Residents ask Casselberry to rebuild crumbling wall
‘It doesn’t speak well of our neighborhood. And we’re a neighborhood of good people.’
Residents of a Casselberry neighborhood are so fed up, they’re ready to chant: “Build that wall!” And they’re even willing to pay for a new wall out of their own pockets. “It’s terrible,” resident Sue White said in describing a nearly half-mile long deteriorated wall that separates her Sausalito Shores neighborhood from busy Red Bug Lake Road. “It’s completely run down in some places….It doesn’t speak well of our neighborhood. And we’re a neighborhood of good people.”
Hearing residents’ pleas, Casselberry city commissioners recently agreed to replace the crumbling eyesore at a cost of about $2.1 million with a new red brick wall of about 6 feet high along the south side of Red Bug Lake Road between a Seminole County fire station and Faith Assembly Church.
To repay the city for the new structure, homeowners have agreed to be assessed on average about $389 a year for 20 years on their property tax bills. The community has 279 homes, including 29 homes adjacent to the wall.
Construction is expected to start in September, and the new wall should be completed by February, according to city officials.
For years, Sausalito Shores residents have asked the city to replace their neighborhood’s original wall, built in 1980. They pointed out that the existing structure not only has paint peeling and cracks. Several sections have collapsed, too.
“It’s looking really decrepit,” Casselberry Commissioner Mark Busch said. “It’s getting to the point where it could be dangerous, because some parts are starting to lean.”
Residents said the wall’s poor condition has caused their property values to sink because it reflects badly on their neighborhood.
“A new wall will give our neighborhood a better appearance and increase our property values,” said Patricia Jackson, who moved into Sausalito Shores about two years ago. “But getting it done has been an uphill battle for us.”
The Sausalito Shores Homeowners Association has little funds and no legal authority to force homeowners to pay an assessment for a new wall. So the city surveyed residents about forming a special taxing district. They approved it by a more than 2-to-1 margin, city officials said.
City commissioners are expected to officially vote on forming the special taxing district at a meeting in August. If approved, the special assessment will go into effect Oct. 1.
Every day, about 38,000 vehicles pass by the Sausalito Shores neighborhood wall while traveling on Red Bug Lake Road, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Busch called the thoroughfare “one of the city’s gateways.” That’s why it’s important to replace the aging structure.
“It’s not only going to be a positive for Casselberry but also for Sausalito residents,” Busch said. “Everybody is going to be really, really happy.”