(WSVN) - One South Florida family says their city is trying to sink their summertime fun in the swimming pool. What’s behind the backyard battle? The Nightteam’s Karen Hensel has tonight’s 7 Investigates.
Finding socially distanced activities is a challenge in the age of coronavirus, especially when you have children.
Laymis Alvarez, homeowner: “Even if the beaches are open, I don’t want to go because I don’t want my daughter to get sick.”
It’s why Laymis Alvarez, a clinical research coordinator who has been working during the pandemic, is glad she has the above ground pool for her 7-year-old daughter to enjoy.
Laymis Alvarez: “For me, the pool was like relief. Like, ‘Wow, thank God that I have a pool,’ and I can go and sit down in the backyard, see my daughter, have a little bit of fun. I’ve been living in Miami Shores for 10 years. I had the pool already for a year. I’ve never had a problem.”
No problems until June, when she got a violation notice from the Miami Shores Code Compliance office.
It stated she needed to remove the 18-foot pool because it was “not of approved materials.”
Laymis Alvarez: “If I don’t remove the pool, they are going to put a fine for each day that I have the pool.”
Miami Shores says Laymis violated a section of the construction code that says: “All buildings and structures shall be constructed of materials approved under the Florida Building Code.”
Laymis’ argument: what construction?
She assembled her store-bought pool from a box.
Laymis Alvarez: “It’s something like I did construction or something in the backyard — like a structure. Nothing to do with a pool.”
And look what we found as we drove through Miami Shores: playground equipment, sheds, even a few other small pools.
We asked Miami Shores for copies of violations issued to any other residents for above-ground pools over the last five years.
There was just one other case, in 2017, for an above ground pool “not made of cement.”
As for Laymis’ pool, the village tells 7News it started with an “anonymous neighbor complaint.”
Laymis Alvarez: “I have a fence around my house, so nobody is in danger. Why? Why are they making it so hard?”
Laymis is not giving up in this backyard battle. She’s not removing the pool, and she plans to fight the village’s violation notice at an upcoming hearing.
CONTACT 7INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
clue@wsvn.com
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