JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville is taking legal action against the owner of Colonial Forest Apartments on the Westside for maintaining a public nuisance.
The News4JAX I-TEAM has been reporting on the deteriorating conditions at the property on Firestone Road with trash piling up, balconies and stairwells falling apart, and residents complaining about pests and squatters.
Last week, the city condemned 10 of the apartments due to unsafe structures.
The lawsuit filed by the city on Thursday alleges the conditions are a threat to “public health, safety and welfare of the community.” It also says residents first started complaining about trash at Colonial Forest Apartments nearly a year ago, in Nov. 2022.
READ | Full complaint for temporary and injunctive relief against Colonial Forest
Waste Management picked up the dumpsters last week and said the complex was not paying for trash pickup. Currently, residents don’t have a dumpster to dispose of their trash.
This legal action, according to the city, is a result of the apartment complex maintaining a public nuisance due to:
- Its failure to contract for solid waste removal
- Its failure to maintain its swimming pool
- Its failure to provide maintenance resulting in structural damage to stairways and balconies
“This should’ve happened sooner because these apartments have been going down for quite a long time,” an anonymous resident said.
The former resident is happy the city is stepping in, but for her, it’s too late.
She said she had to pack up her things and withhold her rent this month because of a rat infestation.
“I can’t stay here no more. I was devastated and scared,” she said.
The city said in the lawsuit that code enforcement inspected the property at least 37 times from March to October. More than a dozen citations have been issued to the property owner totaling over $3,000 in fines, with no response.
Residents don’t understand why things have gotten so bad.
They pay almost $11 monthly for trash and pest control — though the waste hauler stopped picking up trash for non-payment — and residents say pests are still an issue.
One resident is still being billed for her October rent despite following the correct processes to withhold and sending these written notices to management.
“I can’t afford to pay that and find another place for me and my kids to stay,” she said.
The I-TEAM still hasn’t heard back from the owner of Colonial Forest despite multiple calls, voicemails and emails.
“I think they should do better on maintaining this place for people’s health and we all deserve a nice place to stay,” she said. “I can’t stay another minute.”
A judge has set an emergency hearing Wednesday for a temporary injunction that the city is asking for.
They want that injunction to require the owner to take action within a matter of days.
The city sent the following statement to News4JAX: