magistrate’s Nov. 16, 2023 order that required submission of a site plan within 90 days.
Scheigle told the magistrate he and his civil-engineering consultant documented sheet-flow flooding, sediment and erosion on and near the trust parcel after heavy rains on June 23, 2023. He said photographs and a civil-engineer report show water flowing down 59th Street across Veterans Way and onto the trust property and that county grading and filled culverts have created a berming effect that channels water onto the trust land.
The trustee argued those upstream drainage conditions — which he characterized as a 12.5-acre tributary feeding onto the trust’s 2.7-acre parcel — make it impracticable to meet the 90-day site-plan requirement. He requested either removal of the 90-day submission deadline, or a formal emergency finding that would allow immediate remediation without the same permitting constraints.
County counsel opposed a stay of fees and opposed changing the order’s site-plan requirement. The county argued that continuing to accrue fees does not prevent an appeal and that if the trust is successful on appeal it may seek a reduction or waiver of fees. County staff also noted that developing and presenting a site plan to county growth-management staff is the ordinary, appropriate mechanism to address impacts of water flow and erosion.
Magistrate remarks at the hearing indicate she has the engineering report and photographs in the record and will review filings and testimony before issuing a written decision. The magistrate signaled she did not need the county’s engineers to be present to consider the written report, but left the record open for additional affidavits or testimony if parties requested rehearing.
Next step: the magistrate will issue a written ruling on the stay and the motion to reconsider. The trust’s counsel said an appeal is already pending in circuit court.
