Windermere homeowner sues town over flooding issue

The town of Windermere is being sued by a homeowner who believes the town’s recent road-widening project on Park Avenue has resulted in repeated flooding in her home.

The home, which is located on Park Avenue, was purchased in June 2014 but only recently started experiencing flooding following the completion of the town’s nearly $1 million project to enhance the Park Avenue corridor.

The intent of the road-widening project was to reduce traffic congestion during Windermere Elementary School’s drop-off and pick-up times. It included the construction of eastbound and westbound turn lanes into the school, sidewalks and a drainage system on the north side of Park Avenue. The project also pushed the sidewalk further back from the road and added in raised curbs. 

Homeowner Yumi Frankhouser claims the Park Avenue project resulted in the diversion of stormwater onto her property and caused repeated flooding. According to the Notice of Claim and Demand addressed to the town of Windermere, Frankhouser said the flooding began shortly after the completion of the project. She provided a video and 24 photographs depicting the flooding in her home from August 2018. 

Frankhouser is demanding reimbursement from the town for her out-of-pocket expenses because the continual flooding has eroded her yard, moved sediment onto the property and affected her septic tank. Frankhouser felt forced to purchase a pressure washer and have her septic tank professionally pumped 23 times from June to September at a cost of $6,000 because of the flooding, according to the notice.

But Windermere Town Manager Robert Smith said the town is not accepting or denying liability at this point.

“The claim is that the town’s stormwater runoff from the roadway is entering their property and causing flooding and harm to the property,” Smith said. “We’re not accepting or denying any liability at this point, but we have approved a project on the south side of Park Avenue to take care of any stormwater runoff on that roadway.”

During the Nov. 13 Windermere Town Council meeting, council members approved a $23,000 project regarding the engineering designs for drainage improvements and sidewalk construction on the south side of Park Avenue.

The project had been approved previously but needed to be approved again because of the pending litigation, Smith said.

The future project will replace about 480 feet of sidewalk and add about 180 feet of new sidewalk west of the Park Avenue/Lake Butler Boulevard connector, according to contract documents. The drainage improvements should address the existing ponding issues on adjacent properties, according to the agenda. But Smith also plans to discuss the flooding issue with Frankhouser and her attorney, he said.

“They just sent us the notice,” he said. “So now, we’re trying to get everyone together to talk about the issue, and what we can do to possibly correct it, and then we’ll go from there.”