Abogados de inmigración in Ormond Beach, FL

After forming as Tropical Storm Debby Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center forecasts the latest system moving this way is most likely to head toward Florida’s Gulf Coast and Big Bend region over the weekend, sparing Volusia and Flagler counties from the bulk of its wrath.

Winds and coastal flooding, however, still remain a concern.

As of Saturday evening, Tropical Storm Debby had become somewhat better organized with circulation becoming more defined over western Cuba and curved convective bands forming close to the center in the southern semicircle.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Florida Keys south of the Seven Mile Bridge including Dry Tortugas and on Florida’s west coast from East Cape Sable in the far southwest of the Florida peninsula north to Yankeetown just south of Cedar Key. A storm surge warning was in effect from Aripeka, north of Tampa, north to the Aucilla River, south of Tallahassee, and west of the Aucilla River near Indian Pass.

Will Tropical Storm Debby affect the Daytona Beach area?

However, local weather experts warn the Daytona Beach region is not completely out of the woods.

"We are seeing that there will be additional bands of rain that push down toward Daytona Beach as we go from Sunday into Monday especially, and we will have increased and more widespread coverage of thunderstorms as well related to the depression," said Brendan Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's office in Melbourne.

According to the NWS, dangerous rainfall flooding could have possible significant impacts across northern and central portions of east Central Florida, including rivers and tributaries that may quickly become swollen with swifter currents and overspill their banks in a few places, especially in usually vulnerable spots; small streams, creeks, canals and ditches could overflow; and some streets and parking lots could take on moving water as storm drains and retention ponds overflow. Residents should prepare for road and bridge closures.

Generally, 2 to 4 inches of total rainfall are forecast areawide with higher amounts of up to 6 inches possible locally, according to Schaper, especially in coastal regions. Both Volusia and Flagler counties could see sustained wind gusts between 39-57 mph Sunday through Monday.

While wind gusts are not expected to be hurricane strength, weather experts advise residents to be aware of precautionary notices of tornadoes and follow the execution of emergency plans during tropical events. Some locations could experience roofs peeled off buildings; chimneys toppled; mobile homes pushed off foundations or overturned; large treetops and branches snapped off; shallow-rooted trees knocked over; moving vehicles blown off roads; and small boats pulled from moorings.

Expect impacts to change as the storm progresses and watch for further developments here on The News-Journal website.

Fees stem from law that Florida instituted after 2021 Surfside condo collapse

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – There are now just six months left before the state-wide deadline for condo buildings to get their mandatory engineering assessments done. In Volusia County, this costs over $100,000 per condo owner at one building.

These assessments became law following the collapse of the Surfside condo collapse in South Florida back in 2021. Now, any building over three stories and 30 years old has to have them done.

Parks Huffstetler called News 6 after seeing coverage of another condo building in the Orlando area.

He said he is a snowbird and dealing with the high cost of the fees at his condo in SurfSide Club South in Ormond Beach.

“Now it’s over $100,000 per owner,” Huffstetler said. “The hope is, when we get the restoration part done, then the units will be worth more and I can sell. Right now, we’re stuck.”

Huffstetler bought his condo in late 2021 and said he was not told about the upcoming assessment fees.

Another resident in the building, Janet Stone, said she is in the same boat and felt a bit blindsided.

“I’m a retired teacher so we don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars set aside somewhere that we can contribute so it put me in a position where I had to return to work,” she said.

The assessments have to be done by December 31, 2024, and there are two parts to it.

The first part is an overall inspection of the structure which requires paying engineers to inspect and then fix what the engineers found wrong. Many condo associations News 6 has spoken to did not have this budgeted in their reserves, so it’s on each unit owner to now make up the difference.

The other part is the condo association must prove their financial reserves are fully funded for future maintenance, which is also bumping up monthly HOA fees for each unit owner.

This comes on top of skyrocketing insurance prices for condominiums and, along the coast, repairs from the 2022 hurricanes.

“We have buildings where it’s every few weeks we get a call of ‘I just have got to sell I can’t afford to do this,’” Krista Goodrich said.

Goodrich, a vacation rental property manager in Volusia and Flagler counties, said she is seeing firsthand how this is hitting the condo market.

“The inventory has certainly increased of what’s available on the market and I think that’s going to stay for a while because people are very fearful of buying a property that’s got a giant assessment on it,” she said.

If they can manage to keep it, owners like Stone said at least this is ensuring the building’s longevity.

“The cost is prohibitive but it makes a difference,” she said.

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VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A group of residents is pushing to end a pilot program that allows dogs on parts of the beach in Ormond Beach, setting up a battle of petitions on opposite sides of the issue.

What You Need To Know

The Volusia County Council launched the Dogs on the Beach Pilot Program on Nov. 1, after receiving public input. The program allows dogs on the half-mile stretch of beach from Rockefeller Drive to Milsap Road in Ormond Beach.

But on March 9, Ormond Beach resident David Schecter started a petition calling for an end to the pilot program, citing safety concerns, owners not picking up after their dogs, as well as dogs outside the designated zone where they are allowed.

“We have great concerns that someone's going to get hurt, that some irresponsible dog owner is going to be in a situation where their dog hurt someone. It bites a child. It bites an elderly person," Schecter said. "No one should have to use the beach and worry about the dogs.”

A group of residents have signed a petition to end the Dog Beach Pilot Program that launched in Ormond Beach last November. We spoke with the person who started this petition and to a volunteer who patrols the area and supports the program. Tune in to @MyNews13 for the story. pic.twitter.com/BhUNW8N0ed

— Massiel Leyva (@LeyvaMassiel) May 8, 2024

For resident Nanette McKeel Petrella, bringing her dog Delilah to the beach on a hot summer day is something she has enjoyed since the county approved the 18-month pilot.

