St. Pete residents blame neighboring construction for unprecedented flooding over weekend

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a day ago

The Brief
Neighbors in Disston Heights said they've never flooded like they did this weekend.
They blame new construction next door, saying muddy runoff flooded their streets.
The developer said the drainage system is compliant with the Southwest Florida Water Management District and the city's requirements.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A neighborhood in St. Pete was drying out Monday after this weekend's storms brought flooding residents say they've never experienced.
"It looked like a cascade," Nestor Lopez, who had lived in Disston Heights for nine years, said.
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Local perspective
Lopez and his neighbors said they've never seen their streets flood like they did this weekend, even during hurricanes.
"What happened last night, it was hard to believe unless you saw it," Silvia Paredes, who has lived there for 53 years, said. "That amount of water was going up on the curve into people's yards and all of that dirt flushing down," she said.
Neighbors said water reached front doors and garages of several homes, flooding one of the garages. They blame the construction of an affordable housing project at Palm Lake Christian Church that broke ground about a month ago.
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"The flow of water with the runoff from the dirt and everything else from this lovely project is clogging up the drains down around here, which is exactly what we told the city council back in '23 when we had our meeting with them about this project going in our neighborhood," Randy Bryant, who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said.
"The water is so muddy coming from the project, when it hits the streets, and it goes into the storm drains, there's no place for that sand to go. It piles up and the next thing you know, your streets are flooded. These people that lived here forever, these afternoon thunderstorms that are just common are now faced with their houses flooding just for a common thunderstorm, which is absolutely wrong," Bryant said.
Dig deeper
The city's public works team visited the site to make sure the developer, Newstar Development, was in compliance. A city spokesperson said developers are required to follow certain guidelines when constructing new properties, including having sediment barriers installed to prevent runoff.
St. Pete's chief building inspector and deputy building official were also onsite on Monday and will follow up with their findings.
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What they're saying
Neighbors said if the project can't be stopped altogether, they want the developer held accountable.
"They certainly have to do something in regards to control the water over there," Lopez said.
The other side
The church said in a statement, "We have begun our investigation and made some extra mitigation to ensure things move smoother."
According to Brian Evjen, the president of Newstar Development, LLC, his firm is partnering with Palm Lake Christian Church and the Pinellas County Housing Authority to develop the Palm Lake Urban Sanctuary attainable housing community adjacent to the church.
In a statement, Evjen said, "I discussed the drainage concerns with our civil engineer and general contractor, and I also visited our development site today to survey the current drainage systems. We also had City of St Pete inspectors on site today. Per our engineer, the current drainage system is compliant with the SWFWMD and City of St Pete drainage requirements, and we will continue to monitor for compliance and complete the system as designed and approved/permitted."
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He went on to say, "We value our partnership with the City of St. Pete, and we appreciate the City's support for the Palm Lake Urban Sanctuary development. We welcome the increased frequency for inspections, and we will make sure our design and construction teams continue to work closely with City staff to ensure full compliance with all permits and City code requirements."
A city spokesperson also said Sunday night's storms produced short-term bursts of very heavy rain, leading to a flash flood warning by the National Weather Service. Rain gauges in the area reported bursts of rain coming down at rates of about one inch every 15 minutes.
The Source
FOX 13's Kailey Tracy spoke with a spokesperson for the City of St. Pete, neighbors in Disston Heights, Newstar Development and Palm Lake Christian Church for this story.