Orange County commissioners by “resounding consensus” moved Tuesday to resolve once and for all the vexing deterioration of Tymber Skan on the Lake, a rotting community of condominiums near Lake Catherine that has been plagued by crime, fires and squatters.
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The solution likely will involve bulldozers.
“Sadly, we’ve been dealing with this for far too long,” Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said after an update on living conditions at Tymber Skan at a county commission meeting. “Orange County is not in the business of preserving dilapidated, substandard housing that poses a threat to the life, safety and health of our residents.”
In the past, beleaguered yet hopeful residents pleaded with county leaders to give them more time to fix the problems.
Not Tuesday.
“I’m ready to leave and just leave it alone. The place needs to really be gone,” said Janet Ellery, 73, who identified herself as president of the homeowners association of the once-vibrant community.
A neighbor, Cynthia Claytor echoed Ellery’s despair.
“I was a big advocate for staying in Tymber Skan and trying to rescue it,” said Claytor, 72, a community resident for more than a decade. “I don’t feel that way now…Everything is going downhill further than we ever thought it could go. I don’t believe it’s worth saving anymore. We need to find new places to go.”
Orange may seek to force sale of troubled Tymber Skan condos
Of the original 49 buildings with 321 “luxury units” built in 1972, only 8 buildings with 56 units remain. The county paid to demolish the rest.
A succession of homeowners associations struggled with mismanagement, resulting in a lack of routine maintenance and capital improvements.
In 2004, a trio of hurricanes Charley, Francis and Jeanne caused damage throughout the community.
A special magistrate, presiding over a code enforcement case, has now designated all remaining buildings as a threat to public safety, citing disrepair.
Tymber Skan lacks working firing hydrants. Some units where people live have no running water.
Even tall weeds can’t hide all the trash dumped in the neighborhood.
Commissioner Mike Scott said a squatter was living in the community’s guard shack.
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Over the past decade, Orange County has extended $3.5 million in support and resources to Tymber Skan, mostly to fund demolitions.
The county forgave nearly $50,000 in unpaid water bills.
Jason Reynolds, deputy director of Planning, Environmental and Development Service, said the proposed solution would require terminating the condominium association so the 63-acre property can be sold. He did not ask commissioners to take action but simply sought direction Tuesday to initiate the plan.
The matter will come back to the board Aug. 25 for approval.
“The continued operation of Tymber Skan is not practical, equitable or safe,” Reynolds said, quoting a consultant, The Shubin Law Group.
The county’s new plan would take an estimated two years to resolve legal issues and sell the property.
The county would help residents with relocation.
Only four of the units have homestead tax exemptions, meaning they are their owners’ primary residences. Ten others are currently owner-occupied.
In spite of the dire conditions at Tymber Skan, some units have been sold this year and last, the board was told.
“There was a very unfortunate experience with someone who bought a unit earlier this year, bought it sight unseen, looked at the listing, looked at the pictures, saw the price, moved here from up north, then quickly realized the situation in Tymber Skan and now suddenly she’s in a very bad situation,” Reynolds said. “It’s very sad, but this is unfortunately the way the real estate market works.”
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