“Many people wanted to walk their dogs on the beach. And we do see quite a few that like to come either early in the morning or later in the day — obviously, when it's cooler, at least in the summer months, and they walk the beach with their dog." said McKeel Petrella, the president of Daytona Dog Beach Inc. "So, it's giving them exercise, giving their dogs exercise. Sometimes they're doing that before they go to work.”

Schecter's petition asks the county and law enforcement to enforce the rules about dogs on the beach.

“At this point, we're trying to do two things," Schecter said. "No. 1, get the county to just enforce the rules that they already have on the books about no animals on the beach, which they have failed to do. And then No. 2, they have failed to enforce the rules of their own dog zone.”

McKeel Petrella, whose organization works with community partners to promote, support and educate the public about dog friendly beaches in the Greater Daytona Beach area of Volusia County, said she was surprised when she learned about the petition.

“My initial feeling was just disappointment, frustration,” she said.

During her time volunteering, the organization has collected data for the county about the pilot program, and despite some infractions, most of the owners follow the rules in place, McKeel Petrella said.

At the May 7 Ormond Beach City Commission meeting, Volusia County council member Troy Kent presented statistics to the commissioners citing the number of citations issued during the pilot program.

Over the past four months, staff has counted 6,223 dogs at the beach, Kent said. According to the county, 204 warnings for leash violations and two warnings for waste disposal were issued in the designated area from Jan. 1 to April 30. All individuals promptly complied with these warnings, he said.

“Nothing to the point where it would cause this person to act in this manner or to cause the county to stop this pilot program," McKeel Petrella said. "A lot of us are enjoying it, are doing the right things, are supporting it. We should not be denied the right to use 1/10 of the Volusia County beaches that we pay taxes to support.”

Schecter said he would like the county to put the dog beach in another place.

“So, we're not anti-dog zone," he said. "We just don't think it should be in one of the most congested areas on the beach.”

He added that opponents of the pilot program plan to reach out to Ormond Beach officials, seeking commissioners' support to end the program.

“Our plan is very specific. We will be going to the Ormond City Commission, and we will be asking our local officials in Ormond Beach to write the county and get out of this agreement,” Schecter said.

In the meantime, McKeel Petrella said Daytona Dog Beach Inc. has started another petition supporting continuation of the pilot program in order to hear from people on the issue.

“We just ask that this be allowed to play itself out. Stick to the facts, not fiction and, you know, and bring parties together again. We're willing to listen," McKeel Petrella said. "What are your concerns? What could we do to potentially ease your concerns or eliminate them? You know, we are all in this together. We all live here.”

So far, the petition to stop the Dogs on the Beach program has received 257 signatures, while the petition for supporters of the program has more than 900 signatures.

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. —

This year, the City of Ormond Beach received over $5 million in federal funds to work in one of their most vulnerable neighborhoods.

Jane and James Hiser live in the Central Park area. They've been at their home for over 40 years. Four decades of living there, and they've seen it all.

"Like I said, we see ducks float down the street," said Jane Hiser.

During extreme weather, the flood waters get high in their neighborhood, specifically along Fleming Avenue, the road right next to the Hisers' house.

"Early on, it would be over the mailboxes," said James Hiser. "Yeah, that was when it was the worst."

Mayor Bill Partington said the city was recently awarded $5.3 million for a new stormwater pump station along Fleming Avenue.

"It's going to be two 450 horsepower pumps that can pump down the equivalent of like three Olympic pool size amounts of water a minute," Partington said. "And that will go underground out, swimming off to Fleming and then out to the Halifax River and be able to be discharged there."

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This pump will help speed up storm preparations by emptying the lakes in the area. It will also reduce the flood risk to over 500 homes, including those that have flooded several times.

The mayor said this is just a part of a series of moves to reduce flooding. He shared that over a decade ago, they interconnected five Central Park lakes, which are part of the stormwater system, and upgraded a pump station.

"But it's just not quick enough to draw the lakes down if we get a storm that turns to us at the last minute," he added.

Pumping the lakes down with their current pump is a slow process, but this new one will make a difference.

"Hopefully, it's an improvement that'll benefit our residents for many years to come," said Partington.

The project was designed under a previous FEMA grant and is shovel-ready. The city is waiting for the final word from FEMA and the Florida Department of Emergency Management to put the project out to bid.

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. — An Ormond Beach man claims a recently rebuilt home next door is causing his property to flood. Over the last year, William Latella’s driveway started cracking and sinking.

His deck also caved in, and his fence is being help up by stakes in the ground.

“The house next door is three feet higher so there is nowhere for that water to go except in my yard,” said Latella.

He gave Eyewitness News a copy of the building permit that said no water runoff should impact adjacent properties.

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“It is affecting my property in more ways than one,” said Latella.

A spokesperson from the city of Ormond Beach tells Eyewitness News the home next door on Mcintosh Road was reconstructed through the Florida Rebuild Program and the owner moved back in May of last year. Since then, the city has added drains along the fence line and gutters to the north side of the home. But Latella said it isn’t helping.

“Every time it rains, I have 2, 3 inches of water in my yard that never flooded. I have pictures going back to Harvey and I never had these issues,” said Latella.

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He feels for the homeowner next door who had to wait eight years to get the work done but because he is disabled and retired, even minor damage has become significant.

“I am not looking for anything free, anything extra. Just make my property to where it is useable again. I shouldn’t have to worry every time it rains. That is the sad part and that’s pretty much what I do,” said Latella.

The city said the flooding issues are now a civil dispute between two neighbors.

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