Florida City Threatens Woman For Living Off the Grid

By all accounts, Robin Speronis
is engaged in a successful experiment in “living off the grid” in
Cape Coral, Florida. The 54-year-old former real estate agent
disconnected from city water and power about a year and a half ago.
Now she relies on solar panels, propane lanterns, and collected
rain water in her duplex and seems quite happy about it. But the
city clearly is not. Officials tried to boot her from her home, and
have now given her until the end of March to reconnect to the grid.
A special magistrate who tossed many of the charges and admits that
reasonableness may not play a role in the rules says she will
ultimately have to comply. Speronis is standing firm.

According to Cristela Guerra of the Cape Coral
News Press:

It took several hours to review the litany of alleged code
enforcement violations. It was noted some seemed redundant, while
other violations were not addressed as a result of issues with due
process. [Special Magistrate Harold S.] Eskin had concerns that
Speronis had not received proper notice. He found her not guilty on
those issues but said he would be open to considering new
evidence.

He found her guilty of the section which dealt with the water
system and maintenance. Alternative means of power are possible but
need to be approved by city officials, according to Paul Dickson,
the city building official. When it comes to water, the options
included installing a potentially more complicated and expensive
system that would filter rain water through the pipes while
maintaining temperatures and pressure. Speronis also uses the city
sewer system for drainage. There are liens on the home to collect
those fees.

Daniel Jennings of Off the Grid News
notes that “Speronis has been fighting the city of Cape Coral
since November when a code enforcement officer tried to evict her
from her home for living without utilities. The city contends that
Speronis violated the International Property Maintenance Code by
relying on rain water instead of the city water system and solar
panels instead of the electric grid.”

The specific code on which they “got” Speronis is clearly
designed to discourage well use within city limits. The
code states, “Where an existing, adequate municipal water
system is available in a public right-of-way or easement abutting
the property, or within 200 feet of the property being served by a
well system, connections shall be made so that the well shall no
longer be used for human consumption.”

But Speronis’s water doesn’t come from a well—it falls from the
sky. Nevermind. As Eskin noted, “Reasonableness and code
requirements don’t always go hand-in-hand.” He recommended review
and revision of the ordinances, but insisted he had to find against
Speronis “whether I want to or not.”

City officials concede the code doesn’t require anybody to use
the hook-up to the water system, but they have to connect, just
because.

“You may have to hook-up, but you don’t have to use it. Well,
what’s the point?” notes Speronis, who says she’ll keep
fighting.

The entire point seems to be to discourage an interesting
lifestyle that’s independent of city systems.

This isn’t just a local problem. Jennings notes that Cape
Coral’s code is based on the one-size-fits-all International
Property Maintenance Code, which is
causing hassles in
many places. I personally know the owner of a very nice hay
bale bed and breakfast in…an undisclosed location…who captures
rainwater and quietly uses it to flush toilets and for other quite
sensible purposes that aren’t permitted by code. Why she’s not
permitted to capture and use rainwater in a drought-stricken region
is anybody’s guess.

Though, as noted above, “Reasonableness and code requirements
don’t always go hand-in-hand.”

Restrictive, mindless, rules like those with which Speronis is
threatened are a menace to both independence and innovation. But
that’s how government officials roll.