Clermont puts lien on Home Depot

Clermont puts lien on Home Depot

City seeks $72,000, adds $250 in code fines daily

Robert Sargent | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted September 14, 2006

CLERMONT -- At a meeting five years ago, City Council members debated for hours whether the area was ready for its own Home Depot -- one of several large "big-box" stores looking to open in fast-growing south Lake County.

They scrutinized almost every detail to make sure the 125,000-square-foot home-improvement outlet would be a good fit for the city. It eventually would be approved as part of the Clermont Town Center on State Road 50, which must abide by a conditional-use permit from the city that strictly mandates how the property is managed.

Years later the Town Center has become a key part of a bustling and quickly expanding commercial corridor. But Clermont is struggling to force The Home Depot to manage its property in accordance with its permit.

The city cited the store with several violations -- most concerning products and materials sitting just outside its building. But after months without a response, Clermont's code-enforcement board opted to slap a lien on the property that now totals nearly $72,000.

Fines increase $250 a day until the dispute is resolved. But city officials say there has been little progress, which may force them to consider other enforcement such as revoking the Town Center's permit.

"What we're trying to do is gain compliance," Mayor Hal Turville said. "At some point they need to comply."

Code-enforcement board chairman Jim Purvis said the financial penalties against The Home Depot are among the biggest the city has levied in recent years.

But he said Clermont is not trying to make an example of the store -- it expects compliance from all businesses.

"Should we expect any less of Lowe's?" Purvis said of the competitor to The Home Depot that has proposed a store across the road. "Should we expect any less of Winn-Dixie, Bealls or Target?"

Officials at Atlanta-based Home Depot say they are working on the problem.

"The Home Depot takes very seriously the issues the City of Clermont has raised. We have staff, both in Orlando and Atlanta, working toward the resolution of these issues," public-relations manager Don Harrison wrote in a statement to the Orlando Sentinel.

Among the violations, Clermont has cited the store for displaying items outside without an open-air sales permit and using parking spaces for unscreened loading and storage of pallets and boxes.

City officials said The Home Depot recently complied with another request to pay more than $21,000 to cover a portion of costs for a traffic signal at S.R. 50 and Oakley Seaver Drive.

Officials also said the company could try to negotiate a new conditional-use permit with the city as part of efforts to resolve the code violations.

The Home Depot has operated at the Town Center since early 2003.

Robert Sargent can be reached at rsargent@orlandosentinel.com or 352-742-5909.

© 2006 Orlando Sentinel Communications

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