Future sinkhole activity possible for Land O' Lakes neighborhood

LAND O' LAKES (FOX 13) - Six months after a massive sinkhole opened up in a Pasco County community and swallowed two homes, neighbors are starting to getting some answers about what might be next.

Assistant County Administrator Kevin Guthrie recently received an engineer's report regarding possible options for the future of the Lake Padgett neighborhood where the sinkhole opened up.

Following a workshop with county commissioners Tuesday morning, County leaders were able to narrow down their possibilities to two.

Both options would involve a beautification project on the sinkhole, installing a permanent fence around it and leaving Ocean Pines Drive as a dead end. The only major difference would be potentially adding a "T" road at the end of the street to give drivers a place to turn around.

Guthrie, however, said the two sides of Ocean Pines that were split by the sinkhole will not be re-connected and the sinkhole will not be filled in and paved.

"Their recommendation is just to do nothing with it, leave it in its natural state, let Mature Nature do what Mother Nature has done," he said.

The 260-foot wide hole opened up in July. In addition to the two holes it swallowed, at least seven more have been condemned. The county is still determining if those homes will be demolished.

An engineer will be brought back in to determine if it's safe to build a "T" road at the end of Ocean Pines, which is so close to the sinkhole. A decision isn't expected for at least several more weeks.