PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A block wall built by a Phoenix homeowner has sparked a neighborhood controversy over access to water infrastructure that has irrigated the area’s lush landscaping for decades.
The dispute centers on a Public Utility Easement, also known as a PUE, in the Pomelo Park neighborhood near 36th Street and Osborn Road, where residents claim a recently constructed wall is blocking access to critical irrigation equipment.
Shane Abowitt, who has lived in the neighborhood for 43 years, said the area’s green landscaping depends on irrigation infrastructure that runs underneath homes and provides water on a regular basis.
“People are interested in living here because of the trees – size of the lots,” Abowitt said.
Wall blocks decades-old access route
The 76-year-old grandfather said he’s concerned about a block wall built by homeowner Rob Headley, who lives a few blocks away.
Headley built the wall along his property line last year as part of construction of his new house and backyard. The wall blocks access to a standpipe that directs water to the neighborhood.
“If you take out one standpipe that could be a critical disruption to the whole water district,” Abowitt said. “Its not just the effect in near term its long term effect of not having access to that critical stand pipe.”
Abowitt said a public utility easement provides a right of way to access utilities.
Headley said he built the wall for privacy and believes he has every right to do so, especially since the Public Utility Easement appears to sit on his neighbor’s property.
“There’s a standpipe that sits on the other side of the wall which is not on my property and we feel like we don’t have any access to it, we don’t need access to it, and we don’t have irrigation in the house,’ said Headley. ”There’s no need for folks to walk on our property to get to someone else’s property,”
City permit under review
A picture from a few years ago shows a green pathway between the homes where workers had accessed the public utility easement for years. That open space was on private property where Headley has now built.
Headley said he received a permit from the city of Phoenix to build the wall, but city officials are now threatening to revoke the permit because the Pomelo Park Irrigation Water Delivery District was never consulted.
“The city has indicated 3 times they are going to revoke that permit they just haven’t done it and we don’t know why but they haven’t done it,” Abowitt said.
Headley said he doesn’t believe he should have to take down the wall after it was approved and doesn’t think he should be responsible for providing access to the utility.
Shane Tang, the homeowner next door, said the access arrangement has been in place for years with no reason to change.
“Its a public easement so there’s some historical reasons why the access should be granted the way its been,” Tang said. “Now there’s no access – he blocked it without communicating to anybody what we should do.”
Arizona’s Family reached out to the city of Phoenix and was told it was up to Headley to get approval from the Pomelo Park Irrigation Water Delivery District before building the wall, and that didn’t happen.
City officials said they’ll be in contact with all parties to find some type of resolution.
“We’ve had it going for 30-plus years in that same spot and it really hasn’t been an issue until now,” said resident Sean Hannafin.
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