PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A block wall built by a Phoenix homeowner has sparked a neighborhood controversy over access to water infrastructure that has irrigated the area\u2019s lush landscaping for decades.<\/p>\n
The dispute centers on a Public Utility Easement, also known as a PUE, in the Pomelo Park neighborhood <\/a>near 36th Street and Osborn Road, where residents claim a recently constructed wall is blocking access to critical irrigation equipment.<\/p>\n Shane Abowitt, who has lived in the neighborhood for 43 years, said the area\u2019s green landscaping depends on irrigation infrastructure that runs underneath homes and provides water on a regular basis.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are interested in living here because of the trees – size of the lots,\u201d Abowitt said.<\/p>\n Wall blocks decades-old access route<\/p>\n The 76-year-old grandfather said he\u2019s concerned about a block wall built by homeowner Rob Headley, who lives a few blocks away.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you take out one standpipe that could be a critical disruption to the whole water district,\u201d Abowitt said. \u201cIts not just the effect in near term its long term effect of not having access to that critical stand pipe.\u201d<\/p>\n Abowitt said a public utility easement provides a right of way to access utilities.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s property.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a standpipe that sits on the other side of the wall which is not on my property and we feel like we don\u2019t have any access to it, we don\u2019t need access to it, and we don\u2019t have irrigation in the house,\u2019 said Headley. \u201dThere\u2019s no need for folks to walk on our property to get to someone else\u2019s property,\u201d <\/p>\n City permit under review<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city has indicated 3 times they are going to revoke that permit they just haven\u2019t done it and we don\u2019t know why but they haven\u2019t done it,\u201d Abowitt said.<\/p>\n Headley said he doesn\u2019t believe he should have to take down the wall after it was approved and doesn\u2019t think he should be responsible for providing access to the utility.<\/p>\n Shane Tang, the homeowner next door, said the access arrangement has been in place for years with no reason to change.<\/p>\n \u201cIts a public easement so there\u2019s some historical reasons why the access should be granted the way its been,\u201d Tang said. \u201cNow there\u2019s no access – he blocked it without communicating to anybody what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n Arizona\u2019s 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\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n City officials said they\u2019ll be in contact with all parties to find some type of resolution.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve had it going for 30-plus years in that same spot and it really hasn\u2019t been an issue until now,\u201d said resident Sean Hannafin.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n