TAMPA, Fla. -- There is a push to allow Hillsborough County officials to have access to gated communities and on Wednesday, county commissioners will consider a new ordinance to give the county that access.

  • County's solid waste officials want access to help clean up debris in gated communities
  • Officials say that without access, hurricane debris becomes health hazard

Hillsborough County Solid Waste officials say there was an issue after Hurricane Irma when debris piled up in gated communities and became a health hazard.  

According to the county, there are 1,200 miles of private roads within Hillsborough County limits that crews could not immediately access after the storm because the federal government requires that the county has a certain agreement in place to access private roads and gated communities for clean-up efforts.

Now, Hillsborough County commissioners are looking into creating an ordinance that would not only give them the legal authority to access those communities, but would also make it easier for the county to be reimbursed for the costs associated with the clean up.

"During Irma there was a slight delay in accessing some of these private roads and gated communities because the federal government, at that time, was requiring us to have a hold harmless agreement and identifications for these private road owners. We have about 1,200 center miles of private roads throughout the county so that became a difficult task," said Kimberly Byer with Hillsborough County's Solid Waste Department.

The public hearing to review the ordinance is on Wednesday at 10 a.m. at County Center in downtown Tampa.