Fence fracas in Lealman raises questions

LEALMAN — Rather than making for good neighbors, a recently erected fence in this unincorporated area has neighbors in a tizzy and county officials sifting through thousands of documents to find out who owns the land beneath the fence. Neighbors say a paved strip blocked by the fence is part of 80th Street N and belongs to Pinellas County. The owner of the fence says he owns the paved strip because the right of way was never transferred to the county. Pinellas County isn't sure which side is right. But the answer will likely decide whether the fence can stay or must be taken down.

Neighbors refused to provide their names, saying they were afraid of retaliation if they were identified in the newspaper. The property owner, Ernest Pierce, was not home and did not return phone messages. But county officials familiar with the case describe the situation this way:

Until mid August, folks who lived along 80th Street N just south of 46th Avenue N used the paved strip to get home. They thought the passageway was part of 80th Street, a public road that they had every right to use.

But Pierce saw things differently. He tired of the traffic and put up the fence to stop people from driving over "his" property. The fence extended from Pierce's yard across the narrow strip to meet with the chain-link fence of a mobile home park. The fence blocked anyone from walking or driving along the route. Neighbors had been using the strip, which is a little wider than a pickup truck, as the most direct route to get to their homes south of Pierce's on 80th Street after turning off 46 Avenue. Now they have to circle around several blocks in order to approach their homes from the south.

"Supposedly, his claim was that a lot of drug dealers were walking down the street all times of the day, and he got tired of it," said Tom Funk, the county's code enforcement supervisor.

Neighbors, who now drive several blocks out of their way to get home, called Funk's office and demanded that the fence be removed.

Funk said his hands are tied. It appears, he said, that Pierce does own that portion of 80th Street and has every right to fence it off. Although the county did plan to make that a part of 80th Street, officials apparently failed to buy the right of way.

That would seem to close the case, but it doesn't. It appears the county has been treating the paved strip as one of its streets. First, it's paved, which neighbors claim was done by the county. Second, neighbors claim the county has come out and filled potholes along that portion of 80th Street. And, third, the county erected a stop sign at the intersection of 80th Street and 46th Avenue. The stop sign has a tag on the back indicating it was put in place in 2001. The stop sign is just a bit behind and to the side of Pierce's no trespassing sign.

All that could make a difference, said Robert Brandon of the county's traffic department. So officials are looking through old property records trying to find out whether the "street" was ever transferred to the county.

"Some of those records (are so old), they're going to have to pull (them) by hand," Brandon said.

Traffic employees are also having to search through records to see whether, and when, the county put up the stop sign and filled in potholes.

Brandon said records show that stop signs were moved and paving work was done somewhere in a 20-block area where the road is located. But officials must go through work orders to find out exactly where those stop signs and road repairs were done.

Even if the county was not given right of way to the land, it still might own it, Brandon said. That might hinge on whether Pinellas actually did work on the "street."

If the county did the original paving, then a state law will give the county title to the land after four years.

If the county did not do the original paving, but did other work, the same statute would let the county take ownership after seven years.

"That's the way we presently understand it," Brandon said. The county attorney, he said, is researching the law to make sure that's what would happen.

Funk said that, if the traffic department decides the county owns the paved strip, then "it may change how we address it."

But for now, the fence stands.