Homeowners in a Hillsborough County neighborhood say they did everything right before building their backyard fences. Now a government body says the fences must come down, and the owners will foot the bill.

Residents of the Cypress Mill community in Sun City Center say their homeowners’ association approved the fences, some of which have stood for years. The Cypress Mill Community Development District, a special-purpose unit of local government, now says the fences block its drainage easements. It has ordered them moved or removed.

“We’re here to take your fence down”

Christopher Delgado, who rents his home, said a crew knocked on his door last month and announced it had come to remove his fence. He turned the crew away. So did his neighbor Laura Burns-Sierra, a disabled veteran, who said she called the police and was told the crew had no court order. Neighbors have been told the fences must come down later this month.

Other residents have already complied. Victor Abreu paid a contractor $1,000 to move his fence 15.5 feet inward, and in the process lost plants, bushes, and part of his irrigation system. He said the alternative was paying the district about $625 to take it down.

Abreu said nobody told residents the district could override the HOA’s approval. “It should have been mentioned to us,” he said. Burns-Sierra said the HOA approved her fence in 2021. She said she spent nearly $8,000 on it and paid it off over two years on a store credit card.

Two bodies, two sets of rules

Jonathan Ellis, an attorney who represents homeowners’ associations and is not involved in the dispute, said the two bodies are legally distinct. A CDD is a governmental entity with its own elections. It can enforce rules over district-owned common areas, including clubhouses, parking lots, roads, and easements. An HOA enforces rules on private property, such as fence materials, size, and color.

“The association may not be objecting,” Ellis said, but that does not mean the CDD consents. Adjoining 15-foot drainage easements run from the road to the pond along the affected lots.

“Why now?”

District letters say the fences keep its pond maintenance vendor from reaching a stormwater pond. Burns-Sierra said the district hired a new maintenance team that wants to haul a boat in by truck. Residents ask why the problem is only surfacing now. Abreu produced photos showing a previous contractor maintained the pond by boat, reaching it from another route.

Ellis said arguments about the passage of time can matter, such as whether the district knew about the fences and whether owners relied on its silence. But he added that a district may assert its rights only when it needs to.

The district’s response

The district declined an interview but sent a written statement. It said the previous vendor used an access route outside any designated easement, which raised liability and safety concerns. The district said it is applying a consistent standard to every encroachment in the community.

The district said recorded plats establish the easements and expressly prohibit permanent improvements, including fences. It said owners are responsible for locating easements before building. It also said the survey Burns-Sierra provided notes the fence’s encroachment. The district said HOA approval cannot waive its easement rights.

The district acknowledged that moving a fence can be costly. It said it has granted extensions to homeowners who asked and will not remove fences before those extensions expire. Residents with questions about deadlines or extensions are encouraged to contact the district directly.

Burns-Sierra said the district is acting like “the big boss in town.” She told the board to respect residents’ wishes and consider how its decisions affect the community.

For homeowners in communities governed by both an HOA and a CDD, Ellis said the lesson is to check whether another entity holds rights over the land before building near an easement.

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