For more than three decades, the City of Largo cleared vegetation from a canal that turns out to sit on private land. Now that city lawyers have ordered the work stopped, residents of two neighborhoods are asking taxpayers to pick up the job anyway.

Homeowners in Lincolnshire Estates and New Haven Condominiums say plant growth in the waterway could worsen flooding in the next major storm. Many want the city to dredge it. Memories of Hurricane Milton are still raw, and neighbors say they check the water level every day.

Resident Jay Sewell said the community learned only last Thursday that the canal belongs to them. By his account, the city had maintained it for 36 years.

The city does not dispute the history, but says it should never have started. Noah Taylor, Largo’s floodplain manager, said the city’s legal team concluded the work was outside its jurisdiction. Once attorneys confirmed the canal was private property, they told the city to halt all activity there because of the liability involved.

Taylor said the city cannot dredge land it does not own. To resume work, Largo would need an easement, and the city administration or the commission would have to decide on any such arrangement. He noted that it would also commit the city to a new annual maintenance expense.

He advised residents to consider elevating their homes to reduce flood damage.

For some neighbors, the stakes are personal. Jane Pastva said she evacuated before Milton and came home to find 3.5 feet of water in her house. She lost the home and everything in it.

Largo says it is pursuing longer-term flood strategies, including the Starkey Watershed Master Plan, which is planned for 2031. The city is also developing other watershed management measures, including buying land for a watershed park that could hold excess stormwater and ease downstream flooding.

Residents say that timeline is too slow. Sewell said neighbors are sick over the situation, can’t sell their properties, and are leaving out of fear of another flood.

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