Former property owner weighs in on company filling in lake her family built: 'Sad to see it go'

Dead fish, turtles found after pond drained for development in Sanford

Hundreds of fish and several turtles were found dead in a drained pond near a construction site in Sanford, prompting questions about whether work was permitted and who is responsible for cleaning up the site. Residents reported being sickened by the smell of rotting animals after the water body known as Lake Warren was drained. The deaths occurred near a property slated for redevelopment.

SANFORD, Fla. - A privately owned lake once stocked with fish and used for swimming and canoeing by generations of a Sanford family has been drained for development, leaving hundreds of fish and several turtles dead and raising questions about permitting and oversight.

Residents reported being sickened by the smell of rotting animals after the water body known as Lake Warren was drained. 

The deaths occurred near a property slated for redevelopment into a Tesla collision center by Sanford Auto Ventures.

The property

Dig deeper:

FOX 35’s original report called the body of water in question a "pond." However, back in the 1960s, it was called "Lake Warren," named for the man who created it. His daughter, Teresa Saltzer, showed FOX 35 Reporter Marie Edinger pictures from when J.W. Warren first developed the lake.

"My dad stocked it with bass, bream, and shiners and some turtles," she said.

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Saltzer and her family sold the land because the kids had all moved out, and it was too large an area for her father to upkeep. They said they have watched the property become dilapidated over time. Now, she says they will watch their family’s history be erased altogether.

"It’s really sad to see it go," Saltzer said. "It was a big part of our lives, you know. So we learned to swim, canoe, and fish, and everything else out there in that lake, along with all of our friends."

The construction

The property and the water body are no more, and hundreds of fish and several turtles are now floating belly-up in the water, getting picked apart by swarms of vultures.

A company called Sanford Auto Ventures is draining the water into the St. Johns River through Seminole County’s stormwater system, and will construct a Tesla collision center over what was once Lake Warren.

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Documents Edinger obtained through a records request show Sanford Auto Ventures purchased General Wetland Credits from the county to offset the impact their project will have on nature.

Their permit says that it will provide greater long-term ecological value than this lake would have.

The permits

Sanford Auto Ventures’ permit with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) says the island in the middle of the water functions as a rookery – a breeding area for birds. But their permit still got approved because the District says the island isn’t a significant habitat for threatened and endangered species.

The company’s permit also says, though, that, "Construction may not occur during Great Egrets’ nonbreeding season," which we are currently in. FOX 35 did see great egrets, and we saw construction occurring. Edinger reached out to the County about that. They sent her to the SJRWMD, and FOX 35 is waiting for a response from them.

There is still the question of who is going to clean all this up. Sanford Auto Ventures hasn’t answered FOX 35 about that. The county says it isn’t their responsibility.

The City of Sanford says they can’t do it either, explaining in a statement, "The City of Sanford takes the investigation of such complaints seriously. We are committed to public safety and nuisance abatement in our community. Unfortunately, the City of Sanford has no jurisdiction in the matter. We have no authority to enter County property and mitigate such nuisances."

What's next:

Results from water quality testing of the pond were expected to be released at a later date.