Bonita land seizure contested - Ex-owner of farm says water district underpaid for 121.7 acres he wanted to mine

Article by Denes Husty III - Ft. Myers News-Press - Monday, October 2, 2006

The former owner of a farm that was condemned by the South Florida Water Management District said the agency owes him more money for seizing the land where he wanted to conduct a mining project.

Billy Don Grant said the water district would not let him excavate on the 121.7 acres at the northwest corner of Bonita Beach Road and Poor Mans Pass Road even though he had a Lee County permit to do so.

The district instead condemned his property in 2003. But, as it turns out, excavation took place on the property after that, Grant said.

That excavation, conducted with the knowledge of district officials, is now under investigation by the agency, which issued a stop-work order to excavation last month.

Grant said he's not pleased.

"They condemned and took my property. The price was not anywhere close to what it was worth," said Grant, who lives in North Naples.

The case contesting the $1.26 million Grant was paid for the land is on file with the Lee County Clerk of Courts office and is pending resolution through mediation or a trial.

Grant had permission to excavate up to 3 million cubic yards of fill by digging as deep as 27 feet, county records show.

There would be as many as 160 dump trucks a day going to and from the Billy Don Grant Borrow Pit from Mondays through Saturdays, records state.

The fact that Grant had an excavation permit made the land more valuable than the amount the district paid for condemning the property, said Ken Jones, Grant's attorney.

Just how much more Grant should be paid is being determined by appraisers hired in the case, Jones said.

Meanwhile, the district's investigation into the fill-dirt mining operation should be completed in two to three weeks, said John Williams, the agency's inspector general.

Until he issues a report, district officials are not allowed to comment, he said.

Because of the investigation, the district's attorneys also have refused to make available any records regarding the case to The News-Press, the Collier County Audubon Society and Jones.

Although excavation took place after the property was condemned and seized, Jones said district officials repeatedly refused to allow Grant to dig on the land.

"We never did get a really good answer on why it wouldn't work. We were told that was not a viable option, but I guess it was for someone," Jones said.

Grant said he learned through a neighbor that excavation was taking place on what had been his farm.

He said he called his attorney and calls were made to Lee County officials.

According to records from Lee County and other agencies, excavation by The Ronto Development Group on the property — adjacent to the southern Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed (CREW) lands in Lee and Collier counties — had been going on for about a year.

The development firm has approval to build 3,600 homes south of Bonita Beach Road near the district's property.

Ronto president Jim Reinders, in a prepared statement last month, said his firm was engaged in work to restore the land to an aquatic habitat for fish and water fowl.

He said the project was approved — and supervised — by district officials.

"Our actions have been entirely proper," Reinders said in the statement.

The project also was presented at a September 2005 meeting of the CREW governing board.

The project, officials have said, involved digging four ponds 8 to 12 feet deep.

However, Jones said that's not what he saw when visiting the site. "What I saw was a lake," he said.

Jones said he followed a dump truck from the property to a construction site at Interstate 75 and Immokalee Road.

After learning of the excavation, a county code inspector visited the site. County officials determined the district had no county excavation permit. Moreover, Grant's permit expired in January 2005, records state.

County officials talked about citing the water management district and Lee County attorneys began calling the district's attorneys in West Palm Beach.

The district's attorneys were supposed to discuss the issue with county attorneys by Aug. 25, records state.

The district, however, issued a stop-work order and launched its investigation Aug. 23, the day before a story appeared in The News-Press regarding the issue. District officials have said the investigation was triggered by calls from the Lee County Attorney's Office.

Lee County commissioners also are interested in the case.

On Sept. 12, commissioners agreed to send a letter asking district officials the depth of the excavation lake.

To date, the commission has not received an answer, said Commissioner Ray Judah.

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