What’s causing these Florida dust storms? Angry neighbors want it fixed now
Dust storms have swept through a Florida neighborhood during the past few months, blanketing homes and roads and sickening some residents.
On windy days, residents say the dust blows from Rye Ranch, a 1,369-acre housing development under construction in the Manatee County town of Parrish.
The large-scale community being built by Miami-based Lennar Homes sits across the street from homes in the Foxbrook neighborhood.
“When the wind picks up, there’s a cloud of dust that comes through this whole community,” said Rob Nilsson, 51, who moved to Foxbrook two years ago. “It’s so thick that you can’t even see through it. It looks like a dust storm in a movie. A big black cloud of dust.”
In a Feb. 23 letter to at least one resident, Scott Edwards, vice president of land development for Lennar Homes, acknowledged that the dust conditions could be caused by construction activities and said the company has “rules and regulations” to manage the impact to neighbors.
“Lennar takes great pride in our communities and always strives to do our best to be good neighbors to the surrounding areas,” Edwards wrote.
Residents say they have asked for Lennar to cover the cost of cleanup and damage to their homes. Speaking with the Bradenton Herald, residents said they have been forced to remove dirt from their pools and power-wash their homes.
HOW THE DUST STORMS COULD HAPPEN
According to Edwards, the company uses water trucks to keep dust levels down. He said seed and mulch will also be installed as construction is completed.
The company official, however, stopped short of meeting residents’ demands to pay for any damage.
“Lennar will continue to take the necessary steps in order to maintain our site and follow the regulations that are in place, but will take no further action on any of the requests for compensation or maintenance on your home,” Edwards said in his letter to a resident.
A spokesperson for Lennar Homes did not respond to the Bradenton Herald’s request for comments.
MANATEE COUNTY ‘LOOKING FOR SOLUTION’
Residents have called on county officials to hold the development company responsible for the impact that the dust has had on their homes and health.
“No one at the county seems to want to hold them responsible for anything,” said Marcos Alvarez, 39, who moved to Foxbrook more than three years ago. “That’s our biggest frustration. There seems to be more protection for the company than for the residents, and the county is supposed to be looking out for its residents.”
Manatee County commissioners will explore options this month to reduce the dust. They might require developers to make a plan to control the dust, shut down construction if winds are higher than 15 mph and avoid clearing more than 100 acres at a time.
“I’m on [the] people’s side, so I’m looking for solutions,” Commissioner James Satcher said. “Now, we’ve had a historically dry winter, so this is not necessarily our average conditions, but we’re going to be assertive and do what we need to do to take care of this.”
POOR AIR QUALITY CAUSES HEALTH CONCERNS
One resident who spoke with the Bradenton Herald said the air pollution has triggered her asthma for the first time in many years.
“I had an asthma attack before I went to bed, and I can’t tell you the last time I’ve had to use my inhaler,” said Teresa Trudeau, 62, who moved to Foxbrook 15 years ago. “I haven’t had any more today, but I’ve been staying inside even though the dust has died down.”
She says the dust is everywhere — on the oak leaves scattered across the driveway, on the pet paw prints tracked through the house and on the clocks, lights and wind chimes hung around the porch.
“I struggle to keep up with our normal housework, and to have something like this thrown on top of me, I just can’t do it. My husband can’t because he’s not home enough,” said Trudeau, who is disabled and whose husband works long hours. “We’re struggling through a filthy house. I know that’s not good health-wise, but we don’t have an option right now.”
The dust storms have angered and frustrated residents who feel trapped in their homes.
“We built our house out there so that we could have a pool and a big yard for the kids to play in,” said Alvarez, who lives with his wife and three children. “The whole day, you’re forced to stay inside, you can’t do anything. Our kids wanted to go swimming the other day and you have to tell them, ‘No, you can’t go swimming,’ because there’s a layer of dirt on the bottom of the pool.”
IT’S SO THICK THAT YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE THROUGH IT. IT LOOKS LIKE A DUST STORM IN A MOVIE.
Rob Nilsson
DUST MAKES TRAFFIC MORE DANGEROUS
Residents have also watched in disbelief as the poor air quality makes driving more dangerous. With lower visibility, drivers watch as other vehicles and construction trucks appear out of a thick orange fog on Rutland Road.
“As you’re driving along Rutland Road and that dust kicks up, it’s almost like you’re driving through Mars,” said Charlie Terenzio, 35, who moved to Foxbrook over a year ago. “There’s a lot of dust and debris blowing across that main road, which makes it hard to see who’s coming from the other direction.”
When asked about the complaints, Commissioner Satcher said the county is working to fix the problem.
“People shouldn’t feel like they’re driving through the dadgum desert,” Satcher said. “Hopefully, developers can take some reasonable measures to address the issue and we plan to get them to do that.”
PUBLIC DISCUSSION
The Manatee Board of County Commissioners is expected to discuss new rules to prevent similar dust conditions during a public meeting on April 23.